On 24 June 2018, the Council of Ministers approved the implementation of the RV Belgica research programme, which is conducted under the responsibility of the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO).
The objective of the programme is to give an impulse to the start of scientific activities using the new research vessel and to allow researchers to get to know the vessel and its vast potential (more modern and heavier scientific equipment, extended research area, ...) and to offer support to the Belgian marine research community.
The new research vessel Belgica was delivered at the end of 2021. The vessel is multidisciplinary and will be able to support various research disciplines (fisheries, biology, chemistry, geology...). It offers more space for scientists and research compared to the 'old' A962 RV Belgica, and is equipped with state-of-the-art scientific equipment. It spends more time at sea each year (about 300 days per year) and covers a larger research area (North Sea, Atlantic, Mediterranean and Arctic in summer).
A call for proposals was launched to give an impulse to the start of scientific activities using the new research vessel and to allow researchers to get to know the vessel and its vast potential (more modern and heavier scientific equipment, extended research area, ...) and to offer support to the Belgian marine research community.
The call was open to the entire Belgian scientific community: universities, colleges, public scientific institutions and non-profit research centres.
The call was also linked to the transition to a European blue economy, where research contributes to solutions for the reduction of marine pollution, including plastic, climate change mitigation, sustainable use and management of marine resources, etc.
RV/21/CANOE: Climate chANge impacts on carbon cycling and fOod wEbs in Arctic fjords (CANOE)
RV/21/DEHEAT: Natural analogues and system-scale modeling of marine enhanced silicate weathering (DEHEAT)
RV/21/NORSEAT: Storegga and beyond – North Sea tsunami deposits offshore Shetland Islands (NORSEAT)
RV/21/PiNS: Particles in the North Sea (PiNS)
RV/21/TURBEAMS: Towards 3D turbidity by correlating multibeam sonar and in-situ sensor data (TURBEAMS)
RV/21/WALDO: Where are All the (proglacial) Lake seDiments in the NOrth Sea Basin? (WALDO)
