sea-dumped munition: present and future approach in belgium · 27/2/2019 · sea-dumped munition:...
TRANSCRIPT
Sea-dumped munition:
present and future approach
in Belgium
Tine Missiaen, Maarten De Rijcke, Sven Van Haelst
Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
The Challenges of Unexploded Munitions – Brussels, 20 - 02 - 2019
Challenges of sea-dumped munition
dumpsitebeach
Munition dumpsites
• Large concentrations
• Location mostly known
• Chemical + conventional
Belgium: Paardenmarkt site
Munition in wrecks
• Mainly ships
• WW1 + WW2
• Location mostly known
Belgium: ~140 wrecksites
Loose munition
• Low concentration
• Difficult to predict
• Exposed + buried
Unknown number
© North Sea wrecks
1. The Paardenmarkt dumpsite
Zeebrugge harbour
dumpsite
2 km
beach
Dumped warfare
WW1 munition (dumped in 1919-1920)
• Loose / cases / pallets
• Conventional + Chemical
• Mainly 77–105 –150 mm shells
• Estimated total ~ 35.000 tons
Archive research: could be higher
• Estimated chemical munition ~ 30%
Archive research: could be higher
Chemical warfare agents
• Chloropicrin
• (Di)phosgene
• Clark I & II
• Mustard gas
unkown
ratio
+ Explosives and propellant
© DOVO
Geophysical monitoring
Detailed survey in 2013
• Central concentration
• Dispersed clusters
All munition is buried
BUT
exact depth uncertain
(between 2-6 m)
First magnetic survey in 1989
=> preliminary delimitation zone (quadrangle)
Second magnetic survey in 1995
=> final delimitation zone (pentagon)
© RCMG
© G-Tec
Regular sampling since 1995 (every 2-
3 years)
Inside + outside dumpsite (reference)
• sediment (50 cm, 6 cm Ø)
• water (just above seafloor)
Strict safety precautions, in close collaboration with military
Until 2017: no pollution detected
From 2018: new passive sampling technique applied
Recently TNT presence detected
Chemical monitoring
© DOVO
© DOVO
More knowledge is needed for a sound evaluation
Current approach is under pressure
Current approach:
leave as is and monitor regularly
Under increasing pressure:
• Shells are leaking
• Consequences still unclear
• Future plans Zeebrugge area
• Removal of munition has been
suggested
Possible navigation channel ?
New national research (2020-2024)
DISARM Project (Dumpsites of munitions: Integrated Science Approach to
Risk and Management)
Consortium:
• Flanders Marine Institute (coordinator)
• Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences
• Antwerp Maritime Academy
• Ghent University
• University of Antwerp
• Royal Military Academy
Integrated use of novel techniques => what is the current risk of the dumpsite
• depth sounding => exact burial depth
• groundwater flux => pollution of groundwater?
• sampling close to buried munition => pollution radius
• biological degradation of toxic chemicals
Scientifically underpinned management approach
2. Shipwrecks in the BCS
• 140 wrecksites from WW1 and WW2
• Mainly ships + U-boats
• 6 Airplanes
• Unknown amount + state of munition© T. Termote
© Onroerend Erfgoed – photo Nicolas Mouchart
© Onroerend Erfgoed – photo Sven Van Haelst
Depth bomb on
WW2 wreck
(V-1302)
Torpedo bomb
on WW1 U-boat
Interreg project “North Sea Wrecks” (2018-2022)
Consortium
• Research institutes
• Public authorities for maritime safety
• Private companies dealing with wrecks and UXO
• Germany, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway
Major objective:
Assess and propose solutions for risk mitigation regarding munition
contained in wrecks
Belgium coordinates WP3:
Perform 4 case studies at wrecks in the North Sea
• corrosion rates
• sedimentation rates
• toxicological exposure & effects
Identification of hazards
Risk assessment
3. Detection of loose dumped munition
Major challenges:
• Accurate depth information of buried munition
• Reliable identification of munition (exposed/buried)
• Efficient detection (fast, inexpensive)
New EU proposal: BASTA (Boost Applied munition detection through
Smart data inTegration and AI workflows) (subm. Jan 2019)
Consortium of research institutes + private companies
• Geomar (G)
• Flanders Marine Institute (B)
• EGEOS (G)
• G-Tec (B)
BASTA project
Main goals:
• UHR 3D acoustic subbottom imaging
=> accurate depth/size info
• Intelligent AUV-based mapping
=> fast/efficient detection
• AI methods using multi-sensor database
=> objective identification
• User-friendly representation
=> including uncertainty levels
• Data quality & workflow definitions
© Geomar
© Geomar
Thank you for your attention