Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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André Delmer. Notice biographique.
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Ocean FAIR Data Services
- Well-founded data management systems are of vital importance for ocean observing systems as they ensure that essential data are not only collected but also retained and made accessible for analysis and application by current and future users. Effective data management requires collaboration across activities including observations, metadata and data assembly, quality assurance and control (QA/QC), and data publication that enables local and interoperable discovery and access and secures archiving that guarantees long-term preservation. To achieve this, data should be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR). Here, we outline how these principles apply to ocean data and illustrate them with a few examples. In recent decades, ocean data managers, in close collaboration with international organizations, have played an active role in the improvement of environmental data standardization, accessibility, and interoperability through different projects, enhancing access to observation data at all stages of the data life cycle and fostering the development of integrated services targeted to research, regulatory, and operational users. As ocean observing systems evolve and an increasing number of autonomous platforms and sensors are deployed, the volume and variety of data increase dramatically. For instance, there are more than 70 data catalogs that contain metadata records for the polar oceans, a situation that makes comprehensive data discovery beyond the capacity of most researchers. To better serve research, operational, and commercial users, more efficient turnaround of quality data in known formats and made available through Web services is necessary. In particular, automation of data workflows will be critical to reduce friction throughout the data value chain. Adhering to the FAIR principles with free, timely, and unrestricted access to ocean observation data is beneficial for the originators, has obvious benefits for users, and is an essential foundation for the development of new services made possible with big data technologies.
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Data management in Eurofleets+: the whole picture
- Eurofleets+ is a consortium of 42 research vessel operators aiming to provide access to ship-time for high-quality marine campaigns, including equipment and remote sampling access. From the start, the project has given data management a central place. This approach acknowledges the important drivers of efficient data management: a) broad acquisition by means of a data management plan, b) adequate transformation by software agents and c) integrating the exchange technology used by data repositories such as SeaDatacloud, all three designed to work together. Eurofleets+ (EF+) is a 4-years H2020-funded project, and is currently in its second year. At this moment, no cruises have yet departed. For the cruise and dataset metadata funded by Eurofleets 2 (2013-2017), it has not always been apparent what their funding context was, let alone that a centralized view on the generated datasets was possible. For the Eurofleets+ proposal, the gaps in achieving this have been filled. For a better synergy with other aspects of the project, they have been separated into multiple work packages. Compared to Eurofleets 2, included in the description of work are a) the procurement of a data management plan (DMP) as a mandatory evaluation criterion, to assure data provision, and b) the assignment of dedicated data management organisations to assist principal investigators and vessel operators, to ensure data dissemination of EF+ cruises. An additional reason to enforce DMPs is that it is a requirement of any H2020 project. Therefore, as a deliverable, the project has developed a DMP, but more relevant in this context, the cruises as well; patternwise, the project DMP is composed of all cruise DMPs, that derive from a template. The DMP template takes the form of a forked DMP Road map web application (created by the UK Digital Curation Centre and the University of California Curation Center) and contains a number of questions adapted for EF+ from the H2020 Open Research Data Pilot. The DMP website (http://dmp.ef-ears.eu) also provides the data management guidelines. These guidelines state the data workflow, from acquisition to dissemination. A distinction is made between en-route data and manual data. 'Manual' data (sample-derived) will be posted by the Principal Investigator on the EMODnet Data Ingestion Platform and data managed by three reference data centres, i.e. HCMR, OGS and BMDC. These will take care of the actual dissemination and promotion of both en-route and manual data by publishing the corresponding metadata in global directories (SeaDataNet and thence to EurOBIS, EMODnet, GEOSS, IOC-IODE portal) but also on a dedicated EF+ dataset catalogue, providing persistent links (DOIs) to the actual data, accessible through the project website and the “European Virtual Infrastructure in Ocean Research” portal (EVIOR). Specific attention is paid to 1) meteorological data, 2) “Essential Ocean Variables” (e.g. sea temperature, salinity, currents, oxygen, nutrients, carbon, plankton biomass,...) 3) 3.5 kHz or Chirp light seismic; and 4) multi-beam bathymetry, as these are underrepresented and have a high potential. The main software agent is the Eurofleets Automated Reporting System (EARS) which provides software and services for en-route data acquisition, recording cruise and event metadata, and transforming it into the necessary European and global marine data standards. In 2020, an optimized EARS "v2.5" will be distributed to vessel operators for use during cruises. Version v3.0 is under development and will be released in the beginning of 2021. The EARS server distribution is based on docker and available on GitHub together with guidelines on installation. It is to be installed on the vessel, relies on TechSAS for data acquisition, and stores the data in the local EARS database. The end goal is to let each RV operator have a 52°North Sensor Observation Service installed on-shore as a central interoperability hub for acquisition data and event metadata. This means the SOS will also contain infomation on non-sensor devices such as sampling bottles. For the R/V operator's convenience, this SOS will be packaged as a docker image together with an on-shore EARS server; but non-virtualised solutions should remain possible. The EVIOR data portal uses the SOS GetObservation verbs to display the cruise tracks and primary en-route (navigation, meteorology and thermosalinometry) data in near-real time or at least the speed data is made available. The EVIOR portal and the operator's SOS will be the main interface for the data managers of the three reference data centres to retrieve the en-route data. Currently, the work package partners are gaining experience with a central SOS set up at CSIC. Creating the events on-board improves the completeness of the metadata as it is recorded accurately at the origin of the measurement. The EARS manual event data structures follow the event semantic model developed in Eurofleets2 and are exposed via a RESTful web service. To optimally contain all elements of a Cruise Summary Report, including references to P02, C77, the gml track and a summary of measurements, the data structures have been redesigned. In order to be able to express the device events in SensorML, new W06 BODC vocabulary entries are being requested.
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A strikingly coloured new species of Hemisphaerius Schaum, 1850 from Thailand (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Issidae)
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A new species of Drapetis Meigen from calcareous grassland in southern Netherlands (Diptera, Hybotidae, Tachydromiinae)
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Role of Wildlife in Emergence of Ebola Virus in Kaigbono (Likati), Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2017
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Using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to identify ticks collected on domestic and wild animals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Palaeoenvironment and chronology of the Middle/Upper Palaeolithic transition in the Eurasian loess domain, from Danube to Yenisei : comparison with the marine and Greenland records
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Géoarchéologie et taphonomie en contexte karstique : nouvelles perspectives de recherche en Belgique par l'étude intégrée des sédiments et des vestiges archeologiques, fauniques et botaniques (communication orale)
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Belgian cave entrance and rock-shelter sequences as palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic data recorders: the example of the Walou cave multi-proxy study
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Belgian cave entrance and rock-shelter sequences as palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic data recorders: the example of the Walou cave multi-proxy study
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Un anthracologue au secours des archéologues. Les datations radiocarbones d’un fossé circulaire à Givry déterminant l’âge du Bronze moyen
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Cranial ecomorphology of odontocetes: a 3D-evolutionary approach
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Mandibular shape disparity and convergence in ichthyosaurs and toothed cetaceans
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Etude archéozoologique du site de Villers-le-Bouillet - Lohincou (VBFF2)
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H3O: the legacy of a decade of cross-border 3D geological modelling.
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Regional heritage stone diversity in stone-poor landscapes, the example of northern Belgium.
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De witste ‘witsteen’ Gobertangesteen.
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Ancient and modern DNA track temporal and spatial population dynamics in the European fallow deer since the Eeemian interglacial
- Anthropogenic factors have impacted the diversity and evolutionary trajectory of various species. This can be through factors such as pressure on population size or range, habitat fragmentation, or extensive manipulation and translocation. Here we use time-calibrated data to better understand the pattern and processes of evolution in the heavily manipulated European fallow deer (Dama dama). During the Pleistocene, fallow deer had a broad distribution across Europe and were found as far north as Britain during the Eemian interglacial. The last glacial period saw fallow deer retreat to southern refugia and they did not disperse north afterwards. Their recolonisation was mediated by people and, from northern Europe and the British Isles, fallow deer were transported around the world. We use ancient and modern mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and mitogenomic data from Eemian Britain to assess the pattern of change in distribution and lineage structure across Europe over time. We find founder effects and mixed lineages in the northern populations, and stability over time for populations in southern Europe. The Eemian sample was most similar to a lineage currently in Italy, suggesting an early establishment of the relevant refuge. We consider the implications for the integration of anthropogenic and natural processes towards a better understanding of the evolution of fallow deer in Europe.
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On Prophoca and Leptophoca (Pinnipedia, Phocidae) from the Miocene of the North Atlantic realm: redescription of Belgian material, phylogenetic affinities and paleobiogeographic implications
