290 To adequately characterize such complex environmental impacts, modern approaches are moving toward integrated or even “digital twin” representations of the environment. A digital twin is essentially a virtual replica of a physical system that fuses data and models for simulation. In the context of Earth systems, initiatives like the European Destination Earth (DestinE) program are applying digital twin technology to link atmosphere, ocean, land, and human activity within high-resolution computational frameworks (Wedi et al., 2025). These efforts combine observations with physics-based models (often enhanced by AI) on some of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. While a comprehensive digital twin of the entire planet would be ideal for assessing mining impacts anywhere, the spatial and computational scale required is enormous. As a practical step, it can be more feasible to focus on smaller, selfcontained systems where land–sea interactions are pronounced and easier to delineate. In this study, we target the Galápagos Islands as a model island system with relatively clear land–sea linkages and an enclosed environmental setting. The Galápagos archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is renowned for its unique and fragile ecosystems, yet it also supports a growing human population and substantial tourism that demand infrastructure and resources (Calle Loor, 2025)(Dueñas Tovar et al., 2024). To supply local construction needs, quarrying of volcanic materials occurs even in this remote environment; for instance, the “Cerro Quemado” quarry on San Cristóbal Island is mined for aggregates. Such sites are officially designated as Special Service Sites despite being inside the National Park and are acknowledged to be ecologically degraded areas where human use must be balanced with conservation. An environmental assessment of the Cerro Quemado quarry has identified numerous impacts from its operations, including the generation of particulate matter, emissions of combustion gases, vibration and noise, and soil disturbance (Dueñas Tovar et al., 2024)(Plich, 2017). These disturbances raise serious concerns in an island context where habitats are isolated and biodiversity is exceptionally sensitive. Among the various impacts, particulate matter (dust) emissions are of particular concern because of their ability to disperse across both terrestrial and marine realms. Airborne particulates can be transported rapidly and over relatively long distances by atmospheric processes. Indeed, large dust events have been shown to carry contaminants far from their source, posing risks to distant ecosystems that would otherwise be unaffected (Csavina et al., 2012). In the Galápagos setting, quarry dust can travel on trade winds and eventually settle into coastal waters, where it may degrade water quality or harm marine life. Fine particles, for instance in the PM₁₀ size rang (aerodynamic diameter ≤10μm), are especially prone to longrange transport due to their slower settling and longer atmospheric residence time. Consequently, what begins as a local air pollution issue can become a broader land–sea environmental problem if not properly understood and managed. Considering these challenges, this study aims to develop a digital twin platform that integrates terrestrial and marine environmental components for the Galápagos quarry–coastal system. We adopt an island-scale, geospatial modeling framework that couples atmospheric reanalysis data, theoretical particle dispersion estimates, ocean circulation models, and GISbased 3D visualization. This integrated approach enables us to simulate the trajectory of quarry-
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