Recently, the article titled "How a vast digital twin of the Yangtze River could prevent flooding in China" has been published in Nature. This is the first article in the field of intelligent water resources management published in Nature.
In order to further utilize digital and intelligent technologies to build a strong safety barrier for the Pillars of a Great Power and promote optimal operation of cascade reservoirs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Intelligent Yangtze and Hydroelectric Science of CYPC (hereinafter referred to as the Laboratory), in conjunction with China Three Gorges University, China University of Mining and Technology and Sichuan University, launched research on the theoretical framework and application scenarios of digital twin construction in the Yangtze River Basin in 2022. Guided by the concept of "integration of industry and research", the research team combined multiple key technologies and system platform achievements of intelligent decision-making for efficient utilization of basin-wide water resources that have been developed by the Laboratory. After repeated communications and more than 20 rounds of revisions and improvements, it took two years to successfully form the relevant theoretical article. This article systematically explained how to achieve accurate prediction of flood paths, hydraulic engineering, scheduling, navigation, ecological impacts and other results through real-time modeling based on the visual 3D simulation system, using data on weather, water flow, ecology, sediment characteristics, terrain and energy demand.
Nature?is one of the oldest and most prestigious scientific journals in the world. The publication of this article in Nature?fully demonstrated the guiding significance of the article's results in water resource management, flood control and disaster reduction, navigation and scheduling, and provided decision support and scientific basis for sustainable development of the Yangtze River Basin. In the future, CYPC will continue to conduct cutting-edge technology research and application exploration in the hydropower industry in the practice of managing the world's largest clean energy corridor, constantly contribute the wisdom of the Three Gorges to the world, and provide more "Chinese solutions" for smart governance of global river basins.