Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Middeleeuwse landbouw in Brussel: een natuurwetenschappelijke kijk (BHG)
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The diet of a household in late and post-medieval Brussels: multidisciplinary analysis of cesspits from café Greenwich, Brussels
- During renovation works in the cellar of a famous art nouveau building in the centre of Brussels -Café Greenwich- three late and post-medieval cesspits were discovered and excavated by the archaeological team of the Brussels-Capital region. Two cesspits, one dated to the 14th/15th century and the other to the beginning of the 16th century, still contained several layers of excellently preserved organic fll deposits. These were entirely sampled for archaeozoological, palynological, macrobotanical and paleoparasitological analyses. Some individual coprolites were collected for analyses as well. The integrated study gives information on human diet and health, and waste management. Indirectly, it also sheds light on social and economic status. In medieval times cesspits were not only used as dump for human faeces but often to discard various domestic waste as well. However, the flls of the analysed Brussels structures seem to consist almost exclusively of cess. The sieving residue subsists largely of small fruit pips. Ceramics and other archaeological objects were rare. Densities of archaeozoological remains vary considerably from one layer to the other. The faunal record consists generally of very small bones, mainly fsh but also small songbirds and chicken and a large quantity of tiny unidentifable bone fragments affected by the digestive process. The macrobotanical study reveals a large variety of plant foods: more than 40 species of economic plants were observed. Analysis of pollen signifcantly enlarges this spectrum with diverse species from which only leaves and/or flowers have been eaten. Furthermore the palynological study suggests the consumption of honey. The plant spectrum comprises several exotic and more expensive products while the faunal assemblage points to more common households.
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Combining regional downscaling expertise in Belgium: CORDEX and beyond. Final Report. Belgian Science Policy (BRAIN-be).
- ABSTRACT Context In the context of the Paris Agreement, there exists a clear demand from different stakeholders for Climate services in Belgium. However, Belgium currently lacks the fundament for enabling such services. The CORDEX.be project brought together the Belgian climate and impact modelling research groups into one network as the first step towards the realization of climate services. It is based on the international CORDEX (“COordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment”) project but the “.be” indicates it goes beyond for Belgium. The key to the foundation of national climate services is a combination of the existing expertise on high-resolution downscaling, local-impact models, ensemble dynamical and statistical downscaling, combined with links to international initiatives and stakeholder dialogue. This allows to address the propagation of climate change and uncertainty from the global to the local scale combined with a better representation of climate extremes. The climate network consists of nine partners using four upper-air Regional Climate Models and seven Local Impact Models. The CORDEX.be framework and guidelines are based on a user-oriented bottom-up approach. The CORDEX.be framework provides the first building block for a research network which could be extended, both nationally and internationally, with the objective of providing climate services. Objectives The main objectives of the CORDEX.be project were: 1. Contribute to the international climate community by participating to EURO-CORDEX by performing regional climate simulations over Europe. 2. Provide an ensemble of High-Resolution (H-Res) climate simulations over Belgium i.e. to create a small ensemble of high-resolution future projections over Belgium at convection- permitting resolutions. 3. Couple these model simulation to seven local-impact models for impact studies. 4. Present an overview of the ongoing climate modelling activities in Belgium. 5. Provide coherent climate information for Belgium targeted to end-users, backed by: (i) a unified framework for the H-Res climate runs and (ii) uncertainty estimations on the climate change signal; 6. Provide and present a climate-impact report for stakeholders and the general public that highlight the most important results of the project. Conclusions While Belgium does not formally have a national climate centre (Fonteyn, 2013), the CORDEX.be project provides a platform for data exchange and communication among the Belgian climate- 7Project BR/143/A2/CORDEX.be - Combining regional downscaling expertise in Belgium: CORDEX and beyond modelling groups. This is coordinated through the website euro-cordex.be. This website will be maintained and updated with new results and serve as a link between the Belgian activities and the international ones of the CORDEX project. In the context of the CORDEX.be project a wide range of climate model simulations has been performed that are collected on the CORDEX.be data hub at RMI and will serve as the basis of future impact studies. The model simulations are thoroughly validated by comparison with past observations and GNSS-derived products. Different climate impact studies have been performed in the context of CORDEX.be and are presented here. These include the impact of climate change on extreme precipitation for Belgium; maximum snow height for Belgium; urban parameters for Brussels; including outdoor labor productivity, excess energy consumption and heat stress due to heat waves; agricultural crop performance and yield for Belgium; and biogenic emissions for Europe and Belgium. Focusing on the future period 2070-2100 for the scenario with the largest greenhouse gas emissions (RCP8.5), the most prominent impacts of climate change for Belgium include: A strong increase in tropical days and heat wave days. An increase in winter precipitation and long extremely wet periods. Intensification of summer precipitation extremes, especially in urbanized areas. The precipitation intensity with hourly time scale and 10-year return period may increase up to 100%. For the Brussels urban environment: o An increase of a factor 3 to 4 in the number of heat waves. o Significant increase of heat stress for people living in the city of Brussels, up to twice as large as in the surrounding rural areas. o Significant impact on the outdoor productivity due to thermal discomfort. More specifically, a doubling of lost working days may be expected. o A doubling of days when air-conditioning is intensively used, impacting the urban energy consumption. An increased variability for biomass production and yields. Average yields for fodder maize and late potatoes will also decline. Severely reduced winter snow height maxima (above 500m altitude). An increase of 51% of biogenic emissions from isoprene with the highest emissions in the Ardennes and Campine forests (disregarding the CO 2 inhibition effect). Indications exist that there will be less hail events but increase of mean hail size. 8Project BR/143/A2/CORDEX.be - Combining regional downscaling expertise in Belgium: CORDEX and beyond A table including the climate change numbers and their uncertainty estimates for Belgium are provided. Based on interactions and feedback with stakeholders, different applications are planned that demonstrate the use of the climate data (e.g. Vanderhoeven et al., 2017).
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CORDEX.be Final Report. Combining regional downscaling expertise in Belgium: CORDEX and beyond
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Atmospheric Corrections and Multi-Conditional Algorithm for Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing of Suspended Particulate Matter in Low-to-High Turbidity Levels Coastal Waters
- The accurate measurement of suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations in coastal waters is of crucial importance for ecosystem studies, sediment transport monitoring, and assessment of anthropogenic impacts in the coastal ocean. Ocean color remote sensing is an efficient tool to monitor SPM spatio-temporal variability in coastal waters. However, near-shore satellite images are complex to correct for atmospheric effects due to the proximity of land and to the high level of reflectance caused by high SPM concentrations in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions. The water reflectance signal (ρw) tends to saturate at short visible wavelengths when the SPM concentration increases. Using a comprehensive dataset of high-resolution satellite imagery and in situ SPM and water reflectance data, this study presents (i) an assessment of existing atmospheric correction (AC) algorithms developed for turbid coastal waters; and (ii) a switching method that automatically selects the most sensitive SPM vs. ρw relationship, to avoid saturation effects when computing the SPM concentration. The approach is applied to satellite data acquired by three medium-high spatial resolution sensors (Landsat-8/Operational Land Imager, National Polar-Orbiting Partnership/Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite and Aqua/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) to map the SPM concentration in some of the most turbid areas of the European coastal ocean, namely the Gironde and Loire estuaries as well as Bourgneuf Bay on the French Atlantic coast. For all three sensors, AC methods based on the use of short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectral bands were tested, and the consistency of the retrieved water reflectance was examined along transects from low- to high-turbidity waters. For OLI data, we also compared a SWIR-based AC (ACOLITE) with a method based on multi-temporal analyses of atmospheric constituents (MACCS). For the selected scenes, the ACOLITE-MACCS difference was lower than 7%. Despite some inaccuracies in ρw retrieval, we demonstrate that the SPM concentration can be reliably estimated using OLI, MODIS and VIIRS, regardless of their differences in spatial and spectral resolutions. Match-ups between the OLI-derived SPM concentration and autonomous field measurements from the Loire and Gironde estuaries’ monitoring networks provided satisfactory results. The multi-sensor approach together with the multi-conditional algorithm presented here can be applied to the latest generation of ocean color sensors (namely Sentinel2/MSI and Sentinel3/OLCI) to study SPM dynamics in the coastal ocean at higher spatial and temporal resolutions.
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Depth dependence and intra-tidal variability of Suspended Particulate Matter transport in the East Anglian plume
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Gigantic mysticete predators roamed the Eocene Southern Ocean
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Beef, pork and mutton. An archaeological survey of the meat consumption in medieval and postmedieval towns in the southern Low Countries (Flanders & Brussels, Belgium)
- A survey is presented of archaeozoological information from medieval and postmedieval towns in the southern Low Countries (the present regions of Flanders and Brussels, in Belgium). Diachronic changes in the consumption of the three main domestic meat-suppliers (cattle, pig, sheep) in nine towns are investigated, and trends are compared among these towns. At the same time, possible geographical differences in meat consumption are traced. The observed differences in time and space are then explained as part of the economics of animal husbandry and of the interaction between town and countryside. From a methodological standpoint, this survey demonstrates that in a number of cases, information from archaeozoological contexts with varying depositional histories, often reflecting different socio-economic strata, can be combined to obtain a picture of meat consumption, and thus of the town's food provisioning, through time.
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New specimens of the mesonychid Dissacus praenuntius from the early Eocene of Wyoming and evaluation of body size through the PETM in North America
- The Mesonychia is a group of archaic carnivorous mammals of uncertain phylogenetic affinities with a Holarctic distribution during the Paleogene. Intensive fossil collecting efforts in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, have resulted in recovery of the largest sample and most complete specimens yet known of the mesonychid Dissacus praenuntius from the second biozone of the Wasatchian North American Land Mammal Age (Wa-0). The Wa-0 biozone corresponds to the body of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a brief but intense global warming event that occurred ~56 myr ago that significantly impacted terrestrial mammal faunas, including dwarfing in many mammal lineages. To evaluate the potential response of this lineage to climate change, we compared the PETM sample of D. praenuntius with those recovered from just before the PETM in the last biozone of the Clarkforkian North American Land Mammal Age (Cf-3) and just after the PETM in the Wa-1 biozone. While the sample size is still too small to say with certainty, tooth size (as a proxy for body weight) of D. praenuntius appears to be smaller during the late PETM than during either the pre-PETM Cf-3, or post-PETM Wa-1 biozones, suggesting the possibility of a muted dwarfing response to the PETM. However, the pattern observed for D. praenuntius differs from that of many other PETM mammals, as the shift to smaller body size is less pronounced and may have only occurred in late Wa-0.
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A reassessment of the Oligocene hyracoid mammals from Malembo, Cabinda, Angola
- The Oligocene Malembo locality, Cabinda exclave, Angola, has yielded a rich vertebrate fauna represented by fragmentary remains. This fossiliferous locality is the only definite occurrence of Oligocene terrestrial mammals in sub-Saharan West Africa. The hyracoids from Malembo have only been very succinctly described and compared thus far, so that their systematic attribution is not consensual among specialists. A revision now allows the identification of three (or four) medium to large-sized species represented by Geniohyus dartevellei, Pachyhyrax cf. crassidentatus, and two undetermined taxa. The species G. dartevellei is revived for the holotype of Palaeochoerus dartevellei Hooijer, 1963; this species is unique to Malembo but appears close to Geniohyus mirus, a species only known from the early Oligocene of the Fayum, Egypt. Other species of Geniohyus and Pachyhyrax crassidentatus are also only known from the early Oligocene of the Fayum. The presence of Geniohyus and Pachyhyrax cf. crassidentatus at Malembo thus supports an early Oligocene age for the fauna.
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A late early to early middle Eocene mammal assemblage from Bayan Ulan (Inner Mongolia, China): Implication for the reassessment of the Arshantan Asian Land Mammal Age
- Paleogene mammal localities of North China are particularly well represented in the Erlian Basin, Inner Mongolia. Among them, the locality of Bayan Ulan is most famous for its late Paleocene Gashatan fauna. However, the younger Arshantan fauna of the same site is not well known, since no extensive study has been done so far. Here, we present a small mammal assemblage based on dental and tarsal material from a new Arshantan collection retrieved from the red beds of the late early to early middle Eocene Arshanto Formation at Bayan Ulan. It consists of at least six different taxa: the basal lagomorph Dawsonolagus antiquus, the large pantodont Pantolambdodon sp., the tapiroid Schlosseria magister, and the rhinocerotoids Hyrachyus crista and Rhodopagus guoi nov. sp. The assemblage is dominated by perissodactyls, especially Lophialetidae and Hyracodontidae. For the first time, p4-m1 of Dawsonolagus antiquus, tarsal material from Pantolambdodon sp., and lower dentition and tarsals of Hyrachyus crista are described and illustrated. Unlike other described Arshantan faunas, the Bayan Ulan Arshantan mammal assemblage has been collected exclusively from a single locality, which contributes to the reassessment of the misunderstood Arshantan Asian Land Mammal Age.
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Mangroves are an overlooked hotspot of insect diversity despite low plant diversity
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On the Roman use of “Belgian marbles” in the Civitas Tungrorum and beyond
- Various red, black and grey “Belgian marbles” (coloured dense fossiliferous Palaeozoic limestones suitable for polishing – “calcaires marbriers”) decorated private and public buildings as well as sanctuaries within and beyond the civitas Tungrorum. These hard limestones have all been quarried in southern Belgium, at the heart of the civitas. For their transport, trade and distribution, fluvial routes were most probably used. The “Belgian marbles” have been employed as tesserae in mosaics, opus sectile, marble veneers and various smooth or sculptured wall and floor decorative elements. The strongly veined Gris des Ardennes and the wild cherry-red Rouge de Rance were the most popular ones, whereas the spotless black Namur “marble” was preferentially used in floor mosaics in combination with white tesserae. The grey Meuse limestone was the most commonly used decorative stone showing a broad spectrum of applications. In this paper, the geographical-geological provenances and stratigraphical assignments of the “Belgian marbles” (and related limestones) are discussed, whereas an overview is given of their major macroscopical-microscopical characteristics and known distribution.
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NATUURSTEENGROEVEN LANGS DE MAAS Amarant, 14/07/2017
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Amarant groeventocht Soignies - Lessines - Oostvlaamse dorpskerken zaterdag 17.6.2017
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Evolution of the hypercarnivorous dentition in mammals (Metatheria, Eutheria) and its bearing on the development of tribosphenic molars
- One major innovation of mammals is the tribosphenic molar, characterized by the evolution of a neomorphic upper cusp (¼protocone) and a lower basin (talonid) that occlude and provide shearing and crushing functions. This type of molar is an evolutionarily flexible structure that enabled mammals to achieve complex dental adaptations. Among carnivorous mammals, hypercarnivory is a common trend that evolved several times among therians (marsupials, placentals, and stem relatives). Hypercarnivory involves an important simplification of the carnassial molar pattern from the ancestral tribosphenic molar pattern, with the modification of the triangular tooth crown, and the loss of several cusps and cuspids typical of the tribosphenic molar. These losses confer to the molars of the hypercarnivorous mammals a plesiomorphic /paedomorphic morphology that resembles more the earliest mammaliaforms than the earliest therians. Here, we demonstrate that the modification of the molar morphology is fully explained by a patterning cascade mode of cusp development. Contrary to what was previously proposed, our study concludes that the metaconid (mesiolingual cusp of lower molars, associated with a puncturing function) does not influence cusp development of the talonid (distal crushing heel of lower molars). Moreover, it provides a new example of how heterochronic changes were crucial to the evolution of mammal dentition. To overcome the difficulty of applying behavioral or ecological definitions of diets to fossil animals, we characterize hypercarnivorous dentitions on the basis of the molar morphology and more particularly on the loss or retention of crushing structures, each dentition resulting from adaptations to a distinct ecomorphotype. Despite repeated and convergent evolution of hypercarnivorous forms, hypercarnivory appears as a highly constrained specialization (i.e., “dead end”) that is unlikely to evolve back to omnivorous dentition, especially when the crushing structures are lost.
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New fossils of Hyaenodonta (Mammalia) from the Eocene localities of Chambi (Tunisia) and Bir el Ater (Algeria), and the evolution of the earliest African hyaenodonts
- We present and describe new fossils from the Eocene North African localities of Chambi (Tunisia; late Ypresian or early Lutetian) and Bir el Ater (Algeria; latest Bartonian or earliest Priabonian). The specimens from Chambi allow recognizing two recently described hyainailourines: Furodon crocheti and Parvavorodon gheerbranti; these taxa were previously known from the Gour Lazib area (Algeria; late Ypresian or early Lutetian). The new material from Tunisia includes a fragmentary dentary of Parvavorodon that substantially supports the hyainailourine status of this genus and represents the oldest dentary fragment presently known for a juvenile of Hyaenodonta in Africa. The presence of Furodon and Parvavorodon in Chambi strengthens support for the hypothesis of contemporaneity of the Eocene Gour Lazib and Chambi mammalbearing localities. In addition, the find of a typical teratodontine fourth premolar in Chambi testifies to the presence of a small representative of this group. The fossil record in Bir el Ater is scarcer than in Chambi. However, we recognize specimens attributable to a hyainailourine and a teratodontine. The latter is referred as Masrasector cf. ligabuei, and is the oldest record for this genus. We tentatively identify a modification of the hyaenodont fauna in the Maghreb after the “Early Eocene Climatic Optimum” (EECO). This faunal change might be related to the decrease of the global temperature after the EECO event. It appears contemporaneous of a drastic replacement in the composition of the mammal faunas in Africa. Finally, the end of the Eocene (Priabonian) shows an increase in the subfamilial richness amongst hyaenodonts.
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Premier crâne partiel de l'espèce type de Hyaenodon, H. leptorhynchus (Mammalia, Hyaenodonta) Réflexion sur la division des niches des mammifères carnassiers européens au cours du Paléogène
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De groeve van Triffoy – Een overzicht van de Famenniaanflora en fauna in de omgeving rond Marchin (Deel I)
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De groeve van Triffoy – Een overzicht van de Famenniaanflora en fauna in de omgeving rond Marchin (Deel II)
