Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
-
How subsoil morphology and erodibility influence the origin and pattern of late Holocene tidal channels: Case studies from the Belgian coastal lowlands
-
Changes in coastal zone processes at a high sea-level stand: a late Holocene example from Belgium
-
Tidal crevasse splays as the cause of rapid changes in the rate of aggradation in the Holocene tidal deposits of the Belgian coastal plain
-
The Holocene depositional history of the IJzer palaeovalley (western Belgian coastal plain) with reference to the factors controlling the formation of intercalated peat beds
-
A synthesis of early and middle Holocene coastal changes in the Belgian lowlands
-
CCS Directive transposition into national laws in Europe: progress and problems by the end of 2011
- The EU CCS Directive transposition process and related issues in 26 European countries, comprising 24 EU member states, Norway and Croatia were studied in the EU FP7 project: “CGS Europe” in 2011-2012. By the end of 2011 the transposition of the Directive into national law had been approved by the European Commission (EC) in Spain only, but had been approved at national/jurisdictional level in 12 other countries (Austria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Sweden) and two regions of Belgium. By January 2012, the European Commission had assessed and approved national submissions of CCS legal acts transposing the Directive in Denmark, France, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands and Slovenia. Implementation in the UK was completed in February 2012 and by end March 2012, implementation at national level was also complete in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Portugal and Romania.
-
Geologists at the centre of CCS research in Europe - Introduction by the EFG Panel of Experts on the Geological Storage of CO2
-
Assessing the impact of the 1498 Meio earthquake and tsunami along the Enshu-nada coast, central japan, using coastal geology.
-
Did a major environmental event lead to the Late Bronze Age abandonment of the ancient harbor city of Hala Sultan Tekke? Unraveling the sedimentary record of the Larnaca salt lake, Cyprus.
-
Latest Cretaceous hadrosaurid dinosaurs from Heilongjiang Province (P. R. China) and the Amur Region (Far Eastern Russia)
-
Iguanodon’s brain and perspectives on ornithopod evolution
-
A new basal hadrosauroid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Kazakhstan
-
Evolution of the rivers in the Lower Scheldt basin since 15 000 (calendar) years
-
Geogenic CO2 releases in Belgium and Germany as natural analogues for the development and evaluation of monitoring tools and methods
-
The cost of CO2 geological storage is more than a number
- CO2 geological storage is the last stage in the CO2 capture and storage process which aims to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. The cost of storage has frequently been regarded as minor compared to the cost of the whole CCS process. There are however a multitude of cost parameters that will form a unique combination for each storage project, with costs projected from one to several tens of euros per tonne of CO2 stored. Several research efforts have lately been identifying the main cost drivers and relatively wide cost ranges. Reservoir type and location, geological uncertainty, injectivity and capacity are recognised as the main source of cost variation between potential storage projects.
-
Policy Support System for Carbon Capture and Storage and Collaboration between Belgium-the Netherlands “PSS-CCS”, Final report
- Context The climate on Earth is changing due to the increased emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere, and these changes are expected to have a predominantly negative impact, with potentially dramatic economic, social and environmental consequences. The increased concentrations of CO2 are already resulting in acidification of the oceans, which adds further to the environmental pressure. Reducing the emissions of CO2 is therefore of prime importance. CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) is considered as an essential element in the portfolio of measures, and has the potential to reduce the CO2 emissions from large industrial facilities to nearly zero. This has been recognised by the international community and especially Europe is being proactive in stimulating the development and implementation of CCS. Policy related research on CCS in Belgium has been centralised in the PSS-CCS projects (Policy Support System for Carbon Capture and Storage). Phase one (PSS-CCS I) started at the end of 2005 and the results were integrally published in 2009 (Piessens et al., 2009). This work was continued in the projects PSS-CCS II, the actual phase two, and the international valorisation project PSS-CCS BeNe which extended the scope to the Netherlands and created official bridges between the national CCS projects in Belgium and the Netherlands (CATO-2). Objectives From the start, the PSS-CCS projects (Policy Support System for Carbon Capture and Storage) have promised to provide detailed and objective insights in the role that CCS can play in the CO2 mitigation efforts of Belgium. Achieving this central objective is only possible by bringing together information, data and methodologies from widely different fields. The list below gives a brief overview of these activities, which have often resulted in deliverables which are usually to be regarded as important achievements in their own right. - Inventory of the industrial emission sources for CO2 in Belgium at plant and sector level, for providing an actual view on these emissions and the need to replace aging infrastructure. - Economic and technical analysis of the different technologies and their performance that allow capturing CO2 from power plants and other industrial facilities. - Development and calibration of a least-cost routing application for transport of CO2 by pipeline. - Summary of the geological data to identify geological reservoirs (aquifers and coal related storage options) that are potentially suited for geological storage of CO2. - Risk evaluation of different types of reservoirs and a techno-economic overview of the different techniques to monitor a CO2 reservoir. - Overview of the storage options in neighbouring countries accessible from Belgium, and an assessment on the domestic use of these reservoirs in those countries. - Analysis of the production, conversion and consumption of energy in Belgium using the TIMES-BE model, including CCS technologies. - Development of the PSS II simulator for detailed and ad-hoc predictions of CCS implementation in Belgium. - Evaluating the simulation results of the two models regarding the economic and environmental role that CCS can play under different scenarios. Conclusions The PSS-CCS projects have looked into the different, but related aspects of CCS. Capture of CO2 in the power sector is retaken and update in this report, but particular attention is given to how capture technologies can be integrated in industrial production processes. Particular attention is given to the production of cement, iron and steel, hydrogen, ammonia, refineries and industrial boilers, making this report a reference document for the capture from industrial sources. Cost estimates of those technologies are provided where possible, often indicating that capture can be more cost efficiently than in the power sector (e.g. steel, hydrogen...). For others, such as refineries, it may be quite challenging because of the complexity of such installations. The storage of CO2 is only of secondary importance when considering only costs, but is essential in the project planning and communication. This is why, now demonstration projects in neighbouring countries have become a reality, this topic is attracting an increasing amount of attention. This report in particularly looks at storage in coal bearing sequences by evaluating the different potential migration routes of CO2. In an attempt to quantify the amounts of CO2 that may migrate to the surface, a comparison is made with published estimates. Conservative estimates for leakage along abandoned wells would be below the health concentration of CO2, and vertical migration of CO2 in the Campine Basin in absence of such wells or conductive faults would be below meter scale at a 100y time resolution. Migration of CO2 out of the coal-bearing strata would be even more difficult, since coal acts as both a reservoir and seal, and additional sealing layers are present within the heterogeneous sequence. Nevertheless, as also required by European law, extensive monitoring is required. A portfolio of different technologies is required to achieve a the resolution required for confirming that CO2 is not leaking from the reservoir, leading to relatively high monitoring costs for small reservoirs or reservoirs with low injectivity. A comprehensive overview of the coal sequences in the Hainaut Basin indicates a storage potential of 500 to 700 Mt in this area. Injection strategies for coal are discussed acknowledging the geological particularities of this coal basin. The capacity of the Dinantian aquifer in this area is comparable to that of coal, but of particularly interest because of the high injectivity. The databases of the PSS simulator have been updated and extended according to the newly acquired data in this project, and have been calibrated for pipeline routing against confidential data from industry. Together with the important improvements, the current version (PSS II) produces realistic and reliable forecasts on power technologies based on coal, natural gas and biomass, as well as for the steel sector. PSS II is used in parallel with TIMES-BE, using large the same databases to make the results compatible. These models show that CCS will be a likely economic option in the power sector, but especially in industry. However, relatively high ETS prices for CO2 emissions are required to trigger large scale implementation of CCS in especially the power sector. An essential factor in assuring that very low emission targets are realised by 2050, a portfolio of technologies is required: if technologies are left out, the probability that the low targets are reached decreases dramatically. Technology lock-in additionally poses a real threat, but can be mitigated with appropriate policy measures. When it comes to storage, the development of domestic storage capacity is justified, although Belgium will additionally have to rely on the export of CO2. Contribution of the project in a context of scientific support to a sustainable development policy During the more or less five years during which the PSS-CCS projects have been active, they have been able to fill the need for information and follow-up on the topic of CCS in Belgium. This resulted in a large and active follow-up committee representing over 30 institutes, including many administrations and stakeholders that weigh on environmental and economic policy. The different valorisation events of the project were initially strongly focussed on the dissemination of correct and objective information on CCS, for which the international interest was strongly growing. This was in line with the activities within the project of which the earliest tasks were focussed on gathering and organising the data required for modelling the role of CCS. Energy models in Belgium were at that time also looking to include data on CCS technologies as a future option, leading to a direct feed of information into e.g. the Belgian TIMES- BE model. Also the reports of the Federal Planning Bureau (PRIMES model) cite PSS-CCS as a main reference. An important surge for information was during the preparation of the European CCS directive (Directive 2009/31/EC). Technical information regarded mainly the storage of CO2, the prime focus of the directive, but also the outlooks produced by the project were used to consider the scale and relevance of CCS for Belgium. Also other organisations and networks called upon the PSS-CCS partners for direct advice, or for presentations on the topic. The reader is referred to chapter 4 (DISSEMINATION AND VALORISATION) for an overview of the main and official valorisation activities originating from the PSS-CCS projects. Within Belgium and its regions, CCS is a well-known and documented option in mid- and long-term energy projections thanks to the catalytic role of the PSS-CCS projects. The now fully mature PSS II simulator and its databases currently play an important role in exchange activities with other countries through European collaboration and network projects (e.g. Welkenhuysen & Piessens, 2011b). This export of expertise may result in an impact in those countries, comparable to that of the PSS-CCS projects in Belgium.
-
Vingt siècles d’exploitation des argiles plastiques d’Andenne (Belgique) : du gisement au musée de la céramique.
- Arranged in strings, the plastic clay deposits from Andenne are fillings of cryptokarsts of white and colored clays associated with three layers of Dinantian Frasnian limestone oriented EW. Sands, brown coal and Tertiary (Neogene) clays have accumulated according to thekarstic dissolution forming a pocket of up to 100m deep. The sulphuric acid stemming from the oxidation of sulphides of brown coals is the main responsible for the formation of kaolinitic clays at the expense of clay minerals and the feldspathic sands. The circulation of water induced the leaching of the iron and their accumulation in certain horizons. White clays rich in alumina and of low iron and alkali content were the most looked for their refractory properties. Exploitedat first on surface then in subterranean galleries, the extraction reached its maximal development around the 19 and 20th centuries to stop definitively in 1970. The clay and the white sand were used in the industries of fire: glassware, crystal, metallurgy... and fed the pottery, brick, tile, earthenware factory, porcelain factories, pipe factory and the industrial refractories. The white clay first and then the final products have been exported since the Middle Ages in Holland, Germany and France, contributing to the international reputation of the clays from Andenne. Depressions generated by the subsidence as a consequence of the underground extractions form a string of pools and ponds, sources of biodiversity. Finally, the Ceramics Museum preserves the traces of this remarkable geological, mining, industrial and artistic with its outstanding collections of pottery, porcelain and pipes. Living museum holder of memory, it provides educational and cultural functions from its exhibitions.
-
Le « Coticule » de Vielsalm et Lierneux (Belgique) : une pierre à aiguiser au passé mondial
- The coticule is an Ordovician aged metamorphic rock only present in the southern part of the Stavelot Massif on the towns of Vielsam and Lierneux. It comes in centimeter thick layers consisting in micrometric crystals of spessartite, microphyllites of micas, infra micrometer quartz. Its exceptional sharpening properties of the metal (razor sharp thin, sharp broad, sharp curve) gave its reputation of a natural abrasive stone and a global distribution (barber, circumciser, surgeon, butcher, carpenter, cabinetmaker, arborist, gardener, winemaker, tanner, coachbuilder ...). Exploited and shaped since the 16th century, the coticule was exported as a whetstone (aka razor stone), the "bouts belges" and to special forms. It was operated by craftsmen, primarily from the surface in open pits, in trenches and then by underground galleries, following the evolution of mining techniques of lighting and drainage. The material was sawn, made in standard sizes and polished by the quarry workers and then in small workshops. The high number of models, the various manufacturing steps entirely manual, the low yield (2-5%), competition from synthetic stones, and the disappearance of part of the customer after the Second World War sounded the death knell of this unique activity. Located in Lierneux, a quarry still operates today the coticule and most of its production is exported to the United States of America. The old mining galleries are today the winter refuge of bats populations. They are considered as cavities of scientific interest. Finally, the Museum of the coticule in Salmchâteau (Vielsalm) presents this manufacturing industry with a global destiny.
-
Preliminary results of an unexpected uplift situated in a former coal mining region (Campine basin – Belgium) revealed by radar interferometry
- The Campine basin situated in the NE of Belgium is a part of a large paralic Carboniferous coal basin of the NW Europe. It is located north of the Lower Palaeozoic of the London Brabant Massif. Eatsward, the South Limburg coal basin consists in the extension of the Campine basin to The Netherlands. The first mining concessions were granted in 1906 and the last mines (Eisden and Zolder) were closed in 1992 giving the region a particular interest for the study of the ground movement monitoring. Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) technique is applied to estimate the vertical displacement of the Campine coal basin during period of 18 years (1992–2010). Even if the area has a lot of field crops giving a poor density of reflector the deformation of the ground is well highlighted. The movements have a relative low amplitude with an average rate between -1 and +1 cm/year in the centre of the formers coal exploitations.. Both movements are related to groundwater extraction needed for the coal exploitation. During the dewatering time a depression cone was active and continued few years after the closure of the mine as seen in the ERS results (1992-2000) of the western part. A difference of five years exists between eastern (1987-1988) and the western (1992) closure dates so the western part is subsiding while the other part is already uplift. The explanation of the uplift seems to be related to the increasing water pressure in the collieries giving the possibility to heighten the area. The results issued from Envisat (Asar) processing show a new situation, the western part has an uplift trend during the period 2003-2010. From this observation, we can conclude that the recharge of the mine aquifer need to gain a critical level before being able to raise the ground level.
-
Geothermal resources assessment methodology in Wallonia (Belgium).
- The Geological Survey of Belgium (GSB) is involved in geothermal resources assessment at European scale with GeoElec and Thermomap (very shallow) projects and at regional scale with the geothermal plate-form of Wallonia. The GSB has recently completed a first evaluation of geothermal potential of the Walloon region for medium to high enthalpy (300-6000 m). In 2008, the U.S Geological Survey (USGS) has conducted an updated assessment of geothermal resources in the United States. The volume method was the primary scheme applied to identified geothermal systems in which the recoverable heat is estimated from the thermal energy available in a reservoir. In some European countries, the temperature data available generally allow to produce a heat flow map at great depth. The subsurface temperature measurements of Belgium were first compiled by Legrand in 1975 and updated by Vandenberghe & Fock in 1989. The temperature values from the coal and hydrocarbon exploration wells are significantly spread over the reservoirs. The geothermal gradients are strongly influenced by groundwater circulation. The fold and thrust belt context of the subsoil in Wallonia makes geothermal gradient interpretation, reservoir temperatures and reservoir volume difficult to assess. The first geothermal reservoirs identified at 1 kilometer depth were mapped by Berckmans & Vandenberghe (1998). The northern Campine and Anvers regions, the Hainaut basin, and the corridor between Liège and Visé were considered as potential areas. The waloon geothermal plate-form project consisted mainly in preparing and collecting deep geological structure and geothermal resource of the underground data. Geophysical, geological, temperatures and hydrogeological data required some up to date re-interpretation to match the current model knownledge of the deep geological underground of Wallonia. More details were given by a focused study on Liege area with a 3D model realized by Liege University and a chemical geothermometer analyse conducted by GSB. Two maps of geothermal energy interests were produced: one for low to medium depth (300-3000 m), and another one for great depth (3000-6000 m). They mainly represent cartography of the Devono-Carboniferous limestones and Lower Devonian quartzites for two geothermal horizons. Simplified versions of the two maps destinated to the public and policy makers were constructed according to the USGS geothermal resource and reserve terminology, illustrated in the Mc Kelvey diagram (1980). Berckmans A., Vandenberghe N., 1998. Use and potential of geothermal energy in Belgium. Geothermics 27: 235 - 242. Legrand, R. (1975). Jalons Géothermiques. Mémoire Explicatif Cartes Géologique, Mines Belgique, 16 :46 pp. Mc Kelvey (1980). US Geologcal Survey. Principles of a Resource/Reserve classification for Minerals, Circular 831. Vandenberghe N., Fock W. Temperature data in the subsurface of Belgium, 1989. Temperature data in the susbsurface of Belgium. Tectonophysics 164, 237-250.
