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Study of the spectro-chemical signatures of cobalt-manganese layered oxides (asbolane–lithiophorite and their intermediates) by Raman spectroscopy.
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In this study, Raman micro spectroscopy is applied to investigate two manganese oxides: lithiophorite [(Al,Li)Mn4+O2(OH)2] and asbolane [(Ni,Co)xMn4+(O,OH)4.nH2O], along with their intermediates (“Asbolane-Lithiophorite Intermediates”: ALI). These oxides typically incorporate variable concentrations of Co, Ni, Cu and Li. They represent a group of economically interesting phases that are difficult to identify and characterize with classical X-ray diffraction techniques. We show that Raman micro spectroscopy is useful to the investigation of those phases, but they require to be tested in very low laser power conditions to avoid sample degradation (e.g. 0.2mW 532nm). We propose reference Raman spectroscopic signatures for lithiophorite, asbolane and ALI phases. These spectra are mainly composed of two spectral domains, the first one is located between 370-630 cm-1 and the second one between 900-1300 cm-1. We then assess the impact of their highly variable chemistry on their Raman peak positions, intensities and FWHM using a semi-systematic curve-fitting method profiled for these phases.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Stygobitic Candonidae (Crustacea, Ostracoda) Are Potential Environmental Indicators of Groundwater Quality in Tropical West Africa
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Stygobitic Candonidae (Crustacea, Ostracoda) as potential environmental indicators of groundwater quality in tropical West Afric
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1. Ostracods are important components of groundwater communities that are influenced by abiotic environmental conditions and biotic interactions. We aimed to identify the factors associated with ostracod assemblages inhabiting groundwaters accessed through dug wells in several regions of Benin in West Africa, exposed to chronic influences of anthropogenic disturbances such as nutrient enrichment from infiltration of sewage or fertilisers from the surface. 2. Ostracods were collected from 219 wells in seven catchment areas using two complementary methods: active sampling with a phreatobiological net and passive trapping with a baited trap. Associations with 31 statistical predictor variables (a range of abiotic descriptors of water, hydrology, protection, usage and the type of well) and ostracod occurrence was evaluated using distance-based linear models and redundancy analysis. 3. We identified 60 ostracod species representing two ecological groups: 36 species of stygobites of the family Candonidae, an endemic species flock of a vast evolutionary radiation, and 24 species of non-stygobites, mostly of the family Cyprididae. This is the first large groundwater ostracod species flock reported from the entire African continent. 4. A number of variables associated with the structure of ostracod assemblages were identified. Except for the descriptors of wells, these included well-known chemical and physical properties (electrical conductivity, pH, temperature or bicarbonate concentration), but also the concentration of NO2−. Although NO2− has not yet been demonstrated to be important for ostracod assemblages, stygobites occurred significantly less frequently in higher concentrations of NO2− than most non-stygobites. 5. We determined that stygobitic (candonid) ostracod species and genera may be a good potential environmental indicator of groundwater quality especially nitrite pollution of groundwater in tropical West Africa. 6. In tropical West Africa, many human populations rely on groundwater for domestic use and agricultural irrigation, while these aquatic resources are also often affected by anthropogenic disturbances. The use of stygobitic ostracods as potential indicators of groundwater quality offers a valuable tool for environmental monitoring and protection in tropical regions in West Africa, and may be also globally.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Subfossil ostracode assemblages from Mongolia – Quantifying response for paleolimnological applications
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Subfossil ostracode assemblages from Mongolia - Quantifying response for paleolimnological applications
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Subsidence in coastal lowlands due to groundwater withdrawal : the geological approach.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Subsidence related to groundwater pumping for breweries in Merchtem area (Belgium), highlighted by Persistent Scaterrer Interferometry
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ERS, ENVISAT and TerraSAR-X Synthetic Aperture Radar scenes covering the time span 1992–2014 were processed using a Persistent Scatterer technique to study the ground movements in Merchtem (25km NW of Brussels, Belgium). The processed datasets, covering three consecutive time intervals, reveal that the investigated area is affected by a global subsidence trend related to the extraction of groundwater in the deeper Cambro-Silurian aquifer. Through time the subsidence pattern is reduced and replaced by an uplift related to the rising water table attested by piezometers located in this aquifer. The subsidence is finally reduced to a zone where currently three breweries are very active and pump groundwater in the Ledo-Paniselian aquifer and in the Cambro-Silurian for process water for the production.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Subsistence economy and land use strategies in the Burdur province (SW Anatolia) from prehistory to the Byzantine period.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Subspecific rodent taxa as the relevant host taxonomic level for mammarenavirus host specificity
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
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Subtidal Natural Hard Substrate Quantitative Habitat Mapping: Interlinking Underwater Acoustics and Optical Imagery with Machine Learning
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Subtidal natural hard substrates (SNHS) promote occupancy by rich benthic communities that provide irreplaceable and fundamental ecosystem functions, representing a global priority target for nature conservation and recognised in most European environmental legislation. However, scientifically validated methodologies for their quantitative spatial demarcation, including information on species occupancy and fine-scale environmental drivers (e.g., the effect of stone size on colonisation) are rare. This is, however, crucial information for sound ecological management. In this investigation, high-resolution (1 m) multibeam echosounder (MBES) depth and backscatter data and derivates, underwater imagery (UI) by video drop-frame, and grab sediment samples, all acquired within 32 km2 of seafloor in offshore Belgian waters, were integrated to produce a random forest (RF) spatial model, predicting the continuous distribution of the seafloor areal cover/m2 of the stones’ grain sizes promoting colonisation by sessile epilithic organisms. A semi-automated UI acquisition, processing, and analytical workflow was set up to quantitatively study the colonisation proportion of different grain sizes, identifying the colonisation potential to begin at stones with grain sizes Ø ≥ 2 cm. This parameter (i.e., % areal cover of stones Ø ≥ 2 cm/m2) was selected as the response variable for spatial predictive modelling. The model output is presented along with a protocol of error and uncertainty estimation. RF is confirmed as an accurate, versatile, and transferable mapping methodology, applicable to area-wide mapping of SNHS. UI is confirmed as an essential aid to acoustic seafloor classification, providing spatially representative numerical observations needed to carry out quantitative seafloor modelling of ecologically relevant parameters. This contribution sheds innovative insights into the ecologically relevant delineation of subtidal natural reef habitat, exploiting state-of-the-art underwater remote sensing and acoustic seafloor classification approaches.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
