geo.be Metadata Catalog
geo.be Metadata Catalog (National Geographic Institute)
Continents, countries, sea regions of the world.
Download Service (WFS) 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
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.
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.
Microbial growth and micro, mesozooplankton grazing
UNDER EMBARGO - This dataset originates from the BE/2023 sampling campaign conducted in southwest Greenland fjords (Igaliku and Tunulliarfik) and quantifies grazing impacts by micro- and mesozooplankton on phytoplankton and heterotrophic microbial communities (including bacteria) in two fjord systems characterized by contrasting glacial regimes. Grazing and microbial growth rates were estimated using two-point dilution experiments (two-point dilution experiments), alongside experiments assessing mesozooplankton and copepod grazing on both phytoplankton and microzooplankton. Community responses were resolved using imaging flow cytometry, enabling the identification of plankton functional groups (autotrophic, mixotrophic, and heterotrophic) and size classes. The dataset also includes measurements of chlorophyll a variability determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Overall, the dataset supports analyses of trophic interactions and grazing dynamics across the microbial food web under differing glacier-influenced environmental conditions.
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. For chlorophyll a analysis, seawater volumes ranging from 400 mL to 600 mL were filtered onto 25-mm diameter Whatman GF/F filters and immediately stored at -80°C until further analysis. Pigments were extracted using 90% acetone and analysed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) following the method of Van Heukelem and Thomas (2001). Calibration was performed using pigment standards from DHI Water and Environment (Hørsholm, Denmark). In the dataset is indicated the final consentration (μg/L) of each detected photosyntetic pigment.
The SYNOP data of RMI contain the observations of the synoptic network, currently consisting of 29 stations, 13 of which are owned by RMI. The other stations belong to MeteoWing (8 stations), Skeyes (7 stations). There is also 1 foreign station. All SYNOP data is given in Universal Time! (local time winter = UT +1; local time summer = UT + 2) Parameters: 1. Precipitation: PRECIP_QUANTITY + PRECIP_RANGE 2. Temperature: TEMP + TEMP_MIN + TEMP_MAX + TEMP_GRASS_MIN 3. Wind: WIND_SPEED + WIND_SPEED_UNIT + WIND_DIRECTION + WIND_PEAK_SPEED 4. relative humidity: HUMIDITY_RELATIVE 5. weather type: WEATHER_CURRENT 6. air pressure: PRESSURE of PRESSURE_STATION_LEVEL 7. sunshine duration: SUN_DURATION_24H 8. Global radiation: SHORT_WAVE_FROM_SKY_24HOUR 9. Total cloudiness: CLOUDINESS
SYNOP data are first subjected to an automatic quality control where we check for missing values and if the values are within certain physical limits. This automatic QC is followed by a manual QC performed by RMI staff members. Different instruments are calibrated by RMI in its calibration laboratory. The TEMPERATURE sensors are calibrated by comparing the pt100 sensor of the station with the pt25 reference sensor of the calibration lab (which are calibrated by the national metrology lab). They are compared in a thermostatic bath which contains an “azeotropic mixture of propyleenglycol and water” (50-50%). This allows the same bath and mixture to be used for the entire temperature range (-25°C to 35°C). The calibration is performed at 6 fixed temperatures: -25°C, -10°C, 0°C, 10°C, 20°C and 35°C. The calibration of the PRESSURE sensors is performed using a balance system with two pumps (for under and over pressure) and three reference sensors: a recent one (rpm4) and two older ones (paroscientific) in an automated way with 3 up and down cycles within the pressure range 810-1050hPa, with a calibration every 30hPa. The calibration of the HUMIDITY sensors is performed in a climate closet (Weiss) by varying the temperature and relative humidity and by using a chilled mirror sensor.
An hillshade is a homogeneous and regular points grid, indicating the grey tone deriving from their orientation relative to the chosen fictitious light source. The Hillshade DSM 1m is a representation of the hillshading of the DSM 1m.
hillshade, altitude, digital surface model
•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.
The product Hillshade DSM 1m is a slope shading view of the digital surface model at 1m resolution (DSM 1m). The source data used to produce this DSM 1m are the DSM at a 1m-resolution from the regions: data from Digitaal Vlaanderen (former AIV and former AGIV) for the Flemish Region, data from the SPW for the Walloon Region and data from Paradigm for the Region of Brussels-Capital. These regional DSM are derived from the clouds of points obtained during the LiDAR campaign (flight of 9 October 2021 for Brussels, from 19 February 2021 to 5 March 2022 for Wallonia and from 20 February 2013 to 20 April 2015 for Flanders). In order to create this representation, we have used the following parameters: - Azimut: 315° (angle of the fictitious light source relative to the north) - Angle: 45° (angle of the fictitious light source above the horizon) The hillshade view allows to create a graphic effect on the map which gives an idea of the relief on the terrain. LiDAR data coming from regions do not stop at borders, the coverage of the data extends beyond the limits of Belgium and offers a buffer of variable size all around Belgium.
Download Service (WFS) for Synoptic observations
UNDER EMBARGO - This dataset is part of BE/2023 sampling campagn in SW Greenland fjords (Igaliku and Tunulliarfik). The dataset reports the final concentrations (μg L⁻¹) of each detected photosynthetic pigment, used to infer phytoplankton functional groups and compare community composition across fjords with differing glacial influence and between seasons (spring–summer). For pigment analysis, seawater volumes ranging from 700 mL to 1 L were filtered onto 25-mm diameter Whatman GF/F filters and immediately stored at -80°C until further analysis. Pigments were extracted using 90% acetone and analysed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) following the method of Van Heukelem and Thomas (2001). Calibration was performed using pigment standards from DHI Water and Environment (Hørsholm, Denmark). In the dataset is indicated the final consentration (μg/L) of each detected photosyntetic pigment.
high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
This dataset present results after the calculation adeguated for volume filtered and volume extraction.
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 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, derived from aerial surveys carried out by the National Geographic Institute (NGI) and the Regions. During this period, 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. All orthophotos are in colour (RGB). The ground resolution (GSD) varies between 10 cm and 50 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, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, RGB, 10 cm resolution, 25 cm resolution, 50 cm resolution
Download Service (WCS) for Alaro over Belgium
Download Service (WCS) for Alaro over Belgium. All the parameters of the last run of Alaro can be downloaded in grid format
Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature), Belgian Marine Data Centre (BMDC)
Laboratorium voor Protistologie en Aquatische Ecologie, Departement Biologie (UGent)
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS)