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With a 89,000 km long coastline, Europe is a maritime continent which derives huge societal benefits from its seas and oceans. Coastal regions host almost half the population of EU countries with a sea border. To consolidate and reinforce the sustainable use of its marine waters and to meet the grand challenges and opportunities of the future, Europe has developed holistic policies, including the...

Until recently, the ScheldeMonitor was mainly known as an information system containing all publications, projects and data sets with regard to research and monitoring in the Scheldt estuary. Now major steps were made to develop ScheldeMonitor further into a data portal in which actual measurement data can be consulted.

The Project Office for IODE, hosted and supported by the Flemish Government through the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), is in search of a permanent staff member for the coordination of its international renomated technical training programme.

A final decision has been taken: the Dutch shipbuilder “Damen Shipyards Gorinchem” has been commissioned for the construction of the Simon Stevin, the ultramodern research vessel that will replace the "Zeeleeuw". The Flemish government gave its final approval on 5 August 2010, after which the order for the construction could be given. The ship will have a length of 36 m, a width of 9 m and a...

As since 1960 the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO is active in the oceans and seas all over the world. On the 8th of June 2010 – on the occasion of the celebration of their fifty years existence – a message on behave of the oceans was spread to all peoples and nations of the world. It is a plea to deal more carefully with the oceans and to give them the attention they...

In 1843 professor Pierre-Joseph van Beneden from Leuven installed the world’s very first marine research station in Ostend. In doing so the Belgian professor was ahead of his time and of a wave of similar stations elsewhere in Europe and the world, and would lay the foundation of a long tradition of marine institutes in Ostend. A meticulous study of historical source material now also shows the...

The EurOCEAN 2010 Conference in Ostende, Belgium (12-13 October 2010) will provide a unique opportunity for the European marine science community to consider, discuss and respond to new policy developments and achievements since the last EurOCEAN conference (2007, Aberdeen); and to highlight new challenges and opportunities for marine research in the next decade. More info on www.eurocean2010.eu...

The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) collaborated in the development of a user-friendly web application for the calculation of the biologic BEQI-index (Benthic Ecosystem Quality Index), making the ecologic assessment of coastal and transitional waters based on bottom animals (macrobenthos) - according to the Water Framework Directive - more accessible: www.beqi.eu.

The progress of the tsunami was followed closely via the sea level monitoringssystem, developed by IOC/UNESCO, IODE and VLIZ in Oostend, Belgium.

Until the 15 th of January marine researchers at European universities of institutes can express their interest in funded ship time onboard of numerous European research vessels.

Version 5.0 of this global database covering the maritime boundaries of all coastal states worldwide is now available at www.vliz.be/vmdcdata/marbound. In 2009 VLIZ counted more than 2000 downloads by users from all over the world. The dataset is used for the preparation of building and development plans at sea, environmental impact assessments, marine and coastal studies, school projects, etc.

On Friday 27 November all marine scientists of Flanders and surrounding met! Because of the 10 th anniversary of the Flanders Marine Institute a special edition of the VLIZ Young Scientists' Day was organised in Hotel Thermae Palace in Oostende. Here you can find all winners of the contests and pictures of the event.

With this initiative the UNESCO/IOC Project Office for IODE, in co-operation with the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), wants the local marine scientists to get in touch with world leading experts, often present at the InnovOcean Site in Ostend for a training course or meeting. On the 14th of December 2009 an afternoon session (16.00 - 18.30) is organised in which three specialists of EUMETSAT...

By the end of November we have a big celebration in Oostende! The Flanders Marine Institute celebrates its 10 year anniversary with a two-day event in Thermae Palace. On Thursday 26 November there is a full evening's programme on the coast and sea for the public at large (in Dutch - BOOKED UP). During the day on Friday 27 November we organise the 10th VLIZ Young Marine Scientists' Day: a must for...

Earlier the VLIZ and IOC developed the Sea Level Station Monitoring Facility. Through this web-based application one can easily control the operational status of global and regional networks of real time sea level stations, and perform a quick inspection of the raw data stream from almost 300 GLOSS stations along the coasts of the Indian Ocean, the North East Atlantic & Mediterranean, the Pacific...

The project EUROFLEETS – “Towards an alliance of European research fleets” - funded by the European Commission in the 7th Framework program was launched on 20-22 September, with a meeting of about 100 scientists and fleet operators in Paris. VLIZ is one of the 24 partners.

With the website of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS: www.marinespecies.org) the VLIZ and worldwide taxonomic experts aim to provide the most authoritative list of names of all marine species globally, ever published. The number of visitors to this website is increasing. Now monthly 1,000,000 hits are counted, meaning on an average day more than 2,000 visits per day.

In order to give marine scientists in Flanders the opportunity to stay informed about the latest developments in the field of oceanography in general and marine data and information management, marine biodiversity and ocean modeling in particular, the IOC Project Office for IODE has started - in cooperation with the Flanders Marine Institute - with the organisation of scientific seminars. On 19...