Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Uncertainty assessment applied to marine subsurface datasets
- A recently released voxel model quantifying aggregate resources of the Belgian part of the North Sea includes lithological properties of all Quaternary sediments and modelling-related uncertainty. As the underlying borehole data come from various sources and cover a long time-span, data-related uncertainties should be accounted for as well. Applying a tiered data-uncertainty assessment to a composite lithology dataset with uniform, standardized lithological descriptions and rigorously completed metadata fields, uncertainties were qualified and quantified for positioning, sampling and vintage. The uncertainty on horizontal positioning combines navigational errors, on-board and off-deck offsets and underwater drift. Sampling-gear uncertainty evaluates the suitability of each instrument in terms of its efficiency of sediment yield per lithological class. Vintage uncertainty provides a likelihood of temporal change since the moment of sampling, using the mobility of fine-scale bedforms as an indicator. For each uncertainty component, quality flags from 1 (very uncertain) to 5 (very certain) were defined and converted into corresponding uncertainty percentages meeting the input requirements of the voxel model. Obviously, an uncertainty-based data selection procedure, aimed at improving the confidence of data products, reduces data density. Whether or not this density reduction is detrimental to the spatial coverage of data products, will depend on their intended use. At the very least, demonstrable reductions in spatial coverage will help to highlight the need for future data acquisition and to optimize survey plans. By opening up our subsurface model with associated data uncertainties in a public decision support application, policy makers and other end users are better able to visualize overall confidence and identify areas with insufficient coverage meeting their needs. Having to work with a borehole dataset that is increasingly limited with depth below the seabed, engineering geologists and geospatial analysts in particular will profit from a better visualization of datarelated uncertainty.
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From Data to Marine Ecosystem Assessments of the Southern Ocean: Achievements, Challenges, and Lessons for the Future
- Southern Ocean ecosystems offer numerous benefits to human society and the global environment, and maintaining them requires well-informed and effective ecosystem-based management. Up to date and accurate information is needed on the status of species, communities, habitats and ecosystems and the impacts of fisheries, tourism and climate change. This information can be used to generate indicators and undertake assessments to advise decision-makers. Currently, most marine assessments are derivative: reliant on the review of published peer-reviewed literature. More timely and accurate information for decision making requires an integrated Marine Biological Observing and Informatics System that combines and distributes data. For such a system to work, data needs to be shared according to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable), use transparent and reproducible science, adhere to the principle of action ecology and complement global initiatives. Here we aim to provide an overview of the components of such a system currently in place for the Southern Ocean, the existing gaps and a framework for a way forward.
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Metagenomic analysis of dental calculus in ancient Egyptian baboons
- Dental calculus, or mineralized plaque, represents a record of ancient biomolecules and food residues. Recently, ancient metagenomics made it possible to unlock the wealth of microbial and dietary information of dental calculus to reconstruct oral microbiomes and lifestyle of humans from the past. Although most studies have so far focused on ancient humans, dental calculus is known to form in a wide range of animals, potentially informing on how human-animal interactions changed the animals’ oral ecology. Here, we characterise the oral microbiome of six ancient Egyptian baboons held in captivity during the late Pharaonic era (9th–6th centuries BC) and of two historical baboons from a zoo via shotgun metagenomics. We demonstrate that these captive baboons possessed a distinctive oral microbiome when compared to ancient and modern humans, Neanderthals and a wild chimpanzee. These results may reflect the omnivorous dietary behaviour of baboons, even though health, food provisioning and other factors associated with human management, may have changed the baboons’ oral microbiome. We anticipate our study to be a starting point for more extensive studies on ancient animal oral microbiomes to examine the extent to which domestication and human management in the past affected the diet, health and lifestyle of target animals.
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Sexual dimorphism in the walrus mandible: comparative description and geometric morphometrics
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Biodiversité des invertébrés des eaux souterraines du Bénin : ouvrir la voie aux outils d'évaluation et de suivi de la qualité des eaux
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Description of eight new species and one new genus of Muricidae (Gastropoda) from the Indo-West Pacific
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Siphonochelus japonicus (A. Adams, 1863) and Siphonochelus nipponensis Keen & Campbell, 1964, and Their Intricate History with the Description of a New Siphonochelus Species from Mozambique (Gastropoda: Muricidae)
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An illustrated guide to the land snails and slugs of Vietnam
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Authenticating fish and seafood products for sale on the Belgian market
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Aliens in Europe
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The use of DNA barcoding to improve the taxonomy of Afrotropical hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae)
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A first, local DNA barcode reference database of the forensically important flies (Diptera) of the island of La Reunion
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Solving crimes: a forensic rove beetles (Staphylinidae) barcode database for Belgium
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DNA barcoding of ants from the Galapagos Archipelago: searching endemic and introduced species
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Modelling Interactions between Three Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) Systems in Brussels (Belgium)
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Five adjacent Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) systems in Cenozoic and Paleozoic aquifers in Brussels: numerical simulation of their possible interactions
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Mutlidisciplinary approach to assess the Cambrian geothermal potential in Brussels region with a focus on public buildings (Geocamb project)
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Geothermal Energy potential in Wallonia
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Les résultats de DGE-ROLLOUT
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Geophysical investigations to evaluate the potential of DGE in Wallonia
