Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Monitoring en Modellering van het cohesieve sedimenttransport en evaluatie van de effecten op het mariene ecosysteem ten gevolge van bagger- en stortoperatie (MOMO). Activiteitsrapport 1 juli 2013-31 december 2013. Rapport MOMO/6/MF/201401/NL/AR/4, Konink
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Milieueffectenbeoordeling van het Belgian Offshore Grid, onderzoek van de aanvraag van nv Elia Asset. Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, Beheerseenheid Mathematisch Model Noordzee, 185 pp.
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Atmospheric correction of Landsat-8 Imagery using Seadas. Submitted for the proceedings of the Sentinel-2 for Science Workshop held in Frascati, Italy, 20-23 May 2014.
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Landsat-8 as a precursor to Sentinel-2: observations of human impacts in coastal waters. Submitted for the proceedings of the Sentinel-2 for Science Workshop held in Frascati, Italy, 20-23 May 2014.
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Towards the application of an operational sediment transport model for the optimisation of dredging works in the Belgian coastal zone (southern North Sea). Proceedings 6th International Conference on EuroGOOS, Sustainable Operational Oceanography, October
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Geological model of the Ypresian Clay.
- This study is framed in a programme, set up under coordination by Lie Sun Fan (Faninbel bvba), to create depth models for the important clay layers in the subsurface of Belgium, focussed on the clay layers of the Boom (Rupelian) and Kortrijk (Ypresian) Formations. The results concerning the Boom Clay were reported separately (Walstra & Dusar 2013). A characterisation of borehole breakouts in Ypresian clays with reference to geophysical well logs has also been reported (De Ceukelaire et al. 2012). The present document only treats the Ypresian Clay complex. It is tried to define and model the totality of the Ypresian aquiclude, including the Kortrijk Formation and overlying clay units of the Tielt Formation, irrespective of the lithostratigraphical subdivisions in use. The model is based on high-quality borehole data and geophysical well logs from the archives of the Geological Survey of Belgium (GSB) and Databank Ondergrond Vlaanderen (DOV)1, complemented by Dutch data (DINOloket and NLOG of TNO-GDN)2. Interpretations of boreholes were critically re-evaluated and modified when necessary. Models of interpretation are discussed in the next chapter. Compared to previous mapping projects by GSB (i.e. Tertiary Isohypse Maps by Vancampenhout 2004 and Quasi-3D Model of the Lower-Rupelian and Tongrian by Vancampenhout et al. 2008), additional new data were used and existing interpretations were fine-tuned with the currently accepted lithostratigraphical subdivisions in Belgium. Because different (bio-) lithostratigraphical subdivisions exist, these are first discussed in view of their relevance for the objectives of this study, i.e. to define the Ypresian Clay complex as a single comprehensive aquiclude. This proved to be a difficult and time-consuming exercise, not only due to the palaeogeographical variability of the subunits, but also due to the variety of stratigraphic terminology in use, the different interpretation criteria applied and the inconsistent links between them. From a technical perspective, the methodology used to realise the depth model is largely similar to the one of the Quasi-3D model of the Lower Rupelian, except that the fault blocks in the east of the study area were not treated separately. Furthermore, so-called “depth maps” were produced – indicating the depth of the top and base of the clay unit below a variable ground level instead of relative to sea-level. In the first part of this report, an overview of the position of the modelled units within the Belgian lithostratigraphical schemes is provided and discussed.3 The following chapters present the data used and the cartographic methodology applied. The results are presented as a number of maps and finally some problem areas are indicated where the model would benefit from further fine-tuning. Note that the term “Ypresian Clay” (“Ieperklei”) is an informal designation – throughout this report this term covers both the Kortrijk Formation and the overlying clayey units of the Tielt Formation (assigned to the Kortemark and Egemkapel Members, as will be demonstrated). This term is more restrictive than the stratigraphic denomination Ypres (Ieper) Group which encompasses also the overlying more sandy units included in the Tielt and Gentbrugge Formations. Because of its relevance for defining the upper limit of the Ypresian Clay, this study is the first attempt to systematically recognize and map the Egemkapel Member. 1 https://dov.vlaanderen.be/dovweb/html/index.html 2 http://www.dinoloket.nl; http://www.nlog.nl/nl/home/NLOGPortal.html 3 We discuss usage of lithostratigraphic terms. For references to the origins of the names and for a historical overview we refer to the publications cited in this text.
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Were bears or lions involved in salmon accumulation in the Middle Palaeolithic of the Caucasus? An isotopic investigation in Kudaro 3 cave
- Bone fragments of large anadromous salmon in the Middle Palaeolithic archaeological layers of Kudaro 3 cave (Caucasus) suggested fish consumption by archaic Hominins, such as Neandertals. However, large carnivores such as Asiatic cave bears (Ursus kudarensis) and cave lions (Panthera spelaea) were also found in the cave and could have been responsible for such an accumulation. The diet of these carnivores was evaluated using carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopes in faunal bone collagen. The results suggest that anadromous fish were neither part of the diet of either cave bear (vegetarian) or cave lion (predators of herbivores from arid areas) and therefore provide indirect support to the idea that Middle Palaeolithic Hominins, probably Neandertals, were able to consume fish when it was available.
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La grotte Walou, un site exceptionnel du Paléolithique. Carnets du Patrimoine 120: 1-40
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Stratigraphy of an early-middle Miocene sequence near Antwerp in Northern Belgium (Southern North Sea Basin)
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New proviverrines (Hyaenodontida) from the early Eocene of Europe; phylogeny and ecological evolution of the Proviverrinae
- We describe six proviverrine species from the Early Eocene of France. Three species are new: Minimovellentodon russelli sp. nov. from Mutigny [mammal palaeogene (MP)8 + 9], Boritia duffaudi sp. nov. from La Borie (MP8 + 9), and Leonhardtina godinoti sp. nov. from Grauves (MP10). We describe new specimens and propose new generic combinations for three species from MP10: Protoproviverra palaeonictides, Matthodon menui, and Oxyaenoides lindgreni. We also propose a new generic combination for the primitive Eoproviverra eisenmanni (MP7). Matthodon menui was previously considered as a possible oxyaenodontan, but the new fossils clearly support its reference to Hyaenodontida. Leonhardtina godinoti and Ma. menui are the oldest occurrences for these genera, which were previously unknown before the Middle Eocene. Moreover, the discovery of the proviverrine Mi. russelli in Mutigny implies that the Proviverrinae dispersed in Northern Europe between biozone Palaeocene-Eocene (PE) III (Abbey Wood) and biozone PE IV (Mutigny). This also supports a homogenization of the European faunas during the Early Eocene. The dispersal is concomitant with the disappearance of the oxyaenodontans, arfiines, and sinopines (Hyaenodontida) from Europe. The proviverrines may have filled the ecological niches left vacant by the disappearance of the other carnivorous mammals. With 20 genera and over 30 species, proviverrines were successful in Europe. We performed the first phylogenetic analysis comprising almost all the Proviverrinae. Our analyses indicate that the Proviverrinae diversified greatly during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum and show a general trend towards specialization throughout the Eocene.
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Fossil dogs and wolves from Palaeolithic sites in Belgium, the Ukraine and Russia: osteometry, ancient DNA and stable isotopes
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High concentration of long-snouted beaked whales (genus Messapicetus) from the Miocene of Peru
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Bony outgrowths on the jaws of an extinct sperm whale support macroraptorial feeding in several stem physeteroids
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Comments. In: Shipman, P. The Animal Connection and Human Evolution. CA Forum on theory in anthropology.
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Predormancy omnivory in European cave bears evidenced by a dental microwear analysis of Ursus spelaeus from Goyet, Belgium
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Ammonite extinction and nautilid survival at the end of the Cretaceous
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A Jurassic ornithischian dinosaur from Siberia with both feathers and scales
- Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous deposits from northeastern China have yielded varied theropod dinosaurs bearing feathers. Filamentous integumentary structures have also been described in ornithischian dinosaurs, but whether these filaments can be regarded as part of the evolutionary lineage toward feathers remains controversial. Here we describe a new basal neornithischian dinosaur from the Jurassic of Siberia with small scales around the distal hindlimb, larger imbricated scales around the tail, monofilaments around the head and the thorax, and more complex featherlike structures around the humerus, the femur, and the tibia.The discovery of these branched integumentary structures outside theropods suggests that featherlike structures coexisted with scales and were potentially widespread among the entire dinosaur clade; feathers may thus have been present in the earliest dinosaurs.
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GSA Data Repository 2014264 Ammonite Extinction and Nautilid Survival at the end of the Cretaceous
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Mary Anning’s legacy to French vertebrate palaeontology
- The real nature of marine reptile fossils found in England between the 1700s and the beginning of the 1900s remained enigmatic until Mary Anning’s incredible fossil discoveries and their subsequent study by eminent English and French scientists. In 1820, Georges Cuvier acquired several ichthyosaur specimens found by Mary Anning, now kept or displayed in the Palaeontology Gallery of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris. Four years later, Cuvier obtained a plesiosaur specimen from Mary Anning, only the second ever discovered. Cuvier was fascinated by these fossils and their study allowed him to apply his comparative anatomical method and to support his catastrophist theory. We have re-examined these important specimens from a historical point of view, and describe them here taxonomically for the first time since Cuvier’s works. The Paris specimens belong to two different ichthyosaur genera (Ichthyosaurus and Leptonectes) and one plesiosaur genus (Plesiosaurus).
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High Diversity in Cretaceous Ichthyosaurs from Europe Prior to Their Extinction
- Background: Ichthyosaurs are reptiles that inhabited the marine realm during most of the Mesozoic. Their Cretaceous representatives have traditionally been considered as the last survivors of a group declining since the Jurassic. Recently, however, an unexpected diversity has been described in Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous deposits, but is widely spread across time and space, giving small clues on the adaptive potential and ecosystem control of the last ichthyosaurs. The famous but little studied English Gault Formation and ‘greensands’ deposits (the Upper Greensand Formation and the Cambridge Greensand Member of the Lower Chalk Formation) offer an unprecedented opportunity to investigate this topic, containing thousands of ichthyosaur remains spanning the Early–Late Cretaceous boundary. Methodology/Principal Findings: To assess the diversity of the ichthyosaur assemblage from these sedimentary bodies, we recognized morphotypes within each type of bones. We grouped these morphotypes together, when possible, by using articulated specimens from the same formations and from new localities in the Vocontian Basin (France); a revised taxonomic scheme is proposed. We recognize the following taxa in the ‘greensands’: the platypterygiines ‘Platypterygius’ sp. and Sisteronia seeleyi gen. et sp. nov., indeterminate ophthalmosaurines and the rare incertae sedis Cetarthrosaurus walkeri. The taxonomic diversity of late Albian ichthyosaurs now matches that of older, well-known intervals such as the Toarcian or the Tithonian. Contrasting tooth shapes and wear patterns suggest that these ichthyosaurs colonized three distinct feeding guilds, despite the presence of numerous plesiosaur taxa. Conclusion/Significance: Western Europe was a diversity hot-spot for ichthyosaurs a few million years prior to their final extinction. By contrast, the low diversity in Australia and U.S.A. suggests strong geographical disparities in the diversity pattern of Albian–early Cenomanian ichthyosaurs. This provides a whole new context to investigate the extinction of these successful marine reptiles, at the end of the Cenomanian.
