Innovative applications and development paths of Digital Earth technology in marine environmental support

Abstract The convergence of Digital Earth technologies and the field of marine environmental support represent a significant trend in global scientific and technological advancement. In response to the characteristics of marine environmental data such as sparsity, dynamic complexity, and multi-scale interdependence, and by integrating the evolution of international Digital Earth technology with China’s independent innovation practices, this study constructs three core methodological paradigms. The first is the element-integrated ontology, which proposes a hybrid representation paradigm of “spatiotemporal embedded field + ontology” to achieve integrated and dynamically evolving modeling of marine physical environments alongside geological, biological, chemical, and other multidimensional elements. The second is the cyclically nested spatiotemporal principle, introducing a spatiotemporal framework of “multi-period temporal decomposition and cross-scale structural transformation” to provide a physically interpretable and uncertainty-quantifiable predictive framework for complex marine phenomena. The third is the information transition and value-adding method, which establishes an information transition mechanism of “structure-semantics-utility” to facilitate the transformation and enhancement of massive raw data into high-value decision-making knowledge. Building on the above research, targeted policy recommendations are proposed across three dimensions: national-level infrastructure planning, data fusion development models, and value-adding channels for industrial applications. These recommendations aim to support the development and industrial implementation of an autonomous and controllable marine Digital Earth technology system in China.