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Assessing the radiocarbon freshwater reservoir effect for a Northwest-European river system (the Schelde basin, Belgium)
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The freshwater reservoir effect (FRE) for the Schelde basin (Belgium) is assessed for the Roman, Medieval and early Post-medieval periods by comparing historical and archaeological dates from individual archaeological deposits with radiocarbon dates on the remains of freshwater fish and terrestrial mammals from those same deposits. This is the first time such an assessment has been attempted for the Schelde basin. The FRE offsets prove to be substantial for the historical periods considered. They also differ markedly between fish species and between size classes of a single species. These observations have implications for the evaluation of radiocarbon dates obtained on archaeological remains of humans (and animals) with a substantial amount of freshwater fish into their diet. The data obtained in this study suggest that it will not be easy to correct for any FRE.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018
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Assessing the risk of incorrect identifications when DNA barcoding flies from forensic cases
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Assessing Vertical Elevation Changes of Coastal Areas in Southern Chile to Improve The Understanding of Their Paleotsunami Sedimentary Records
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Assessment and data reporting of significant acute pollution events under the MSFD – Criteria D8C3/D8C4 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Assessment of PRISMA water reflectance using autonomous hyperspectral radiometry
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Hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) derived from PRISMA in the visible and infrared range was evaluated for two inland and coastal water sites using above-water in situ reflectance measurements from autonomous hyper- and multispectral radiometer systems. We compared the Level 2D (L2D) surface reflectance, a standard product distributed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), as well as outputs from ACOLITE/DSF, now adapted for processing of PRISMA imagery. Near-coincident Sentinel-3 OLCI (S3/OLCI) observations were also compared as it is a frequent data source for inland and coastal water remote sensing applications, with a strong calibration and validation record. In situ measurements from two optically diverse sites in Italy, equipped with fixed autonomous hyperspectral radiometer systems, were used: the REmote Sensing for Trasimeno lake Observatory (RESTO), positioned in a shallow and turbid lake in Central Italy, and the Acqua Alta Oceanographic Tower (AAOT), located 15 km offshore from the lagoon of Venice in the Adriatic Sea, which is characterised by clear to moderately turbid waters. 20 PRISMA images were available for the match-up analysis across both sites. Good performance of L2D was found for RESTO, with the lowest relative (Mean Absolute Percentage Difference, MAPD 25\%) and absolute errors (Bias 0.002) in the bands between 500 and 680 nm, with similar performance for ACOLITE. The lowest median and interquartile ranges of spectral angle (SA 8°) denoted a more similar shape to the RESTO in situ data, indicating pigment absorption retrievals should be possible. ACOLITE showed better statistical performance at AAOT compared to L2D, providing R2 0.5, Bias 0.0015 and MAPD 35\%, in the range between 470 and 580 nm, i.e. in the spectral range with highest reflectances. The addition of a SWIR based sun-glint correction to the default atmospheric correction implemented in ACOLITE further improved performance at AAOT, with lower uncertainties and closer spectral similarity to the in situ measurements, suggesting that ACOLITE with glint correction was able to best reproduce the spectral shape of in situ data at AAOT. We found good results for PRISMA Rrs retrieval in our study sites, and hence demonstrated the use of PRISMA for aquatic ecosystem mapping. Further studies are needed to analyse performance in other water bodies, over a wider range of optical properties.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Assessment tool addresses implementation challenges of ecosystembased management principles in marine spatial planning processes
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Ecosystem-based marine spatial planning is an approach to managing maritime activities while ensuring human well-being and biodiversity conservation as key pillars for sustainable development. Here, we use a comprehensive literature review and a co-development process with experts to build an assessment framework and tool that integrates the fundamental principles of an ecosystem approach to management and translates them into specific actions to be undertaken during planning processes. We illustrate the potential of this tool through the evaluation of two national marine spatial plans (Spain and France), in consultation with the representatives involved in their development and implementation. To ensure more coherent future planning, socio-ecological system evolution in a climate change scenario and the future marine space needs of maritime sectors should be considered, as well as improving the governance structure and knowledge of ecosystem processes. This framework provides a consistent and transparent assessment method for practitioners and competent authorities.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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At-sea distribution of seals on the Northwest European Shelf: Towards transboundary conservation and management
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Quantifying and mitigating transboundary effects of anthropogenic activity is a key challenge in environmental management, particularly for wide-ranging species such as large predators, fish and migratory birds, relying on habitats across multiple national jurisdictions. This challenge is especially complex in marine ecosystems, where the movement of species and impacts across borders is largely unobserved. Central-place foragers, such as pinnipeds and seabirds, exemplify this complexity: abundance is typically assessed on local (regional or national) scales on land, yet at-sea movements and drivers of abundance occur on broader transboundary scales. Resolving this mismatch is critical to effective conservation, especially in areas such as the Northwest European Shelf (NWES), which features globally important predator populations (including two pinniped species) alongside growing anthropogenic pressures and a mosaic of national maritime borders. We model an unprecedented GPS dataset from 236 grey (Halichoerus grypus) and 606 harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) tracked in waters of seven countries across the NWES (United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark). Using regional habitat association models, we generate at-sea distribution estimates for both species at 5 km resolution, scaled to haulout counts, producing country-specific and NWES-wide density maps. Analysis of the extent to which seals making foraging trips from one country occupy the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of other countries revealed substantial transboundary overlap, particularly for grey seals, and harbour seals in the southern North Sea. A case study apportioning grey seal density within three adjacent offshore marine protected areas in different EEZs revealed that, where total density in a given area is required, overlooking transboundary distribution can underrepresent numbers by an order of magnitude. Synthesis and applications. This study provides the first comprehensive, regionally scalable distribution estimates for pinnipeds across the NWES and its constituent countries. The modelling framework is adaptable to other central-place and migratory species, supporting transboundary biodiversity assessments and international conservation policy. We discuss common limitations and misconceptions of species distribution estimates, highlight priorities for future work and underscore the need for transboundary efforts to manage wide-ranging species, providing a foundation for future ecological modelling and decision-making across shared ecosystems.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2026
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Atelestidae (Diptera: Empidoidea) from the Botanic Garden Jean Massart with a first record from Belgium of the very rare Meghyperus sudeticus Loew, 1850 and an update on the Belgian Atelestidae
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
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Ath/Ghislanghien : vestiges protohistoriques dans le parc d’activité économique Orientis III.
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Imprimé avril 2022
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Atmospheric CO2 flux from mangrove surrounding waters.
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The partial pressure of CO 2 (pCO2) was measured at daily and weekly time scales in the waters surrounding mangrove forests in Papua New Guinea, the Bahamas and India. The pCO2 values range from 380 to 4800 æatm. These data, together with previously published data, suggest that overall oversaturation of CO2 with respect to atmospheric equilibrium in surface waters is a general feature of mangrove forests, though the entire ecosystems (sediment, water and vegetation) are probably sinks for atmospheric CO2. The computed CO2 fluxes converge to about +50 mmolC m -2 day-1. If this conservative value is extrapolated for worldwide mangrove ecosystems, the global emission of CO2 to the atmosphere is about 50 106 tC year-1. Based on this tentative estimate, mangrove waters appear to be regionally a significant source of CO2 to the atmosphere and should be more thoroughly investigated, especially at seasonal time scale.
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