We will be celebrating the 125th Anniversary of the Geological Survey of Belgium with a two-day event on the 9th and 10th of June 2022.
During the first day of the event taking place in the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels, we will be looking at the history and achievements of the GSB over the last 125 years. Speakers include the Van den Broeck Medal Lecture, given by Michiel Dusar, as well as discussions on the importance of surveys in Earth Research, and a look at the global challenges and the responsibilities of local surveys. The day also includes lunch, demonstrations and tours of the facilities and collections.
The second day of the event will be dedicated to field excursions to the UNESCO Geopark Famenne-Ardenne and famous Belgian ornamental stones from Devonian and Carboniferous.
As a satellite event, the project ROBOMINERS organises the seminar “Innovation in Selective Mining: new trends and technological advances to reduce the environmental footprint of mineral extraction” on Wednesday 8th June 2022, also at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels.
| 08:30 – 09:30 | Registration |
| 09:30 – 09:40 | Welcome and Opening – Patricia Supply, Director, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences |
| 09:40 – 09:50 | Celebrating geology as a part of Science Policy – Belgian Science Policy Office |
| 09:50 – 10:00 | Be.Geology – Serving Society – Vanessa Heyvaert, Director, Geological Survey of Belgium |
| 10:00 – 10:05 | Presentation of the book celebrating GSB’s 125 years – Marleen De Ceukelaire, GSB |
| 10:05 – 11:05 | GSB as Catalyser of Earth Research 10:05-10:25 When FSIs join forces – Koen Van Noten, Royal Observatory of Belgium 10:25-10:45 Two decades of cooperation with the GSB – Jean-Marc Baele, University of Mons 10:45-11:05 Hazard research around the globe – Marc De Batist, University of Ghent |
| 11:05 – 11:30 | COFFEE BREAK |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Serving society as a GSB Geologist – Van Den Broeck Medal Lecture – Michiel Dusar, GSB |
| 12:30 – 14:30 | LUNCHING WITHIN A SURVEY: Walking lunch, demonstrations, tours of facilities and collections |
| 14:30 – 15:55 | Global challenges and local Surveys: responsibilities and actions 14:30-14:35 Introduction by GSB-moderator 14:35-14:50 Cross-Border Cooperation in the Low Countries – Making Political Boundaries Invisible – Michiel van der Meulen, TNO 14:50-15:05 Geology and the breadth of climate research – Slavko Solar, UNECE 15:05-15:20 USGS Science and Its Cooperation with Europe – Ingrid Verstraeten, USGS 15:20-15:45 Moderated panel debate |
| 15:55 – 16:00 | Concluding Prospects – Patricia Supply, General Director, RBINS |
| 16:00 | BIRTHDAY CAKE – First cut by RBINS General Director Patricia Supply |
Be aware that the fieldtrips has limited places, register soon!
Meeting places and times:
Brussels – GSB at 8:00 am (map)
Han-sur-Lesse – Place Théo Lannoy at 9:30 am (map)
| 09:30 – 10:30 | The UNESCO Global Geopark Famenne-Ardenne and walk to the Lesse spring at the ‘Trou de Han’ through the Han-sur-Lesse village |
| 10:30 – 12:00 | Visit of the Han-sur-Lesse cave, a typical example of a meander cut-off by one of the important European underground rivers |
| 12:00 – 14:00 | Lunch at the Pavillon (Han-sur-Lesse) small hot meal and drinks (20€) |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Gallery of Ave-et-Auffe – ancient lead mine – presentation of the H2020 European Project Robominers – Resilient Bio-inspired Modular Robotic Miners |
| 15:00 – 16:20 | Resteigne Quarry – A Givetian outcrop telling the geological evolution of the region |
| 16:20 – 17:00 | ‘Rocher à Pic’ Viewpoint on the geomorphology of the region or Nou-Maulin cave entrance, starting point of the Geopark and climate impact (depending on weather and time) |
| 17:00 | End of the field trip, travel back to GSB in Brussels (estimated arrival time: 18:30) |
Meeting places and times:
Brussels – GSB at 8:00 am (map)
Rue Profondrieux – Tellier des Prés quarry (Ecaussines) at 9:30 am (map)
| 09:30 – 12:00 | The bluestone (Pierre Bleue or Petit Granit) quarry nearby Soignies – geological background, explanations on the blue stone formation, their diagenetic evolution, the problems from karstic features |
| 12:00 – 14:00 | Lunch at the quarry with different vegetarian, meats option or eventually a salad (gluten-free) (20€) |
| 14:00 – 16:30 | The underground Mazy quarry nearby Namur – A Frasnian underground active exploitation quarry for black marble (origin, sedimentary evaluation of the black marble, room and pillar exploitation) |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | If time left: Dinantian rocks along the Meuse River. Viewpoints (Dinantian dolomite, karstic aspect affecting the Visean Grande Brèche (breccia) covered by Namurian shales) |
| 17:00 | End of the field trip, travel back to GSB in Brussels (estimated arrival time: 18:30) |
