Coastal environments are under strong pressure from human activity but could also help us battle climate change. A promising method to remove CO2 from the atmosphere is to distribute silicate minerals in coastal areas since the chemical reaction that occurs when silicate minerals weather allows the ocean to take up more CO2. The new project DEHEAT will investigate the feasibility of using silicate weathering in coastal areas to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. This will be done by field studies of sites where silicate weathering rates are naturally high, and by modelling.
To kick off the project, the DEHEAT consortium organises a one-day symposium about carbon cycling in coastal environments on the 31st of August 2022. Covering a broad range of topics, the symposium will be a platform for networking and discussions about questions at the forefront of science. The symposium will be held in the Grand Auditoire at the Museum of Natural Sciences (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences), Rue Vautier 29, 1000 Brussels. Attendance is free, but registration herebefore the 1st of August is required.
DEHEAT is a Belspo-funded project under the RV Belgica call, runs from 2022 to 2026 and is coordinated by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences with partners at Universiteit Antwerpen and Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Programme
9.00 – 10.00 Registration and coffee 10.00 – 10.45 Sophie Opfergelt, UCLouvain, Belgium. Influence of permafrost thaw on weathering and organic carbon fluxes
10.45 – 11.30 Christophe Rabouille, LSCE, France.
RiOMars: a hotspot of carbon cycling at the river-sea interface
11.30 – 11.45 Break
11.45 – 12.30 Rebecca James, ULB, Belgium/SDU, Denmark
Promoters or temporary reservoirs: the carbon sequestration role of coastal vegetated ecosystems
12.30 – 14.00 Break (coffee 13.30 – 14.00)
14.00 – 14.45 Christian März, Uni Bonn, Germany.
ChAOS in the Barents Sea: Links between carbon, nutrients and metals
14.45 – 15.30 Ulrike Braeckman, UGent, Belgium. Title tba.
15.30 – 15.45 Break
15.45 – 16.30 Goulven Laruelle, ULB, Belgium. Quantifying the CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and the global coastal ocean
16.30 – 18.00 Network reception
Most of the Wednesday of the North Sea campaign of JPI Oceans’ S4GES Joint Action was spent on one spot to follow a tidal cycle. This sounds easy and boring. Well, it is neither … Keeping a ship on position in a highly dynamic environment of tides, winds and currents is anything but trivial. However, as one of its modern features, the RV Belgica is equipped with outstanding maneuvering facilities (and the crew with the skills to make the most of them). Cutting-edge thrusters allow the ship to hold position with a meter-precision even at today’s surface current speeds in the order of 1-2 knots. Also, operating light and delicate sampling gear in turbulent waters can be tricky. You clearly want to avoid that plankton nets and other gear deployed from the working deck at the Belgica’s starboard side hits the hull or that cable gets entangled in a propellor. The navigation team on the bridge therefore rotated the ship steadily clockwise to cause an outward drift that keeps instruments safe from hitting the ship or they kept the ship strictly perpendicular to the current to prevent a flow along the sides of the ship. Impressive delicate handling of a 71-meter ship. It feels like playing a Paganini caprice on a double bass.
Same, same but different
Why did we spend the best part of a precious day at sea on that one station? Not just because we can, but because it made perfect scientific sense. Today’s station complemented the previous stations. It brings us as close to a controlled experimental design as one can get with seagoing fieldwork. The station was little more than 30 meters deep, thus comparable to the stations yesterday and the day before. All were “deep” for the Southern Bight of the North Sea. However, the real-time remote sensing Ocean Colour imagery (check Tuesday’s blog entry for more) showed high chlorophyll values, suggesting a biologically more dynamic setting than the previous deep stations. For consistent sampling, the researchers carried out their sampling routine again at maximum-minimum-maximum velocity of tidal currents at the site.
Yellow marks the spot
One tripod among a hundred plus wind turbines
On the programme for the late afternoon was a stroll through the forest – a forest of offshore wind turbines. Amidst this thoroughly impressive array for renewable energy generation, the ship navigated to a tiny yellow buoy marking the location of a tripod that was sitting at the seafloor for the last three weeks. The tripod was equipped with instruments to measure temperature and conductivity (and by implication salinity), current speeds all the way from near the seafloor to the surface, and turbidity and the related particle size spectrum. Furthermore, sediment traps collected sinking particles and a special camera photographed small organisms passing through. Good to know that the recovery of the tripod and its precious instruments went smoothly, for extraction of samples and data and maintenance of the whole array.
Tripod recovery
Artist speeding up
Our on-board artist Sarah-Marie Kröger changed gear into sketching mode today, speed-drawing live scenes of people working on deck and in labs. This was exploratory territory for her with respect to sketchy style and unsteady scenes. It was also probably a rare experience for the researchers having to walk around an artist placed in the middle of the lab and immersed in her craft. The researchers eventually got rewarded by being shown the drawings that depict them in action. The artist will hopefully get her reward by receiving many enthusiastic likes for the related social media posts in Instagram and Twitter, if you get the hint …
Sarah-Marie Kröger at work (see also some results below)
Text by Thorsten Kiefer (JPI Oceans) & Federico Falcini (CNR) – Images by Thorsten Kiefer (JPI Oceans)
Co-location of marine activities, lithium extraction from the deep sea, overfishing of deeper-water species, and the unexpected ocean impacts of wildfires and of new biodegradablematerialsare among fifteen issues experts warn we ought to be addressing now.
An international team of experts has produced a list of 15 issues that are not currently receiving widespread attention but are likely to have a significant impact on marine and coastal biodiversity over the next decade (see below for full list).
The horizon scan involved 30 experts in marine and coastal systems from 11 countries in the global north and south, from a variety of backgrounds including scientists and policy-makers. The study was led by Dr James Herbert-Read and Dr Ann Thornton in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology, and included Prof Dr Steven Degraer of the Marine Ecology and Management (MARECO) team of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). The resulting paper ‘A global horizon scan of issues impacting marine and coastal biodiversity conservation’ was published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution on 7 July 2022.
This horizon scanning process has previously been used to identify issues that have later come to prominence. For example, a scan in 2009 gave an early warning that microplastics could become a major problem in marine environments, which is indeed the case now.
While there are many well-known issues impacting ocean biodiversity, including climate change, ocean acidification and pollution, this study focuses on lesser-known emerging issues that could soon have significant impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems. These issues include the effects of new biodegradable materials on the marine environment, the impacts of wildfires on coastal ecosystems, and an ‘empty’ zone at the equator as species move away from this warming region of the ocean.
“Marine and coastal ecosystems face a wide range of emerging issues that are poorly recognised or understood, each having the potential to impact biodiversity,” said Dr James Herbert-Read. He added: “By highlighting future issues, we’re pointing to where changes must be made today – both in monitoring and policy – to protect our marine and coastal environments”.
For example, the report highlights the potential impact of new biodegradable materials on the ocean. Although such materials are promoted as a solution to the waste problem, some of these materials are more toxic to marine species than traditional plastics. Herbert-Read said: “Governments are making a push for the use of biodegradable materials, but in many cases we don’t know what impacts these materials may have on ocean life”.
At first glance, the potential impact of wildfires on coastal and marine environments may also seem unexpected, but in addition to habitat destruction, wildfires can cause water pollution from ash and other debris, sediment and nutrient slugs that move many kilometres downstream and impact aquatic life along the way, and the emergence of harmful algal blooms.
Apart from fish moving away from the equator, the authors also warn that the nutritional content of fish is declining as a consequence of climate change. Essential fatty acids tend to be produced by cold-water fish species, so as climate change raises ocean temperatures, the production of these nutritious molecules is reduced. Such changes may have impacts on both marine life and human health.
Several of the issues identified are linked to exploitation of ocean resources. For example, deep sea ‘brine pools’ are unique marine environments home to a diversity of life and have high concentrations of salts containing lithium. The authors warn that rising demand for lithium for electric vehicle batteries may put these environments at risk. They call for rules to ensure biodiversity is assessed before deep sea brine pools are exploited.
While overfishing is an immediate problem, the horizon scan looked beyond this to what might happen next. The authors think there may soon be a move to fishing in the deeper waters of the mesopelagic zone (a depth of 200m – 1000m), where fish are not fit for human consumption but can be sold as food to fish farms. “There are areas where we believe immediate changes could prevent huge problems arising over the next decade, such as overfishing in the ocean’s mesopelagic zone,” said Dr Ann Thornton. She added: “Curbing this would not only stop overexploitation of these fish stocks but reduce the disruption of carbon cycling in the ocean because these species are an ocean pump that removes carbon from our atmosphere”.
Although some of the problems listed may seem far away, the study is also relevant in the Belgian part of the North Sea. Steven Degraer of RBINS clarifies: “Issues like how to properly manage the co-location of human activities at sea or the possible alteration of the nutritional content of fish due to climate change are of direct relevance also to well-studied areas like the southern North Sea”.
Because our waters are positioned on a busy shipping route, near a number of large ports, and count many different users (shipping, fisheries, renewable energy, sand extraction, dredging, tourism, …), it remains a continuous challenge to reconcile all activities on a limited surface so that the cumulative effects remain acceptable and mitigable. And, of course, the effects of climate change are not exclusive to tropical regions.
Not all of the predicted impacts are negative. The authors think the development of new technologies, such as soft robotics and better underwater tracking systems, will enable scientists to learn more about marine species and their distribution. This, in turn, will guide the development of more effective marine protected areas. But they also warn that the impacts of these technologies on biodiversity must be assessed before they are deployed at scale.
“Our early identification of these issues, and their potential impacts on marine and coastal biodiversity, will support scientists, conservationists, resource managers, policy-makers and the wider community in addressing the challenges facing marine ecosystems,” said Herbert-Read.
The main aim of the study is therefore to raise awareness and encourage investment into full assessment of the predicted issues now, and potentially drive policy change, before the issues have a major impact on biodiversity.
By providing an early warning for the listed issues, the authors work in synergy with other ongoing processes. The United Nations has designated 2021-2030 as the ‘UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.’ In addition, the fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity will conclude negotiations on a global biodiversity framework in late 2022. The aim is to slow and reverse the loss of biodiversity and establish goals for positive outcomes by 2050.
A specific feature of this S4GES cruise is that the definition of the sampling stations originally planned in the cruise programme are fine-tuned and continuously revisited during the cruise. Decisions are based on near-real-time “Ocean Colour” remote sensing imagery, processed from EUMETSAT. Accordingly, the cruise leadership decided yesterday to skip the second “deep” station in Dutch waters. Chlorophyll data from the same day from two Sentinel3 satellites had shown that the station would have been very similar to the previous one with low chlorophyll-a concentration, thus promising little additional scientific insight. Instead, the campaign moved therefore directly to a station with a higher chlorophyll signature, promising a regime of higher biological productivity and different ecosystem.
Early rise
During the night the RV Belgica sailed back into Belgian waters, to do two stations at water depths of ca. 35 meters. The first station of the day was perfect for early-birds and sunrise spotters. For methodological consistency, the tidal current minimum at 6 AM was under no circumstances to be missed! Accordingly, everyone was on deck at sunrise for nice shots (talking about photographs obviously) and a new set of samples and measurements. It appears that sampling and sample processing already run like a well-oiled machine, leaving space to get excited about first scientific observations (more of that over the coming days …) – and a world premiere (presumably)!
Early morning rise
A first: Bio-Lagrangian drifter
A special highlight of the day was the release and recovery of a drifter that followed the plankton community. The so-called Bio-Lagrangian drifter provides a frame of reference while moving with the plankton community itself, i.e., the Lagrangian approach. Lagrangian drifters are designed to follow the water at the ocean surface, providing accurate measurements of ocean currents and their physical properties (temperature and salinity). Our Bio-Lagrangian upgrade is configured to also collect high frequency observations of plankton community properties with a bio-optical sensor. The sensor measures the scattering of visible electromagnetic radiation backward with respect to the direction of propagation. This “particle back scattering” relates to the particle concentration in seawater, including phytoplankton and non-algal particles (e.g. viruses, bacteria and detritus). The first Bio-Lagrangian drifter prototype has been funded by the Institute of Marine Sciences, ISMAR, of the National Research Council of Italy, CNR, and the first ever deployment took place today during the S4GES cruise – exciting!
Recovery of Lagrangian drifter
Painting plankton
Meanwhile, our on-board artist Sarah-Marie Kröger found herself inspired by the fascinating world of marine plankton. Watching the deployment of plankton nets, recovery of the catch and microscopic inspection of the sample, she combined these respective scenes captured on board into a new painting. While yesterday’s portrait of the RV Belgica was more like a majestic still life, today’s picture is full of action and illustrating the fascination of research and researchers – or whatever else it stirs in you …
Scientists deploy plankton nets, recover and inspect the catch (artwork Sarah-Marie Kröger).
Text by Thorsten Kiefer (JPI Oceans) & Federico Falcini (CNR), Images by Thorsten Kiefer (JPI Oceans)
The long-planned one-week expedition S4GES is now in full swing. A team of scientists has embarked the brand new Research Vessel (RV) Belgica over the weekend, familiarized themselves with the facilities on board, revisited the research programme and started the sampling campaign. Preparations were struck by Corona troubles until the very last minute, including the originally foreseen chief scientist, then also its replacement. But here we are now, under the brave leadership of Dr Federico Falcini from CNR, Italy, and Prof Isabelle Schön from RBINS, Belgium.
The cruise operates under the Science for Good Environmental Status (S4GES) Joint Action of JPI Oceans. Eleven countries join forces and share experts to explore new approaches to determine the environmental status of marine waters and provide efficient and effective observational strategies, in support of the European Union’s Marine Strategic Framework Directive (MSFD).
Getting started with the scientific programme
This first S4GES expedition aims at assessing the Good Environmental Status (GES) of the marine environment by integrating physical, chemical, bio-optical, and biological information from the Southern Bight of the North Sea. On Monday, the focus was on the “deep” station of the expedition. Maybe forty meters water depth does not sound deep to you, but it does so for shallow Belgian-Dutch waters. At such shallow water depths, tides are a crucial driver of physical and biological dynamics. The sampling and measurement strategy for physical and bio-optical parameters, water samples and plankton samples is therefore paced at the maximum of the high and low velocity of marine tidal currents, respectively. This is allowing to connect the dots between the physical forcing and the biological patterns that evolve through space and time during the tidal cycle. More on the scientific operations in coming posts.
Art meets science
Beyond the scientific programme, the S4GES expedition to the North Sea also aims to close the emotional gap we tend to have with the ocean, the “silent majority of the Earth (quoting John Bell from the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation). Art can be a vehicle to make us care more about the ocean. There might be a reason why art rhymes with heart. Visual art can furthermore transcend cultural and language barriers. There are surely many more good reasons to marry art with science. But you are also welcome to just indulge in the visual pleasure of this first painting by Sarah-Marie Kröger, our artist on board and to look forward to more of those being created over the course of the week.
Sarah-Marie Kröger creates a majestic still life of RV Belgica
Text by Thorsten Kiefer (JPI Oceans) & Federico Falcini (CNR) – Images by Thorsten Kiefer (JPI Oceans)
RBINS contributed to the ‘Special Noordzee‘ of the popular science monthly ‘EOS Wetenschap’ (only available in Dutch). Together with the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and the Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), we were part of the editorial board, and several RBINS scientists are featured in various articles. The result is available since 23 June 2022.
No less than 130 pages, about the RV Belgica, CSI marine mammals, non-indigenous shellfish, … and much more !
On Saturday 25 June 2022, the new Belgian oceanographic research vessel RV Belgica was baptised. The official ceremony took place at the Rigakaai (North Sea Port) in the godfather city of Ghent, where the RV Belgica was moored for a few days for this occasion. None other than HRH Princess Elisabeth honoured the ship by accepting to act as godmother. After pronouncing the baptismal formula « I baptise you BELGICA and wish you and your crew a safe journey. » she successfully broke a bottle of champagne on the hull.
The baptism of a ship is a remnant of an ancient tradition. In ancient times, the aim was to obtain the grace of the gods by offering a sacrifice, in which the blood of a sacrificed person was used. Later, wine replaced the sacrificial blood. Among seafarers, the saying spread: ” A ship that has not tasted wine will taste blood “. The idea is that a ship that has not been baptised will encounter difficulties: storms, damage or accidents … Later still, wine was replaced by champagne, the very symbol of celebration, success and happiness! Today, of course, this is regarded as superstition, but a baptism ceremony is still the occasion to bring together all those involved in the building, exploitation and operation of a ship, to officially welcome it and to wish it a successful future. The RV Belgica, which arrived in Belgium on 13 December 2021 and started her scientific activities on 27 January 2022, can now set sail without fear of disaster (wink wink).
The baptism ceremony of the RV Belgica was attended by Mr. Vincent Van Quickenborne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and the North Sea, Mr. Thomas Dermine, State Secretary for Relance, Strategic Investments and Science Policy, Admiral Michel Hofman, Rear Admiral of the King and Chief of Defence, Mrs. Carina Van Cauter, Governor of the Province of East-Flanders, Mr. Mathias De Clercq, Mayor of the city of Ghent, Mr. Arnaud Vajda, Chairman of the Belgian Science Policy Office, Divisional Admiral Jan De Beurme, Wing Adjutant of the King, Commander of the Navy and Deputy Admiral BENELUX, Mrs. Patricia Supply, General Director of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and Mr. Frank Monteny, General Director Research and Space of the Belgian Science Policy Office.
Numerous representatives from the scientific world, the various components of Defence, the local, provincial, regional and federal authorities, and the business community descended on the Rigakaai for the occasion. Mr Marcos Freire, General Director of Freire Shipyard, the Spanish shipyard that built the RV Belgica, Mrs Beatriz Larrotcha Palma, Ambassador of Spain to the Kingdom of Belgium, and Mr Eric Derriën, General Director of the operator Genavir, also attended the baptism ceremony.
Secretary of State Dermine: “The fact that Princess Elisabeth accepted to act as godmother of the RV Belgica is a great honour and a powerful signal that underlines our shared belief in an ambitious future for Belgian science policy. With no less than four times as much laboratory space as the previous Belgica, this 71-meter-long flagship will be able to make a strong contribution to marine research in Belgium and Europe. Ghent is a logical choice as a godfather: in the Artevelde city, the thirst for knowledge and the relationship with water determine the history, the identity and the future of the city.”
After the presentation of the invitees and a word of welcome by Secretary of State Dermine, who presided over the ceremony, the actual baptism was the first ceremonial element of the event, which lasted just under an hour in total. However, those present were then presented with a great deal of additional protocol.
The following attributes were donated to the RV Belgica: the Geus (a square flag with the national tricolour which is waved by way of salute) was presented by Secretary of State Dermine, the flag of auxiliary ship of the Navy by Division Admiral De Beurme, and the ship’s bell (a bronze bell in which the ship’s name is engraved) by Mayor De Clercq.
This was followed, with the consent of HRH Princess Elisabeth, by the recognition of the Commander of the RV Belgica, Corvette Captain Gaëtan Motmans, by Division Admiral De Beurme. He then addressed Mrs Supply for the secondment of the Commander, the Second Officer and the Chief Mate to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
The certificates about the sponsorship of the RV Belgica were exchanged by Commander Motmans and Mayor De Clercq, whereupon the Mayor addressed the public.
Finally, the Commander and crew of the RV Belgica embarked, and Secretary of State Dermine invited HRH Princess Elisabeth for a visit on board, where she signed the golden book and received some technical and scientific demonstrations.
Adding to the stay of the RV Belgica in Ghent, some activities accessible to the public were organised. On Friday 24 June, the scientific symposium ‘RV Belgica – A ship for the future’ took place in the Aula of Ghent University, and on Saturday 25 June (morning) and Sunday 26 June (entire day), the public was given the opportunity to visit the ship. A science fair was also held on board, where various scientific users presented and demonstrated their activities. The fact that seats had to be reserved for a visit to the RV Belgica and the science fair was not a superfluous measure: the RV Belgica was continuously filled to capacity.
On the Rigakaai there was also a technology fair where visitors could discover the activities of DEME/NH Marine, Expo Marine, Hulpbetoon van de Marine/Entraide de la Marine, IC Defence, ABC Engines, North Sea Drones, Statamat and Thales. There were also several food trucks and opportunities for a drink, while young and less young children could enjoy themselves on a bouncy castle, climbing wall and death ride.
The Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) represents the Belgian State as the owner of the RV Belgica, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) manages the calendar, budget and scientific instrumentation, the Belgian Navy provides the bridge personnel and the home port of Zeebruges, and the operator Genavir is responsible for the integrated management and operation of the ship.
On Tuesday 28 June 2022, an exercise took place at sea to clean up a simulated oil slick within the offshore wind farms. The purpose of this exercise was to test and optimise procedures, resources and inter-service cooperation in case of an oil spill at sea. The Marine Environment Service of the FPS Public Health coordinated the exercise with all the services involved. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the North Sea Vincent Van Quickenborne visited the ships. The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences contributed by providing aerial and modeling support.
The number of oil spills in the North Sea requiring clean-up has fallen sharply in recent years, and in 2021 not a single oil spill was detected in the North Sea. Regular aerial surveillance, vessel inspections and the monitoring of satellite images ensure a deterrent effect on illegal discharges. However, an accident is still possible and a quick response with anti-pollution agents is necessary to limit damage to the environment. The increasing transport of oil by water due to the war in Ukraine increases the risk of this type of incident.
For this exercise, a large oil slick was simulated with straw, which drifted into the Seastar and Nobelwind wind parks. The coastguard centre notified the Marine Environment Service, which started a clean-up operation. With the assistance of Rescue Zone 1 (Bruges-Ostend region), the material was transported to a vessel of the Navy and a vessel of DAB Fleet. Once installed, the vessels could set sail and start combating the incident on site. In the air, the aircraft of the scientific service Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea (MUMM, part of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences) kept an overview of the entire combat operation. In the meantime, this service created models to determine the origin of the oil and to predict where the slick was drifting to. These models made it possible to use targeted equipment, should it have been necessary to upscale.
The technique that is initially used in the Belgian part of the North Sea is mechanical recovery. This means that the oil is collected and brought ashore for processing. If this tactic is not possible, a chemical agent can be sprayed on the oil to break it up into smaller droplets. These can be better cleaned up by nature with its self-cleaning ability. Putting a chemical dispersant into nature and leaving the oil in the water is not the first choice but can be used in emergencies, subject to a scientific consideration of pros and cons and approval by MUMM. Both techniques were tested in this exercise.
This type of exercises are possible thanks to a solid cooperation between different partners. Agreements such as the one signed on 13 July 2021 between the Marine Environment Service, Civil Protection and Rescue Zone 1 and good relations between the coast guard partners contribute to the success of exercises and real combat operations.
Vincent Van Quickenborne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the North Sea: “The North Sea is our largest nature reserve. We must protect it well. We do this by fighting air pollution and removing litter from the sea. But an accident happens quickly. Especially in one of the busiest marine areas in the world. Action must be taken quickly. Since last year, the Marine Environment Service, Civil Protection and Rescue Zone 1 (Bruges-Ostend region) have joined forces. This way, any pollution in the event of an incident can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.”
From 30 May to 2 June, the Belgian aerial surveillance aircraft carried out an international mission to Brittany in France. The aircraft is owned and operated by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) and is frequently used in Belgium in the framework of the Coast Guard. International missions are also on the agenda. The purpose of this mission was twofold: the aircraft took part in an international sea trial for the detection and monitoring of chemical pollution and checked with the sniffer sensor the air emissions from ships at the border of the Emission Control Area (ECA) for compliance with the international emission regulations laid down in the so-called MARPOL Annex VI.
Slick of a chemical product behind the SAPEUR, as observed by the Belgian coastguard aircraft.
MANIFESTS Sea Trials
In contrast to the increasingly less frequent occurrence of oil pollution, pollution by other chemical substances at sea is steadily increasing. As a result of the increasing transport of chemical products by tankers, and the complex international legislation (MARPOL Annex II) allowing the discharge of certain substances under specific conditions, the impact of chemical pollution on the marine environment is also showing an upward trend.
The variety of transported chemicals is large, which creates many challenges for the authorities responsible for monitoring and enforcement. Among other things, the detection and identification of chemicals on the sea surface by airborne units is very complex. In addition, there is still insufficient knowledge about the behaviour of different chemicals at sea, which complicates the modelling of the drift of these pollutants in time and space.
The project MANIFESTS (MANaging risks and Impacts From Evaporating and gaseous Substances To population Safety) tries to meet these challenges. For this project, the main categories of transported chemicals were identified. Different sensors were tested for their ability to identify different substances. This was first done in a laboratory environment, but the ultimate test was a sea trial where sensors were tested on ships and on flying units. The focus here was on highly evaporating substances.
From the ship ‘SAPEUR’, various chemicals (in limited quantities) were discharged in a controlled manner over two days at the test site near Brest.
During the exercise at sea, different substances were discharged into the sea (in limited quantities), after which they were observed by different flying units. The Belgian coastguard aircraft was one of four aircraft used in the exercise, alongside the Spanish and French coastguard aircraft and a research aircraft of the French Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA). The coastguard aircraft were mainly used for slick mapping (for the purpose of modelling), and for detection by radar and infrared. The ONERA aircraft was equipped with 2 hyperspectral sensors specially developed for the detection of chemicals both on the water surface and in the atmosphere (gas clouds).
The exercise at sea went well and the Belgian coastguard aircraft was able to make a constructive contribution to the collection of field data. It is now up to the scientists to fine-tune the models and to optimize the sensors so that chemical discharges can be better monitored in the future.
Slick of a chemical product behind the SAPEUR, as observed by the Belgian coastguard aircraft.
The RBINS (Marine Forecasting Centre/MFC) is involved as partner in the MANIFESTS project. It is mainly responsible for the further development of mathematical models that can simulate the drift, behaviour and fate of harmful substances other than oil (so-called HNS – Hazardous and Noxious Substances). The aim is to reduce the knowledge gaps of in-house models by implementing the newly acquired knowledge on evaporation, fire and explosion processes of gases and evaporators, and by carrying out a thorough inter-comparison and validation exercise of models to better understand their strengths and weaknesses. The RBINS also contributes, among others, to the development of a decision-support system (DSS; proof of concept) that will integrate useful information such as model simulations, an HNS database, vulnerability maps, etc. with the aim to facilitate the crisis management of HNS incidents by competent maritime services.
Infrared camera picture of a chemical slick.
Monitoring of ship emissions at the ECA border
The MANIFESTS Sea Trials took place just west of Brest, in French waters. Since this is also the zone where the ECA border is located, where ships have to switch to low-sulphur fuels when entering the area, it was decided to combine the participation of the Belgian Coast Guard aircraft in the MANIFESTS exercise with a check for violations of the international regulations on ship emissions. A total of 62 ships were checked during the mission. 18 of these were in the immediate vicinity of the ECA border, the other vessels were observed on the way to and from Brittany. Of the 18 vessels at the border, six showed suspicious sulphur levels, while two had high NOx emissions. One vessel was found with both high NOx emissions and high sulphur content in its fuel. Not all of these observations concern violations as some vessels were observed just outside the ECA, although most likely their emissions were already above the limit during the last part of their passage in the ECA. A more detailed analysis has yet to be carried out, but these preliminary results clearly indicate that increased monitoring at the ECA border could be very useful for improving MARPOL Annex VI enforcement. Belgium has been a leading international player in this area for years and is trying to create support for this with other North Sea coastal states, within the framework of the Bonn Agreement. One of the Belgian proposals is to jointly organize intensive control campaigns at the ECA border. This mission can already serve as an interesting case study to demonstrate the importance of such type of campaigns.
On Saturday, June 25 (morning) and Sunday, June 26 (full day), the public will have the opportunity to visit the new Belgian oceanographic research vessel RV Belgica in her godfather city, Ghent. For this occasion, the RV Belgica will travel to the Rigakaai (North Sea Port, Ghent) where she will be officially christened in the afternoon of Saturday, June 25.
For a visit to the RV Belgica, a registration is required (see further). On board, one can discover life on board a research vessel and attend demonstrations by various scientific users of the vessel (science fair).
The event area – with the exception of the RV Belgica – is freely accessible to the general public during the open door moments, without registration. In a technology fair, you can discover the activities of DEME, NH Marine, Expo Marine, Hulpbetoon in de Marine/Entraide de la Marine, Information Centre Defence, ABC Engines, North Sea Drones, Statamat and Thales without having to register. On the quay you will also find food trucks and opportunities for a drink, as well as some additional activities.
The christening ceremony on Saturday afternoon is a closed event for which the public cannot register.
Practical information
Timing
On Saturday 25 June, visitors can board the RV Belgica from 9h30 to 11h30. By 12h30, the last visitors should have left the ship. The event site closes at 14h.
On Sunday 26 June, boarding is possible from 9h30 to 11h30 and from 13h30 to 17h30. Visitors have to disembark at 12h30 pm and 18h30 pm respectively. The event site closes at 18h30.
As parts of the RV Belgica offer limited mobility, carrying backpacks etc. is discouraged. Prams, buggies, wheelchairs etc. are unfortunately not allowed on board due to the access via a gangway and the many stairs that have to be climbed in the ship. Please bear the many stairs in mind if you are planning to visit the ship with small children.
Use of public transport is encouraged. For those who come by car, there are parking facilities in the area between the Sint-Theresiastraat and the Dukkeldamstraat (Stukwerkers wasteland, NW of the event site on the other side of the Grootdok where the RV Belgica will be moored), on the grounds ‘Park & Ride Stad Gent’ (SE of the event site along the Vliegtuiglaan) and on the grounds ‘Park & Ride Muide’ (SW of the event site, S of the roundabout).
