Deep-Time Digital Twins: Integrating LithoPlates with the EarthBank Platform

The dynamic nature of Earth's lithosphere necessitates comprehensive tools for integrating geological data with plate tectonic frameworks across vast spatiotemporal scales. To address this challenge, EarthBank, in collaboration with the Earthbyte Group and Lithodat, has developed LithoPlates - a cloud-based deep-time reconstruction tool designed to support the visualisation and analysis of geological features within their paleogeographic contexts. LithoPlates leverages Earthbyte’s GPlates Web Service, enabling users to access pyGPlates functionalities and advanced plate tectonic models, offering researchers an intuitive platform for spatiotemporal analyses.

LithoPlates incorporates ten plate tectonic models, including the latest model published in 2024, which extends reconstructions back to 1.8 billion years. These models are seamlessly integrated into EarthBank’s public geochemistry data platform, enabling researchers to explore the tectonic settings and geological histories of their area of interest. By applying age-specific filters, users can visualise data within any chosen reconstruction timeslice within 1Ma steps, facilitating precise spatio-temporal analyses of geological processes such as formation, deformation, and material transport across Earth’s surface.

The platform’s dual capability to analyse data in both present-day and palinspastic geography significantly enhances its utility for geoscientific research. LithoPlates supports the reconstruction of geochronological and thermochronological data, providing a robust framework for investigating the evolution of Earth’s lithosphere. Its integration with EarthBank’s relational database further enables on-the-fly analysis of both data and metadata, offering real-time insights into complex geological systems. Robust export functionalities are also present including an open REST API, enabling users to seamlessly integrate their data and share results for further analysis.

 

Future advancements for LithoPlates include the integration of additional plate tectonic models, enhanced visualisation tools, and advanced filtering capabilities to refine comparative analyses across multiple reconstruction scenarios. These updates will improve uncertainty quantification, allow for more sophisticated model-data fusion, and facilitate the analysis of geophysical and geochemical datasets within a unified paleogeographic framework. 

LithoPlates represents a transformative tool for advancing Earth system reconstructions by addressing key challenges in the integration of geological, geophysical, and environmental data. Its interdisciplinary approach aligns with the broader scientific goal of developing digital twins of our planet, contributing to fields as diverse as resource exploration, paleoclimatology, and environmental risk assessment.

This tool exemplifies the potential of combining advanced modeling techniques with expanding geochemical and geophysical datasets, offering a scalable solution for analyzing the spatiotemporal evolution of Earth’s lithosphere. By providing access to comprehensive plate tectonic models and enabling precise spatiotemporal analyses, LithoPlates paves the way for groundbreaking research in understanding Earth’s dynamic geological history and its implications for modern and future challenges.