On Tuesday 30 November, Professor Marian Scott, Professor of Environmental Statistics at the University of Glasgow School of Mathematics and Statistics, will give an online talk titled 'A Digital Earth Vision: Post COPs, Where Do We Go?'.

The landscape of environmental data comprises outputs from process models, data generated from earth observation, and from in situ (static and mobile) sensor networks, and citizen science contributions including from social media feeds - so everything is anchored in time and space (where we may need to account for sampling effort, bias, detectability). The vision of a digital earth is described by the EU as “a concept of an interactive digital replica of the entire planet that can facilitate a shared understanding of the multiple relationships between the physical and natural environments and society”.

Data and analytics play key parts in the digital earth concept, since if we imagine the digital earth as a model of the system, then this model will need to be constantly updated with and be able to learn from data.

The United Nations COP processes dealing with biodiversity and climate change will have negotiations around interventions, actions and targets which are dependent on evidence. Governments are increasingly publishing strategies about how net zero and the recovery and conservation of biodiversity will be achieved. These strategies are dependent on technology, and specifically digital technology, hence the environmental data lakes which need to be mined. Are we foolish to think we can learn the rules that govern our world from our imperfect observations?

In this talk, Professor Scott will reflect on a number of case studies where digital technology is changing our ambition and vision of a digital earth.

The talk is organised by the Consorcio Universidades por la Ciencia, which brings together the National Autonomous University of Mexico Foundation (Fundación UNAM), El Colegio Nacional and 14 public and private Mexican Universities.

Professor Scott's Talk will be delivered in English, and will be livestreamed from the Consorcio Universidades por la Ciencia YouTube channel at 1800 GMT on Tuesday 30 November. It will be available to watch on demand after this date.

First published: 26 November 2021

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