Tine Missiaen - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

News by Tine Missiaen

During May 2019, an 11-day expedition by European scientists from Belgium and Britain was underta... more During May 2019, an 11-day expedition by European scientists from Belgium and Britain was undertaken to explore three sites of potential geological and archaeological interest in the southern North Sea. Prospecting this drowned landscape in search of the evidence of people is a challenging activity. Although the survey was heavily impacted by poor weather, confirmation of the occurrence of a well-preserved Early Holocene land surface was made near Brown Bank. The evidence strongly suggests that a prehistoric woodland once stood in this area.

Survey also targeted a large river system identified in the landscape modelled by the Lost Frontiers Team This area focused on a zone where the river entered an ancient sea, and was suspected to be a location where evidence of human activity was more likely to be preserved. The survey recorded not only remains of peat but also nodules of flint which may originate from submarine chalk outcrops near the ancient river
and coast. .
Further study has also revealed the first archaeological artefacts from the survey area. One was a small piece of flint that was possibly the waste product of stone tool making. The second was a larger piece, broken from the edge of a stone hammer, an artefact used to make a variety of other flint tools. As well as being evidence for flint tool production the hammer fragment derived from a large battered flint nodule would once have been part of a personal tool kit.

The recovery of stone artefacts not only demonstrate that these landscapes were inhabited but also that archaeologists can, for the first time, prospect for evidence of human occupation in the deeper waters of the North Sea with some certainty of success. Work will now proceed to refine our knowledge of the larger context of these finds and to plan
urther expeditions to explore these hidden prehistoric landscapes.

Papers by Tine Missiaen

2015 IEEE/OES Acoustics in Underwater Geosciences Symposium (RIO Acoustics)

Sub-bottom acoustic studies of intertidal areas along the North Sea coast pose major technologica... more Sub-bottom acoustic studies of intertidal areas along the North Sea coast pose major technological challenges due to the shallow water depth, wave action, strong currents and large tidal range. Moreover in Belgium these areas are often marked by the presence of shallow gas which limits the acoustic penetration. As a result these areas are rarely investigated in a structured way, which is very unfortunate since they have always been a zone of human activity and are known to be rich in archaeological remnants. In recent years several investigations have been carried out along the Belgian coast at Ostend-Raversijde in order to test the efficiency of marine acoustic techniques for archaeological prospection. The site is known for its artefacts and structures dating from Roman and medieval times, including old coastal defence structures (e.g. dykes), remnants of a drowned fishing village, and intensive peat/salt exploitation. Due to sand suppletion works in the '70ies the archaeological remains are now buried a few m below the beach. An additional focus of the study was to map the old coastal palaolandscape marked by creeks, tidal channels and small islands/peninsulas. Very high resolution 2D subbottom profiling using a parametric echosounder evidenced a highly complex system of palaeogullies, some of which could be linked to past islands and/or dyke structures. Regular patterns of strong, interrupted reflectors could be related to trench systems and peat digging. The observed pattern correlated well with electromagnetic (EMI) data obtained over the same area at low tide. 3D seismic test measurements allowed to image the peat/salt excavation pattern in the highest detail, setting new standards for marine archaeological research. So far no remnants of the drowned medieval fishing village were found. The results show that the integrated use of complementary methods forms a good strategy for a better understanding of the shallow (intertidal) sedimentary environment and its archaeological potential.

In 2011, an interdisciplinary research project was started at Ghent University investigating the ... more In 2011, an interdisciplinary research project was started at Ghent University investigating the oc- cupation history of the Scheldt polders. A first geophysical and coring campaign was undertaken at Doelpolder Noord to reconstruct the paleotopography of the top of the Pleistocene coversand and the peat covering it. An eolian micro-sandridge in the survey area was sampled to detect possible archaeological sites. This paper presents the first fieldwork results.

Geographic decision support systems aim to integrate and process data originating from different ... more Geographic decision support systems aim to integrate and process data originating from different sources and different data providers in order to create suitability models. A suitability model denotes how suitable geographic locations are for a specific purpose on which decision-makers need to make a decision. Particularly in the presence of volunteered information, data quality assessment becomes an important aspect of a decision-making process. Geographic data are commonly prone to incompleteness, imprecision and uncertainty, and this is even more the case with volunteered data. To correctly inform the users, it is essential to communicate not only the suitability degrees highlighted in a suitability model, but also the confidence about these suitability degrees as can be derived from data quality assessment. In this chapter, a novel hierarchical approach for data quality assessment, supporting the computation of associated confidence degrees, is introduced. To illustrate its adde...

To anticipate on future resource supplies and needs, long-term adaptive management strategies for... more To anticipate on future resource supplies and needs, long-term adaptive management strategies for the exploitation of geological resources are urgently needed (cf. EU’s Maritime Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Marine Strategy Framework Directive). These are based ideally on a geological knowledge base incorporating comprehensive knowledge on the distribution, composition and dynamics of geological resources.

Probeer het je voor te stellen. Je staat op de zeedijk en tuurt over die eindeloze, golvende Noor... more Probeer het je voor te stellen. Je staat op de zeedijk en tuurt over die eindeloze, golvende Noordzeevlakte. Waar nu enkel water te zien is, strekte zich heel lang geleden een landschap uit van brede, vruchtbare valleien en imposante riviersystemen. Een landschap bevolkt door grote kudden planteneters (mammoeten, bizons, paarden), roofdieren (lynx, wolf, sabeltand) en jawel, mensen! Een deel van dit gebied had zelfs een naam: Doggerland.

For a number of decades large quantities of warfare (including chemical) have been dumped in the ... more For a number of decades large quantities of warfare (including chemical) have been dumped in the European seas, thereby forming a potential threat to the marine environment and the densely populated coastlines. Tackling this problem not only calls for international cooperation and mutual exchange of information, methodologies and results, but most of all it requires a multidisciplinary approach. Only an integrated geophysical, geochemical, biological, geotechnical, ecological and economical approach will yield an improved insight in the structure of the dump site, its ecosystem and its potential risks for the shoreline population and the users of the sea.

2015 IEEE/OES Acoustics in Underwater Geosciences Symposium (RIO Acoustics), 2015

In recent years a large number of archaeological discoveries have been made in the North Sea, ran... more In recent years a large number of archaeological discoveries have been made in the North Sea, ranging from prehistoric landscapes to buried archaeological structures as well as artefacts and palaeontological remains. In view of the ever-increasing pressure of commercial activities at sea it is therefore timely to map this cultural heritage before large parts of it are irreversibly lost. The need for action is further stressed by the unique setting of the Belgian part of the North Sea (BCP) which is marked by a thin layer of Quaternary deposits that are constantly being reworked in a sediment starved setting, and as a result prehistoric archaeological artefacts and sites may occur at limited depth and are therefore extremely vulnerable.

Van Lancker, V., Kint, L., Terseleer, N., Hademenos, V., Missiaen, T., De Mol, R., De Tré, G., va... more Van Lancker, V., Kint, L., Terseleer, N., Hademenos, V., Missiaen, T., De Mol, R., De Tré, G., van Heteren, S., Stafleu, J., Degrendele, K., & Roche, M., 2018. Transnational Belgian-Dutch geological knowledge base on marine aggregates. From 3D voxel modelling to 4D cross-border environmental assessments. RFG2018 Resources for Future Generations, Premier Conference on Energy, Minerals, Water, The Earth, June 16-21, Vancouver, Canada. Mineral and geological resources are non-renewable on time scales relevant for decision makers. Once exhausted by humans, they are not replenished rapidly enough by nature, meaning that truly sustainable resource exploitation is not possible. Comprehensive knowledge on the distribution, composition and dynamics of geological resources and on the environmental impact of extraction is therefore critical. Anticipating on this, a geological knowledge base has been developed as a platform for resource management (Belspo Brain-be TILES, 2014-2018). Backbone of the knowledge base is a 3D voxel model (volume pixels) of the surface and subsurface of the Belgian and southern part of the North Sea. Standardized and harmonized databases have been created and a methodological workflow for the 3D modelling of offshore aggregates published. Data were added to the highest detail as to maximize their classification to any application (e.g., aggregate industry). Metadata were carefully added to estimate data-related uncertainty. The 3D geological models were further coupled to 4D numerical environmental impact models as to quantify environmental impact under various scenarios of exploitation. Furthermore, the voxels were filled with decadal sediment transport calculations allowing assessing seabed recovery estimations after extraction, an important asset in many environment-related European Directives. Data, models, and their uncertainties, are embedded in an end-user driven decision support system (DSS) that uniquely allows querying the full 3D resource volume, and integrating it with any third-party data. Visualization is an inherent part of the DSS, but to maximize impact towards a broader user community, a virtual reality application has been built too. From a management perspective, the DSS allows long-term resource predictions, balancing aggregate quality and quantity against various applications, and whilst minimizing environmental impact. Finally, a vision will be presented on how incorporating the geological knowledge base into a future national seabed mapping programme.

2015 IEEE/OES Acoustics in Underwater Geosciences Symposium (RIO Acoustics)

2015 IEEE/OES Acoustics in Underwater Geosciences Symposium (RIO Acoustics), 2015