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Inproceedings Reference Ground Deformations Related to an Old Drainage Adit in The Abandoned Coal Concession Around Saint-Vaast (Wallonia, Belgium) Analysed Using PS-InSAR and Piezometric Wells Time Series
The exploitations of the coal mines in Wallonia were ceased progressively till the end of the last century. Groundwater pumping’s were stopped inducing a groundwater rebound with different rates but still visible today with radar interferometry. To mitigate the threats to the environment during the post-mining period, flooding and outbreak risks, surface ground deformations and the stability of civil engineering infrastructures in the vicinity of those mined areas need to be monitored. The persistent scatterer radar interferometry technique (PS-InSAR) has revealed ground displacements during three decades in Saint-Vaast (Wallonia, Belgium). Under this residential area, an old drainage adit at a depth of approximately 30 m allows mine water discharge to the Haine river. A confined aquifer lies in this Wealdian sandy layer characterized by a weak mechanical resistance and frequent loose sandy pockets. The Saint-Vaast area has so far suffered twice from a clogging rupture in the drainage adit. The clog has induced an underground water pressure increase in the confined aquifer. This water outbreak resulted in a stream of mud, sand and water flowing out during a few days in 2009. This event has induced a displacement at the surface with cracks observed in the walls of several houses nearby. 236 interferograms were produced using images acquired by the ESA’s satellites (ERS1/2, ENVISAT and Sentinel-1A). A time serie of surface displacements from 1991 to 2022 is calculated. Land surface displacements trends before and after both events were recognized. During ERS1/2 (1992–2002) an uplift has a rate exceeding 3 mm/year. The saturation of the Wealdian aquifer sands reduces the effective intergranular stress leading to an uplift. Groundwater recharge slowed down after the uplift and turned to almost stability during ERS (2002-2006) and ENVISAT (2003–2010). The sudden water outbreak in 2009 has resulted in a localized land subsidence. Before and after the second outflow associated to a clog rupture in early 2018, a similar pattern of land surface deformations was observed. After 2018 (Sentinel-1A), the average LOS velocity values are -1.8 mm/year where the 2009 event occured. Piezometric wells drilled after the 2009 event are monitoring the groundwater levels in the Wealdian aquifer. Analysis of piezometric data combined with PS-InSAR allowed to compare the water table evolutions in the confined aquifer and the ground deformations observed at the surface.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
Inproceedings Reference Revision of the genus Baltoplana (Rhabdocoela: Schizorhynchia: Cheliplanidae) with the description of two new species
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference Unraveling chromosomal inversions and their evolutionary dance in a wing polymorphic beetle
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference Symbiotic interactions challenged by environmental stress in aquatic transitional habitats
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference Comparison of the pollinator microbiome: management practices, altitude and sex as drivers for change
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference The green heart of Africa, the Lomami Primer
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference Evolution in the tides: unravelling adaptive strategies in Pogonus chalceus beetles
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Inproceedings Reference Revision of the longirostrine crocodilian Thoracosaurus isorhynchus from the Maastrichtian–Danian of northwestern Europe
“Thoracosaurs” are a group of longirostrine eusuchians known from Upper Cretaceous–lower Paleogene coastal deposits of Europe and North America. Their phylogenetic position is highly debated and varies from one study to the next, ranging from inclusion within Gavialoidea—implying ghost lineages of up to 100 million years—to exclusion from Crocodylia altogether. Despite these issues, many “thoracosaur” taxa have been understudied, suffering from incomplete or outdated descriptions and questionable taxonomic assignment. We present a comprehensive revision of Thoracosaurus isorhynchus, the most common European “thoracosaur.” Here, we redescribe the lectotype and paralectotypes of the species from the Maastrichtian of Mont-Aimé, France, and a skull from the Maastricht type area, The Netherlands. We also add new, previously undescribed cranial and extensive postcranial material from Mont-Aimé. Moreover, comparison with the type material of Thoracosaurus “scanicus” of the Danian of southern Sweden indicates that the latter is a junior synonym of T. isorhynchus, confirming the persistence of this species across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. An array of phylogenetic analyses points to a close relationship between T. isorhynchus and the Cenomanian Portugalosuchus azenhae. This implicates an early emergence of “thoracosaurs” within Gavialoidea, highlighting the stratigraphic inconsistency of this group and a need for up to date descriptions of species belonging to this group.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025 OA
Inproceedings Reference Recent data on the enigmatic family Raoellidae: how aquatic…how cetacean?
At the beginning of the 21st century, the discovery of an involucrum on the auditory bulla of Indohyus, a small raoellid artiodactyl from the Indian subcontinent, triggered the phylogenetic gathering of Raoellidae with the Cetacea clade, making them pivotal in addressing questions surrounding the land-to-water transition in Artiodactyla. Micro CT scan investigations and newly collected material from the Kalakot area (Jammu and Kashmir, India), recently greatly increased our knowledge of the cranial and dental features of this group. Here we present new data on cranial morphology of Raoellidae deriving from micro CT scan investigations of Indohyus indirae and Khirtharia inflata. This new body of data comprises investigations of the endocast of the braincase, the complete middle ear including the ossicles and auditory bulla, the petrosal bone, and the cast of the bony labyrinth. It also includes the reconstruction of the complete anterior dentition. This study gives us a comprehensive picture of the features of the Raoellidae head and improves our understanding of their semiaquatic habits. This increased knowledge of raoellids further extends the list of features they share with the first archeocetes, calling into question the definition of the clade Cetacea.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025 OA
Inproceedings Reference First crocodyliform fossils from the Eocene of Indonesia
The Paleogene crocodyliform record is rich in taxonomic diversity, preserving crown and stemeusuchians alongside late-surviving neosuchians and notosuchians. This richness is mainly known from the extratropical latitudes of the New World and Eurasia, contrasting a poorly sampled tropical record. Within the tropics, the Paleogene of low-latitude southeast Asia is comparatively undersampled, with the Eocene Krabi Formation of Thailand representing the southernmost fauna. This crocodyliform fauna is composed of orientalosuchins and gavialoids, consistent with more northern records from southern Asia. Here we describe the first crocodyliform fossils from the Eocene of Indonesia, collected from the middle-late Eocene Talawi Member of the Sawahlunto Formation, west Sumatra. The Talawi Member represents a coastal swamp environment, preserving invertebrates, fish, and turtles along with rare frog, snake, and mammal fossils. Recovered crocodyliform fossils are often isolated and disarticulated, consisting of cranial remains including a partial braincase and jaw fragments, as well as relatively abundant teeth and osteoderms, vertebrae, and at least two autopodial elements. Procoelous vertebrae indicate eusuchian affinities. Osteoderms are diverse, with keeled and keelless squared and subrectangular forms. High and low-crowned fluted tooth morphotypes compare favorably to coeval gavialoids and orientalosuchins. A ziphodont form is present, potentially a planocraniid or sebecosuchian. External morphology of the braincase, such as narrow basioccipital tubera, a basioccipital plate bearing a crest, and a large basisphenoid exposure suggest a non-gavialoid identity. This is supported by preliminary observations of highresolution microCT scans, which imply a lateral carotid foramen ventral to the metotic foramen and laterally aligned medial and lateral eustachian foramina. The Sawahlunto fauna extends the southernmost geographical range of the Eocene southeast Asian crocodyliform fauna and represents the first multitaxon crocodyliform fauna from equatorial Asia. The ziphodont teeth either represent the last-occurring Asian planocraniids in a tropical refugium, or an incursion of Gondwanan sebecosuchians from India into the Asian tropics.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025 OA