Water quality monitoring using hybrid physical–soft sensors for river digital twins: a comprehensive review

Digital twin (DT) technology is gaining attention for effective water quality management by integrating diverse data sources and enabling real-time insights. The practical implementation of DT technology for intelligent river water quality management required extensive spatiotemporal big data, underscoring the critical need to integrate physical sensors, soft sensors, and remote sensing technologies. Here, we synthesized recent advancements in hybrid physical–soft sensing systems and highlighted their potential to address the inherent limitations of conventional water quality monitoring methods, such as limited spatiotemporal resolution and high operational costs. Soft sensors, driven by machine learning (ML), estimated difficult-to-measure water quality parameters by leveraging easily measurable variables from physical sensors. Consequently, soft sensors significantly expanded the range of measurable parameters and improved data collection frequency. In addition, remote sensing technologies offered broad spatial coverage, enabling large-scale monitoring of optically active constituents, algal blooms, and sediment dynamics. We critically reviewed methodologies and applications integrating these sensing technologies into DT frameworks. Additionally, we identified critical knowledge gaps, particularly the lack of a fully unified integration framework combining these technologies for next-generation DT systems. By assessing the strengths and limitations of each approach and proposing integration strategies, this study contributes to intelligent, sustainable river management.