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Inproceedings Reference Boulder transport along the coast of Eastern Samar (Philippines) – implications for Holocene extreme-wave events
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Brabantophyton, a new genus with stenokolealean affinities from a Middle to earliest Upper Devonian locality from Belgium
A new taxon with stenokolealean affinities, Brabantophyton runcariense gen. et sp. nov., is described from seven pyrite permineralized axes collected from the mid Givetian to earliest Frasnian (late Middle to earliest Upper Devonian) locality of Ronquières (Belgium). The specimens include stems and lateral organs. The stems are characterized by a protostele dissected into three primary ribs, each of them dividing into two secondary ribs. The protostele shows a central protoxylem strand and numerous strands distributed along the midplanes of the ribs. The vascular supply to lateral organ is composed of two pairs of traces, produced at the same time by the two ribs issued from a single primary rib of the protostele. Within each pair, the shape and the size of the traces are unequal: one is T-shaped and the other is oval to reniform. The T-shaped traces of each pair face each other. The inner cortex of the lateral organs is parenchymatous and the outer cortex is sparganum-like. The specimens of Brabantophyton runcariense show many similarities with the stenokolealean genus Crossia virginiana Beck and Stein, but the vascular supply of lateral organs of the latter consists of a more symmetrical and distinctively simpler pair of traces. Brabantophyton represents the first report of the Stenokoleales in southeastern Laurussia. The characteristics of the Brabantophyton protostele compare better with the anatomy of the radiatopses, and, within the latter, particularly with basal seed plants.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference Brain evolution of early placental mammals: the impact of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction on the the neurosensory system of our distant relatives
The end-Cretaceous mass extinction, 66 million years ago, profoundly reshaped the biodiversity of our planet. After likely originating in the Cretaceous, placental mammals (species giving live birth to well-developed young) survived the extinction and quickly diversified in the ensuing Paleocene. Compared to Mesozoic species, extant placentals have advanced neurosensory abilities, enabled by a proportionally large brain with an expanded neocortex. This brain construction was acquired by the Eocene, but its origins, and how its evolution relates to extinction survivorship and recovery, are unclear, because little is known about the neurosensory systems of Paleocene species. We used high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scanning to build digital brain models in 29 extinct placentals (including 23 from the Paleocene). We added these to data from the literature to construct a database of 98 taxa, from the Jurassic to the Eocene, which we assessed in a phylogenetic context. We find that the Phylogenetic Encephalization Quotient (PEQ), a measure of relative brain size, increased in the Cretaceous along branches leading to Placentalia, but then decreased in Paleocene clades (taeniodonts, phenacodontids, pantodonts, periptychids, and arctocyonids). Later, during the Eocene, the PEQ increased independently in all crown groups (e.g., euarchontoglirans and laurasiatherians). The Paleocene decline in PEQ was driven by body mass increasing much more rapidly after the extinction than brain volume. The neocortex remained small, relative to the rest of the brain, in Paleocene taxa and expanded independently in Eocene crown groups. The relative size of the olfactory bulbs, however, remained relatively stable over time, except for a major decrease in Euarchontoglires and some Eocene artiodactyls, while the petrosal lobules (associated with eye movement coordination) decreased in size in Laurasiatheria but increased in Euarchontoglires. Our results indicate that an enlarged, modern-style brain was not instrumental to the survival of placental mammal ancestors at the end-Cretaceous, nor to their radiation in the Paleocene. Instead, opening of new ecological niches post-extinction promoted the diversification of larger body sizes, while brain and neocortex sizes lagged behind. The independent increase in PEQ in Eocene crown groups is related to the expansion of the neocortex, possibly a response to ecological specialization as environments changed, long after the extinction. Funding Sources Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, European Research Council Starting Grant, National Science Foundation, Belgian Science Policy Office, DMNS No Walls Community Initiative.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Inproceedings Reference Brain of ornithopod dinosaurs and new characters for phylogenetic analyses
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Unpublished Reference Bridging the science-policy gap in a megadiverse and fragile country: policy-relevant monitoring of biodiversity in DR Congo
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Inproceedings Reference Bringing the geology of the natural building stone to the public Linking the "3D Gent" project and the EuroGeoSource portal
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Brucella ceti infection in a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), Proceedings of the 2nd Scientific meeting of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Liège, 19 October 2012.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference BrugeoTool: “All in One” Professional Geoscientific Tool of Brussels.
Key words: Shallow geothermal, Resources assessment, Geoscientific tool, Brussels Since 2015, the interest in installing shallow geothermal systems has significantly increased in Brussels Capital Region (BCR). However, limited knowledge of ground conditions, lack of public awareness and an urban context restrict the development of shallow geothermal systems in the BCR despite the high potential of this technique in the area. The BRUGEO project was launched thanks to ERDF funding and aims to facilitate accessibility and the efficient use of shallow geothermal energy in the Brussels region. In this four years project (2016-2020), specific actions promoting the geothermal potential of the BCR are addressed: 1- Collect existing data related to the knowledge on Brussels subsurface (geological, hydrogeological, and geothermal data); 2- Conduct new laboratory and field tests in order to complete geological analyses and to assess geothermal parameters; 3- Map the geothermal potential for open and closed systems. The BrugeoTool was developed in 2020 conjointly with Brussels Environment and intends to be a useful tool at any stage of the process of a geothermal project for citizens, project managers as well as for experts. From the project manager side, BrugeoTool provides information on geothermal potential for open and closed systems, plans and controls the stages of a geothermal project, analyzes environmental constraints and helps to prepare the application for an environmental permit, and predesigns a geothermal installation using the Smartgeotherm tool developed by the Belgian Building Research Center. From the expert point of view, BrugeoTool allows to consult geological, hydrogeological, geothermal and environmental data in the form of maps (2D), it automatically draws up a lithostratigraphic (1D) log synthesizing the geological, hydrogeological and geothermal parameters, explores the Brustrati3D geological model (3D), evaluates the (pre) feasibility of a shallow (<300 m) vertical geothermal project for open or closed systems and carries out its pre-sizing. Finally, this webtool lets the citizens to familiarize themselves with the geology and hydrogeology of Brussels and its environmental context.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Inproceedings Reference Brustrati3D, the creation of a 3D ArcGIS model of the subcrop of the Brussels Region.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Inproceedings Reference Building a transnationally harmonised marine geological database
Within the framework of marine resource management, a common knowledge base is being developed on the distribution, composition and dynamics of various geological resources. Focus is on data from the Belgian part of the North Sea, being representative of a typical sandbank sedimentary system. To ensure harmonised seabed mapping over large, supraregional areas and to facilitate the exchange of information, special attention was paid to compatibility with marine geodatabases from the adjacent Netherlands territory. With reference to the seabed and its subsurface, two main databases are being compiled: one comprising all available lithological descriptions and one with all numerical grain-size information. To enable standardisation of the data and make them easily query-able, non-numerical descriptions are being coded to an international standard (EU FP7 Geo-Seas; www.geoseas.eu), of which the Udden-Wentworth scale is the main classifier. Several other parameters were derived, such as percentages mud, sand, gravel, shells and organic material. For the sediment database, cumulative grain-size-distribution curves were compiled, enabling calculations of any desired granulometry parameter, such as percentages of the grain-size fractions (fine, medium, coarse sand) and percentiles that are relevant in seabed-habitat mapping or sediment-transport modelling (D35, D50, D84). For both databases, the completeness and accuracy of the metadata were considered highly important. Information about sampling and coring techniques, analytical methods, horizontal and vertical positioning accuracy, and the exact timing of data acquisition is pivotal in uncertainty analyses, which are an increasingly important element of seabed mapping. The time of seabed mapping is critical to convert measured water depths to a common datum such as TAW in Belgium, facilitating integration of sample data in bathymetry data and thus their incorporation in 4D-modelling studies on morphodynamic change. For Belgium, the geological databases will be imbedded in the data infrastructure of the Belgian Marine Data Centre (www.bmdc.be), ensuring compatibility with international standards and providing easy access to a wide user community. Following processing to generate data products such as resource-related subsurface models, visualisation is foreseen through Subsurface Viewer (GmbH INSIGHT). Applied maps and models thus disseminated are crucial in decision making, and invaluable for outreach and educational purposes. The newly developed database and its associated data products will contribute to the objectives of the projects TILES (Belspo Brain-be), EMODnet-Geology (EU DG MARE), and ZAGRI (private revenues from the marine-aggregate industry).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2016