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Technology & innovation Sea & health

Plastic accumulates in riverbeds and banks of river mouths

01/25/2024 - 16:46
PLUXIN, one of the most comprehensive studies in Flemish coastal waters, seaports and estuaries, shows that plastic particles are everywhere. The quantities of 'microplastic' are an order of magnitude larger than the larger litter. It accumulates in riverbeds and on their banks. And estuaries, such as the Scheldt, are not sources of plastic to the open sea, but rather settling places. In turn, the...
Biodiversity Blue economy The sea before Climate Technology & innovation Sea & health

Showcase your research at the VLIZ Marine Science Day 2024!

11/10/2023 - 11:18
Be part of the programme of VLIZ Marine Science Day 2024 on 6 March 2024 at De Grote Post in Oostende. The #VMSD24 – formally framed within the Belgian EU Presidency – will revolve entirely around the EU Mission Ocean & Waters, and its three main themes: ocean pollution, climate/carbon, and biodiversity. Make your own research part of the #VMSD24 programme and submit an abstract by 12 January 2024...
Technology & innovation Sea & health

North Sea wrecks: Toxic legacies of war

05/31/2023 - 12:03
Some 290 shipwrecks lie in the Belgian part of the North Sea alone, with probably more than 1,000 in the entire North Sea, many of them silent witnesses to the two world wars. Until recently, the environmental impact of these wrecks was largely unknown and, as far as the presence of munitions is concerned, they represented a true Pandora’s box. The North Sea Wrecks project has changed this.
Sea & health

How realistic is EU’s ambition to achieve zero pollution in marine waters under current legislation?

05/17/2023 - 10:00
The SOS-ZEROPOL2030 project made a compilation of legislation and policy-relevant documents, clarifying the feasibility of EU’s ambition to achieve zero pollution in marine waters. “Are you looking for a way out of the European pollution policy labyrinth? Stop searching for the magic and check the new delivery by the SOS-ZEROPOL2030 team!” This quote by Thomas Maes (GRID-Arendal) to introduce the...

The challenges and opportunities of marine carbon accounting in the North Sea

01/11/2023 - 15:51
The latest policy informing brief by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) highlights the concept of carbon accounting within the marine context. What are the main challenges and opportunities? What is the potential climatic importance of sediment-bound organic carbon in shallow seas, such as the North Sea? What role can the Oceans Network of the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) play in...

Join the Belgium National Decade Committee hosted by VLIZ!

12/14/2022 - 11:36
On December 2nd the Belgium National Decade Committee (NDC) was launched during the VLIZ Open Scientific Committee at the InnovOcean Campus. The NDC was presented to all marine research groups and broader group of stakeholders in Belgium by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) who was designated to host the secretariat of this Decade Committee for Belgium and Flanders. Participants from private...

'Blue building' InnovOcean Campus inaugurated

12/07/2022 - 15:33
On Monday 5 December, ILVO, VLIZ and its partners officially moved into the brand new InnovOcean Campus at Jacobsenstraat 1 in Ostend. The inauguration, in the presence of Hilde Crevits, Flemish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Fisheries, was attended by more than a hundred prominent figures and staff members.