Doors Open Days 2024
Date & Location
- 12, 14 and 15 September 2024
- Entrance of the Geophysical Centre: 1 rue du Centre Physique, B-5670 Dourbes (Viroinval)
Programme
| 12.09 | Café scientifique (Climate & Palaeoclimate) 18:15 - 20:15 h |
| 13.09. | Official opening, not publicly accessible |
| 14.09. | Guided tours 10:00 - 16:30 h |
| 14.09. | Café scientifique (The Earth's Magnetic Field) 19:00 - 21:00 h |
| 15.09. | Guided tours 10:30 - 16:20 h |
Guided tours
On board of board of a little tourist train that stops at four different pavilions you will discover during two hours our research into terrestrial magnetism, the ionosphere and related phenomena.
The number of places is limited, advance registration is therefore required. Guided tours are available in Dutch and in French.
Cafés scientifiques
Cimate & Palaeoclimate
On Thursday, 12 September, a "Café scientifique" will take place on the topic Climate and Palaeoclimate at 6:15 pm.
The Earth’s climate system can be understood as dynamic equilibrium that is sensitive to changes in internal forcings, like the Earth’s radiation budget or the atmospheric composition and external forcings like, orbital parameters, solar constant, volcanic or tectonic events or possibly even the Earth’s magnetic field.
The lecture gives an overview of the climatic changes in the Earth's geological past, the development of the climate since the industrial revolution and possible climate scenarios for the near and distant future. There will be a focus on Belgium.
The Earth's Magnetic Field
On Saturday, 14 September, there will be another "Café Scientifique" on the topic of the Earth's magnetic field at 7.00 pm.
The “Café” aims to give explanations, in laymen’s terms, of selected scientific topics by the scientists of Dourbes, and open up possibilities to start discussions on these topics. For this, a tent will be transformed into a local pub, with the intend to discuss scientific topics outside their traditional academic context. The scientific topics will be limited to the domains of the scientists: geomagnetism, paleomagnetism and the ionosphere.
Examples of possible topics are :
- What is the practical use of the knowledge of the earth magnetic field ?
- Does the earth magnetic field impact the climate ?
- Can the magnetic field inverse ? If so when will this happen ?
- What are cosmic rays ? What is their influence ? Where do they come from ?
- How does a GPS function ? What is impact of the ionosphere on a GPS system ?
A "café" wouldn't be a real "café" if there wasn't something to drink, so drinks will be provided for all participants. For the hungry among us, we will have the opportunity to taste authentic “Belgian” fries.
The "Café Scientifique" is held in French. Registrations for the "Café Scientifique"