News

The region of the Belgian-Dutch Scheldt Delta has been officially recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark. The world heritage organization thereby acknowledges that the area is exceptional in terms of its geological, cultural-historical, and landscape features.

Citizen scientists have donated tens of thousands of fossil shark and ray teeth to the Institute. They were excavated at the clay quarry of Egem in West Flanders, and bear witness to the rich diversity in the shallow tropical sea around 50 million years ago in our regions.

On August 8, 1956, 262 miners died in the fire at the Bois du Cazier mine in Marcinelle (Charleroi). In 2023, a multidisciplinary team of researchers formally identified two of the 14 victims who couldn't be identified at the time. In March 2024 the team announced the identity of a third victim.

Palaeontologists have uncovered a fossilized tooth from a white shark embedded in the heel bone of a seal, shedding light on a dramatic event that unfolded 4.5 million years ago.

An international team of paleontologists has uncovered a remarkably rich and diverse array of fossils from the Early Cretaceous, in Jezzine, South Lebanon. “It is rare getting a glimpse on the diversity of such an early terrestrial ecosystem for this continental area”, says paleontologist Ninon Robin,  Institute of Natural Sciences.

Fifteen years into the programme, monitoring of the ecological effects of Belgian offshore wind farms continues to provide new insights. Only through sustained and adaptive monitoring can we ensure that we design and build offshore wind farms in the most eco-friendly way.

This morning, a dead common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) washed ashore on the beach of Oostende, near the western breakwater. It is a female measuring 2.07 meters in length.

Etienne Steurbaut, former head of the paleontology department at our Institute, has received the highest distinction for geology that a scientist can receive in our country.