Renard Centre of Marine Geology, University of Ghent, Belgium

Development of seismic methods and geophysical techniques

Development of seismic methods and new technologies for very high-resolution geological investigations in marine and lacustrine environments. Ultra high-resolution marine 3D seismics, a.o. for geotechnical applications. Development of a multi-functional deep-sea exploration system, including high-resolution deep-tow seismics. Development of applications for deep-water ROV exploration in marine and lacustrine environments. In-situ heat-flow measurements in marine and lacustrine environments. Seismic exploration on rivers and canals.

Selected relevant research projects

EC-MAST3 "Very-high resolution 3D seismics (VHR3D)"
EC-MAST3 "European North Atlantic Margins 2 (ENAM2)"
EC-FP5 "European Co-ordination on Mediterranean and Black Sea Prodeltas (EURODELTA)"
EC-FP5 "European Deep Ocean Margins: a new training-through-research frontier (EURODOM)"
BELSPO "Antarctic shelf-slope dynamics - an innovative geophysical approach"
BELSPO "Towards a high-resolution 3D-analysis of sandbank architecture on the Belgian Continental
Shelf (RESOURCE-3D)"
BELSPO BELGICA II "TURBEAMS – Towards 3D TURbidity by correlating multiBEAM sonar and in-situ Sensor data”
UGent Research Fund BOF-GOA "Marine Geophysics"
IWT-SBO Project “Archaeological heritage in the North Sea. Development of an efficient assessment methodology and
approach towards a sustainable management policy and legal framework in Belgium” (project website)

Continental margin geology

Geodynamics, seismic- and sequence-stratigraphy and paleoceanography of continental margins, with special emphasis on processes of sediment deposition, destabilisation and/or erosion and redeposition on shelf-edge, slope and basin-floor environments. Research areas include the Weddell Sea margin (Antarctica), Bransfield Basin (Antarctica), the Antarctic Peninsula margin, the East-Greenland margin, the Barents Sea margin, Porcupine Basin, the Celtic Sea margin, the Gulf of Cadiz, the Black Sea margin and the NW Mediterranean...

Selected relevant research projects

ESF-Programme "Polar North Atlantic Margins (PONAM)"
BELSPO "Antarctic shelf-slope dynamics - an innovative geophysical approach"
BELSPO "BE-POLES"
BELSPO BELGICA II "NORSEAT – Storegga and beyond – North Sea tsunami deposits offshore Shetland Islands”
EC-MAST2 "STARFISH"
EC-MAST3 "European North Atlantic Margins 2 (ENAM2)"
EC-FP5 "European Deep Ocean Margins: a new training-through-research frontier (EURODOM)"
EC-FP5 "Ocean Margin deep-water research consortium (OMARC)"
FWO Research Project "Paleo-GLOFs: Assessing the impact of climate change on the frequency of Glacial Lake Outburst
     Floods in Patagonia”
PHC Tournesol Flanders-France joint research project “Geochemistry of river sediment input to the fjords of Northern Chilean
     Patagonia and the adjacent Southeastern Pacific Ocean”
UGent Research Fund BOF Starting Project "Developing inorganic geochemical proxies for accurate paleohydrological
     reconstructions from fjord sediments (HYDROPROX)"

Limnogeology

Geodynamics, seismic- and sequence-stratigraphy, paleoclimatology and paleoseismology of large lakes and intramontane lacustrine basins. Research areas include Lakes Tanganyika, Malawi, Rukwa and Kivu in the East-African Rift system; Lakes Baikal, Teletskoye, Issyk-Kul and Khubsugul in Central Asia; glacial lakes in the French Alps (le Bourget, Annecy, Anterne and Léman), in Chile, on Kerguelen Archipelago and in Alaska; volcanic lakes in the French Central Massif (Pavin, le Bouchet), in the EIfel Region in Germany, in South America (Potrok Aike), in Africa (Challa), in Japan (Fuji Five Lakes) and in Indonesia (Maninjau)

Selected relevant research projects

EC-ENVIRONMENT "Rukwa Project"

EC-FP5-INCO "Assessment and prognosis of environmental changes in Lake Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan) (APELIK)"

EC-FP5-EESD "High-resolution continental paleoclimate record in the Lake Baikal (CONTINENT)"

EC-INTAS "Continental rift tectonics and sedimentary basin evolution"

EC-INTAS "A new bathymetric computer map of Lake Baikal"

EC-INTAS "The Holocene record of Caspian Sea level change in the offshore Kura delta, Azerbaijan"

BELSPO "Danube-Tisza Project"

BELSPO "Deep rift basins"

BELPSO "A continuous Holocene record of ENSO variability in Southern Chile"

BELSPO "Belgian cluster on lake research in the framework of global climate change"

BELSPO-ANTAR6 "Holocene climate variability and ecosystem change in coastal East and Maritime Antarctica (HOLANT)"

BELSPO BRAIN.be "QuakeRecNankai – Paleo-tsunami and earthquake records of ruptures along the Nankai Trough, offshore
South-Central Japan”

FWO Research Project "Exploration of African crater lakes for paleoclimate research"
FWO Research Project "CHILT – Reconstructie van Laatglaciale en Holocene klimaatsveranderingen in de zuidelijke
hemisfeer aan de hand van een merentransect doorheen Zuid Chili”

FWO Research Project "Decoding and calibrating the "lacustrine seismometer": towards a better understanding of the
recurrence pattern of megathrust earthquakes along subduction zones”

FWO Research Grant "Characterization of slope failures in lakes as a tool for quantitative paleoseismology in South-Central
Chile"

FWO Research Grant "Testing the potential and limits of tephrostratigraphy: The June 2011 eruption of Puyehue-Cordon de
Caulle volcano”

FWO Bilateral Cooperation with MINCyT " Sedimentological and geochemical records of the June 2011 eruption of
Puyehue-Cordon de Caulle volcano in lake sediments”
ESF-EuroCLIMATE "High-resolution reconstruction of late-Glacial and Holocene climate variability in equatorial East Africa
based on laminated lake sediments from Mt. Kilimanjaro (CHALLACEA)"

DFG "Response of East African climate to orbital forcing during the last two glacial cycles: The Lake Naivasha Coring Project"

UGent Research Fund - Bilateral Scientific Collaboration (Chile) "Impacts of volcanic activity, climate and land cover

changes on the ecology and watershed hydrology of Andean lakes in Southern Central Chile"

UGent Research Fund - Bilateral Scientific Collaboration (Chile) "Building a north-south transect for the reconstruction of late

Quaternary climate and environmental change in southern Chile: (paleo)limnological and limnogeological

reconnaissance"

UGent Research Fund - Bilateral Scientific Collaboration (Russia) "Reconstructing Holocene water-level fluctuations and

paleoenvironments in the Caspian Sea based on geophysical and core investigation of the Volga paleodelta"

UGent Research Fund - 4-year Project "Detection of strong earthquakes in lake sediments"
UGent Research Fund - 4-year Project "Paleo-tsunamis along the South-Central Chilean coast: Evidence from coastal lake
     sediments”
UGent Research Fund - Concerted Research Action "Exploiting of a unique 150,000-year archive of climate and ecosystem
     history from equatorial Africa: UGent contribution to the ICDP DeepCHALLA project”
UGent Research Fund BOF Starting Project "Towards efficient and detailed analysis of turbidite records for geo- and climate
     hazard reconstructions - An integrated approach combining X-ray CT, magnetic, grain-size and geochemical analysis"

Methane hydrates, cold seeps and mud volcanoes

Study of the occurrence and stability conditions of methane hydrates; the investigation of the processes related to cold methane vents and mud volcanism; estimation of methane fluxes and the fate of methane in the marine and lacustrine environment. Research areas include the the Norwegian margin, the Gulf of Cadiz, Hydrate Ridge offshore Oregon, the Black Sea, Hikurangi Maring, the Weddell Sea margin, the Beaufort Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk and Lake Baikal...

Selected relevant research projects

EC-MAST3 "GASHYDAT"
EC-FP5-EESD "Contribution of high-intensity gas seeps in the Black Sea to methane emission to the atmosphere (CRIMEA)"
EC-FP5-MarieCurie "Assessment of the gas-bearing sediments in the north-western Black Sea"
EC-FP6-MarieCurie "New Zealand Cold Vents: Integrative petrographical, geochemical and geophysical investigations on
active marine vents and fossil vents on land (New Vents)"
EC-INTAS "Assessment and evaluation of gas hydrates in Lake Baikal"
EC-INTAS "Multidisciplinary study of natural gas seeps in Lake Baikal (MULTISGAS)"
BELSPO "Gas hydrates and gas seeps in Lake Baikal"
BELSPO "Gas hydrates and gas seeps in Lake Baikal (Phase 2)"
FWO "Hydrates and lake bed venting"
UNESCO "Training Through Research (TTR)"
UGent Research Fund - Bilateral Scientific Collaboration (Russia) "Gas hydrate accumulations associated with active fluid
seeps: A combined thermal and acoustic approach"

Cold-water corals, carbonate mud mounds and contourite drifts

Study of outer-shelf and upper-slope environments in the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Pacific, with special emphasis to the investigation of carbonate mud mounds and deep-water coral habitats. Research areas include the Porcupine Bight, the Gulf of Cadiz, the Norwegian margin and Hydrate Ridge offshore Oregon...

Selected relevant research projects

University of Gent Research Fund Concerted Action "Porcupine-Belgica"
EC-FP5-EESD "The Mound Factory - Internal controls (GEOMOUND)"
EC-FP5-EESD "Environmental controls on mound formation along the European Margin (ECOMOUND)"
EC-FP6-GCE "Hotspot Ecosystem Research on the Margins of European Seas (HERMES)"
EC-FP7-ENV “HERMIONE – Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Man's Impact on European Seas”
FWO Research Project "Gent-NEBROC II geassocieerd project over de genese van mounds (GENESIS)"
FWO Research Project "Using cold-water coral mini-mounds as analogue for giant mound growth: assessment of
     environmental drivers and anthropogenic impact (MINIMOUND)”
FWO Research Project "An oceanographic and sediment DYNamic MODelling study of MOunded contourite Drifts (DynaMOD)”
FWO International Coordination Action "Cold-Water Carbonate Reservoir Systems in Deep Environments (COCARDE)"
FWO International Coordination Action "Cold-Water Carbonate Reservoir Systems in Deep Environments (COCARDE) -
     Phase 2"
FWO Research Grant "Highlighting the contourite facies: an in-depth baseline study (CONTOURITE-3D)”
ESF-EuroMARGINS "Forcing of carbonate mounds and deep water coral reefs along the NW European continental margin
     (MOUNDFORCE)"
ESF-EuroDIVERSITY "Microbial diversity and functionality in cold-water coral reef ecosystems (MiCROSYSTEMS)"
UNESCO "Training Through Research (TTR)"
UGent Research Fund - Start-Up Project "Assessment of the variability of the distal Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) and
     its impact on deep-water ecosystems since the Middle Pleistocene”

Marine habitat mapping

Development and application of new integrated acoustical technologies for advanced sea-floor mapping: multi-beam bathymetry, side-scan sonar imaging and acoustical sea-floor characterisation. Development of predictive habitat models based on geophysical and hydrographic data. Development and improvement of geophysical and acoustical habitat mapping approaches.

Selected relevant research projects

BELSPO-NORTH SEA "Intensive evaluation of the evolution of a protected benthic habitat (HABITAT)"
EC-INTERREG IIIB "Development of a framework for mapping European seabed habitats (MESH)"
BELSPO-NORTH SEA "A biological valuation map for the Belgian continental shelf (BWZee)"

Marine environmental and geoarcheological research

Applied and fundamental marine environmental investigations. Special emphasis is on investigations related to sediment and morphodynamics, to the sustainable use of natural resources (aggregate extraction, offshore wind-farm construction,...) or to the evaluation of toxic dump sites.

Selected relevant research projects

BELSPO-NORTH SEA "Paardenmarkt"
BELSPO-ENERGY "Optimal developments in offshore wind in Belgium"
BELSPO-NORTH SEA "Management, research and budgetting of aggregates in shelf seas related to end users
     (MAREBASSE)"
BELSPO-NORTH SEA "Study of Post-extraction ecological effects in the Kwintebank sand dredging area (SPEEK)"
BELSPO-NORTH SEA "Beneficial Usage of data and geo-environmental techniques (BUDGET)"
BELSPO-NORTH SEA "Towards a Spatial Structure Plan for the Sustainable Managements of the Sea (GAUFRE)"
BELSPO-NORTH SEA "Mud Origin, Characterisation and Human Activities (MOCHA)"
BELSPO "Sustainable management of the North Sea (SUMANOS)"
BELSPO "Towards a high-resolution 3D-analysis of sandbank architecture on the Belgian Continental Shelf
     (RESOURCE-3D)"
BELSPO-NORTH SEA "QUantification of Erosion/Sedimentation patterns to Trace the natural from the anthropogenically
     induced sediment dynamics (QUEST4D)"
BELSPO BRAIN.be "TILES – Transnational and Integrated Long-term Marine Exploitation Strategies”
BELSPO BELGICA II "WALDO – Where are All the (proglacial) Lake seDiments in the NOrth Sea Basin?”
EC-FP6-INCO "Modelling of ecological risks related to sea-dumped chemical weapons (MERCW)"
EC-FP5-Improving "European Marine Sand and Gravel Resources: Evaluation and environmental impact of extraction
     (EUMARSAND)"
EC-INTERREG 2SEAS “Arch-Manche – Archaeology, art and coastal heritage - tools to support coastal management and
     climate change planning across the Channel Regional Sea”
IWT-SBO Project “Archaeological heritage in the North Sea. Development of an efficient assessment methodology and
     approach towards a sustainable management policy and legal framework in Belgium” (project website)
FWO "Een archeologische verkenning van de land-zee overgangszone in Doelpolder Noord (Westerschelde monding): impact
     van zeespiegelstijgingen op het paleolandschap en de menselijke bewoning van de prehistorie tot de middeleeuwen”

Research for education

Feedback of research results and experience of the European scientific community towards graduate and post-graduate students. Development of initiatives for training of graduate and post-graduate students through participation to research expeditions at sea.

Selected relevant research projects

SOCRATES/ERASMUS "Mercator in marine geosciences"
UNESCO "Training Through Research (TTR)"
EC-FP5-Improving "European Marine Sand and Gravel Resources: Evaluation and environmental impact of extraction (EUMARSAND)"
EC-FP5-Improving "European Deep Ocean Margins: a new training-through-research frontier (EURODOM)"