geo.be Metadata Catalog
geo.be Metadata Catalog (National Geographic Institute)
Continents, countries, sea regions of the world.
Physical loss of the seabed dataset in support of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 6 (D06C01, 2018 Reporting)
This dataset is part of the 2018 Belgian submission for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) linked to descriptor 6, criterion 1. This dataset describes and maps the the physical loss of the seabed in the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS) in the period 2011-2016. The dataset combines the different human activities responsible for a loss of seabed, including wrecks, measuring piles and radar stations, pipelines, power and telecommunication cables with their rock dump, and wind farms. The area lost is mapped and quantified per year, per activity and per benthic broad habitat.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 of 21 December 2022 laying down a list of specific high-value datasets and the arrangements for their publication and re-use (Text with EEA relevance)
Greater North Sea, incl. the Kattegat and the English Channel
(Criteria) D6C1 - Physical loss of the seabed
This dataset is the result of a combination of seven smaller shapefiles representing wrecks, measuring piles and radar stations, pipelines, power and telecommunication cables with their rock dump, and wind farms. Original data were described in different coordinates system such as WGS84, ED50 and ETRS89. A buffer is applied around point geometry (wrecks, measuring piles, radar masts) to create a serie of polygon that are reprojected in WGS84. Finally all shapefiles are dissolved and published in INSPIRE compliant ETRS89-LAEA projection. The data is then dynamically made available through WFS and statically converted to an INSPIRE-compliant GML file.
Pelagic community cell abundances and carbon biomass
UNDER EMBARGO - This dataset is part of BE/2023 sampling campagn in SW Greenland fjords (Igaliku and Tunulliarfik). Pelagic community was analysed using Imaging Flow Cytometry (iFCM) with an ImageStream®X Mk II. Cells were grouped into functional size classes—pico-, nano- and microplankton—according to measured cell length. Cells lacking chlorophyll autofluorescence were classified as heterotrophic or chemotrophic organisms, including heterotrophic picoplankton/bacteria (HP; ≤2 µm) and heterotrophic nanoplankton (HN; 2–20 µm). No larger heterotrophs (>20 µm) were visually detected. Autofluorescent cells were considered phototrophic, although this fraction may also include mixotrophic taxa, and comprised picophytoplankton (AP; ≤2 µm), nanophytoplankton (AN; 2–20 µm), and microphytoplankton (AMicro; 20–100 µm). To estimate the biovolume of each plankton class, the two-dimensional cell surface area measured by the IDEAS® imaging software was multiplied by the mean cell width, assuming that cell width approximates the third spatial dimension. Carbon biomass was subsequently derived from biovolume using established carbon–volume relationships. For the HP fraction, carbon content was estimated using the bacterial conversion proposed by Romanova and Sazhin (2010), where volume is expressed in µm³. Although the HP fraction may also include heterotrophic picoeukaryotes, and its biomass may therefore be partly underestimated, this conversion was applied because the fraction was assumed to be numerically dominated by bacteria. For the other protist groups, carbon biomass was derived following Menden-Deuer and Lessard (2000). Carbon values were converted from pg C cell⁻¹ to carbon biomass (µg C L⁻¹) based on cell abundance.
Because the upper size detection limit of this instrument (iFCM) is 100 µm, 14 mL of each seawater sample was pre-filtered through a 100 µm mesh to remove larger particles. The filtrate was subsequently fixed with glutaraldehyde (final concentration 1.0%) and stored at 4 °C. Samples were allowed to sediment for at least 48 h, after which the supernatant was carefully removed to obtain a final 7× concentration. This concentration step was necessary to compensate for the relatively low abundance of larger cells within the small analytical volume processed by the instrument.Prior to acquisition, 0.5 mL of each sample was stained with 1% (v/v) SYBR Green I (100× working solution in DMSO) and incubated in the dark at 37 °C for 20 min. Microscopic images (40× magnification; pixel size 0.5 × 0.5 µm) and flow cytometry signals, including brightfield images, fluorescence at 488 nm (SYBR Green–stained nucleic acids), and fluorescence at 642 nm (chlorophyll autofluorescence), were recorded for further analysis.Using IDEAS® software (v. 6.2), plankton populations were identified and quantified based on their optical and fluorescence characteristics.
2026 Belgian MSP - Fishery management zones
The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 5 fishery management zones: Zone with prohibition of active bottom-disturbing commercial fishing (Art. 10§2), Zone with prohibition of bottom-disturbing commercial fishing (Art. 10§2), Fisheries research zone (Art. 17§2), Zone accessible to aquaculture and passive fisheries (Art. 18), Zone with prohibition of bottom-disturbing recreational fishing (Art. 24§2). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.
Area management/restriction/regulation zones and reporting units
Agriculture, fisheries, forestry and food
Dataset is quality assured. Dataset corresponds to a digitized version of the information published in the Belgian official gazette ("Belgisch staatsblad/Moniteur belge"). Only the information published in the official gazette has legal validity.
This service allows the visualization of historical orthophoto mosaics based on available aerial photographs covering parts of the Belgian territory. The data is accessible via a Web Map Service (WMS). Orthophotos are aerial photographs that have been geometrically corrected (orthorectified) to eliminate distortions caused by terrain relief, lens distortion, and camera tilt. Unlike raw aerial imagery, orthophotos have a uniform scale and accurate geometry, making them suitable for cartography, measurements, and visual analysis. This specific service includes historical orthophotos from 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, derived from aerial surveys carried out by the National Geographic Institute (NGI) and the Regions. From this period onward, both analogue and digital aerial photographs are available. The analogue images were scanned at high resolution and, like the digital ones, orthorectified. The resulting orthophotos were assembled into mosaics and georeferenced in the Lambert 2008 coordinate system. The orthophotos are either panchromatic (black and white) or in colour (RGB), depending on the year and location. The ground resolution (GSD) varies between 10 cm and 100 cm, depending on the sensor used and the surveyed area. The spatial coverage of this service is limited to the areas for which aerial photographs were available during the mentioned period. The service has been cached using the WebMercator TileMatrixSet, with a maximum scale denominator of 4,265.459167699568 metres (scale level 17).
historical orthophotos, aerial photographs, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, panchromatic, black and white, RGB, 10 cm resolution, 25 cm resolution, 50 cm resolution, 100 cm resolution
•The custodian of the resource holds the rights of property (including the rights of intellectual property) to the geographic files •The custodian grants the user the right to use the data for his internal use. •Commercial use of the data under any form is strictly forbidden •Custodian’s name must be mentioned each time the data are being used publically.
Hail products are derived from the observed vertical profiles of radar reflectivity and the NWP vertical profiles of temperature. Three types of products are generated. poh : probability of hail of any size (larger than 0.5 cm diameter)expressed in %. posh : probability of severe hail(larger than 2cm)expressed in %. mesh : maximum expected size of hailexpressed in mm of hailstone diameter. All products are generated every 5 minutes. This product is not publically available yet.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) This is a human-readable summary of (and not a substitute for) the license. You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Hail detection module is an implementation of two hail detection algorithms: of Witt and of Waldvogel (Waldvogelet al., 1979). The module takes radar observations and temperature information and estimates probability of hail (POH, %), probability of severe hail (POSH, %) and maximum expected size of hail (MESH, mm). The implementation of the Waldvogel algorithm is based on the Holleman's equation (I. Holleman, 2001), which was verified for Belgium by Delobbe et al. (2003). The POH is derived in the algorithm from the presence of a substantial updraft detected above the freezing level (0º-isoterm). The implementation of the Witt algorithm is based on the weighted integration of the reflectivity values between the heights of 0º-isoterm and -20º-isotherm (Witt et al., 1998). This algorithm provides POSH and MESH estimates.
Contaminants in sediment dataset in support of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 8 (D08C01, 2018 Reporting)
This dataset is part of the 2018 Belgian submission for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) linked to descriptor 8, criterion 1. This dataset contains the contaminant concentrations measured in sediments at 10 monitoring stations in the Belgian part of the North Sea between 2011 and 2015. 88 parameters are measured in the upper part of the sea bottom by a Van Veen grab sampler. The contaminants are analyzed on the fraction < 63 µm. PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) and heavy metals are analyzed by the Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO) and Sciensano. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organotin compounds are analysed by RBINS-OD Nature, PAHs and organotin based on an accredited method (ISO/IEC 17025).
Contaminants do not produce pollution effects
(Criteria) D8C1 - Contaminant in environment
Marine environmental pollutants measured in sediment are analysed by ECOCHEM (the laboratory of RBINS-OD Nature accredited for these analyses according to ISO 17025) and imported into the IDOD database of the Belgian Marine Data Centre, following the BMDC Quality Management System. Multiple consistency checks are performed at this point, on information harmonisation, international standards mapping and value QC (units, analysis methods and outliers). The data is then dynamically made available through WFS and statically converted to an INSPIRE-compliant GML file.
Volume reflectivity data - Wideumont weather radar
Polar volume reflectivity data from the Wideumont weather radar. Volume data files are produced every 5 minutes from a multiple elevation scan. This product is not publicly available yet.
Reflectivity data are collected at 15 elevation angles between 0.3 and 25 degrees. A Doppler filtering is applied. An electronic calibration is regularly performed and the quality of the data is monitored using comparison between radar-based precipitation estimates and rain gauge measurements.
This view service allows visualization of the IGN digital terrain model at a resolution of 5m (DTM 5m) as well as the shaded version (Hillshade DTM 5m) of it.
hillshade, altitude, digital terrain model, Reporting INSPIRE
View Service (WMS) for 'User reports from the RMI smartphone app'
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) This is a human-readable summary of (and not a substitute for) the license. You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits. Scientific publications should refer to https://doi.org/10.5194/ecss2023-50
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC)
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS)
Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences (RBINS), Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Ecosystems data processing and modelling (ECODAM)
Laboratorium voor Protistologie en Aquatische Ecologie, Departement Biologie (UGent)
Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
Instituut voor Landbouw- en Visserijonderzoek - Visserij (ILVO)
Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences (RBINS), Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Ecosystems Physico-Chemistry (ECOCHEM)
Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences (RBINS), Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature)