Potential impacts of polar fronts on sedimentation processes at Abrolhos coral reef (South-West Atlantic Ocean/Brazil)

Several reefs of the world have undergone changes in community due to sedimentation processes. It has been suggested that Abrolhos reefs (Brazil/South-West Atlantic) are subjected to a steady coastal influence, although there is still little information regarding this assumption. In this work, we have analyzed a set of environmental parameters concerning sedimentation characteristics at the Abrolhos reefs, near 18 degrees S-39 degrees W. The analysis included remote sensing, model and in situ data to provide a three-dimensional quantitative description of the processes that influence sediment apportionment to the reefs. Mineralogy and natural radioactivity of sediment trapped at three reef sites in a transect perpendicular to the coastline were used in conjunction with numerical weather prediction model and remote sensing databases. We have observed an increase of around 100% of sediment flux during the summer compared to the winter season. A comparison of regional rainfall regime, sediment plume dynamics and a year-around monitoring of polar fronts trajectories and surface wind showed that the wind-driven resedimentation due to polar front activity is the major contributor to the intensification of sedimentation processes at the offshore area of Abrolhos reefs, despite river runoff from mainland. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An integrated GIS for sedimentological and geomorphological analysis of a lagoon environment. Barra de Cananeia inlet region, (Southeastern Brazil)

The aim of this work is to use GIS integration data to characterize sedimentary processes in a SubTropical lagoon environment. The study area was the Canan,ia Inlet estuary in the southeastern section of the Canan,ia Lagoon Estuarine System (CLES), state of So Paulo, Brazil (25A degrees 03'S/47A degrees 53'W). The area is formed by the confluence of two estuarine channels forming a bay-shaped water body locally called "Trapand, Bay". The region is surrounded by one of the most preserved tracts of Atlantic Rain Forest in Southwestern Brazil and presents well-developed mangroves and marshes. In this study a methodology was developed using integrated a GIS database based on bottom sediment parameters, geomorphological data, remote sensing images, Hidrodynamical Modeling data and geophysical parameters. The sediment grain size parameters and the bottom morphology of the lagoon were also used to develop models of net sediment transport pathways. It was possible to observe that the sediment transport vectors based on the grain size model had a good correlation with the transport model based on the bottom topography features and Hydrodynamic model, especially in areas with stronger energetic conditions, with a minor contribution of finer sediments. This relation is somewhat less evident near shallower banks and depositional features. In these regions the organic matter contents in the sediments was a good complementary tool for inferring the hydrodynamic and depositional conditions (i.e. primary productivity, sedimentation rates, sources, oxi-reduction rates).

Participative site-specific agriculture analysis for smallholders

Site-specific agriculture has been adopted in a high-tech context using, for instance, in situ sensors, satellite images for remote sensing analysis, and some other technological devices. However, farmers and smallholders without the economic resources and required knowledge to use and to access the latest technology seem to find an impediment to precision agricultural practices. This article discusses the possibility of adopting precision agriculture (PA) principles for site-specific management but in a low technology context for such farmers. The proposed methodology to support PA combines low technology dependency and a participatory approach by involving smallholders, farmers and experts. The case studies demonstrate how the interplay of low technology and a participative approach may be suitable for smallholders for site-specific agriculture analysis.

The Map of the Courts and the Brazilian Borders

The formation of our borders are analyzed, at first presenting the question of the demarcation line of Tordesillas and the problems that led to the abandonment of this trace to adopt a configuration thatwould deal with both the actual possession of the territory (uti possidetis) as the natural borders formed by rivers and water borders. Next, the Map of the Courts is examined, having served as the basis for the Treaty of Madrid, and it determines, actually, the current configuration of our country. An analysis is made of this cartographic document, with the aid of digital cartography, which yieldeds in the quantity of existing distortions, to modeled its trait and found out how it was built.

A comparison for a multiscale study of structural lineaments in southern Brazil: LANDSAT-7 ETM+ and shaded relief images from SRTM3-DEM

This paper presents a comparison of descriptive statistics obtained for brittle structural lineaments extracted manually from LANDSAT images and shaded relief images from SRTM 3 DEM at 1:100, 000 and 1:500, 000 scales. The selected area is located in the southern of Brazil and comprises Precambrian rocks and stratigraphic units of the Paraná Basin. The application of this methodology shows that the visual interpretation depends on the kind of remote sensing image. The resulting descriptive statistics obtained for lineaments extracted from the images do not follow the same pattern according to the scale adopted. The main direction obtained for Proterozoic rocks using both image types at a 1:500, 000 scale are close to NS±10, whereas at a 1:100, 000 scale N45E was obtained for shaded relief images from SRTM 3 DEM and N10W for LANDSAT images. The Paleozoic sediments yielded the best results for the different images and scales (N50W). On the other hand, the Mesozoic igneous rocks showed greatest differences, the shaded relief images from SRTM 3 DEM images highlighting NE structures and the LANDSAT images highlighting NW structures. The accumulated frequency demonstrated high similarity between products for each image type no matter the scale, indicating that they can be used in multiscale studies. Conversely, major differences were found when comparing data obtained using shaded relief images from SRTM 3 DEM and Landsat images at a 1:100, 000 scale.