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Major breakthroughs in Data-Driven Discoveries in a Changing Climate (D3C2)

Published on
November 18, 2024

During a session on Data-Driven Discoveries in a Changing Climate (D3C2), organised by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) last week, the results and insights of a three-year research programme focusing on data-driven discoveries around climate change were presented. The D3C2 programme explored how AI can contribute to understanding the effects of climate change and developing solutions to adapt to a changing climate.

Over the past three years, the D3C2 theme funded four major projects, 30 sub-projects and seven so-called ‘wildcards’, focusing on riskier and innovative approaches. During the meeting, key outcomes were shared, followed by a discussion on future challenges and possible long-term solutions.

New collaborations and diversity of methodologies

According to participants, the programme led to valuable new collaborations and noticeable substantive progress. Several research groups within WUR had the opportunity to experiment with AI technologies such as physics-informed machine learning, more traditional methods such as random forests, and statistical approaches thanks to D3C2. This diversity of methods offered researchers the chance to further develop AI skills and explore more innovative angles.

Opportunities and challenges for the future

During the afternoon, participants noted that the project presentations demonstrated how challenging it is to collaborate cross-domain on climate issues with AI. Yet it appears to be possible, and the results show that collaboration and diversity of approaches were key. This funding led not only to scientific publications and conference contributions, but also to new collaborations with partners outside WUR. Although some initiatives are still in the exploratory phase, the expectation is that they could lead to new projects in the future.

Building a lasting community

With the conclusion of this three-year research programme, a new challenge becomes apparent: preserving the network built up and the knowledge developed. Although the programme is ending, there is a strong desire to preserve and build on the D3C2 community that has been formed, so that researchers can continue to collaborate on pressing climate change questions. However, without further funding, the question remains open as to how the tools and data developed can be retained for future research and implementation.

This session highlighted that AI-driven research can play an important role in addressing climate issues, but also that further collaboration and support are essential to continue this knowledge and innovation.