Absorption coefficient of particulate matter on the south-west coast of Europe: a contribution to the validation of the MERIS-Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer sensor

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is one of the most important environmental variables of water quality, especially for marine life. Consequently, oxygen is one of the Chemical Quality Elements required for the implementation of European Union Water Framework Directive. This study uses the example of the Ria Formosa, a meso-tidal lagoon on the south coast of Portugal to demonstrate how monitoring of water quality for coastal waters must be well designed to identify symptoms of episodic hypoxia. New data from the western end of the Ria Formosa were compared to values in a database of historical data and in the published literature to identify long-term trends. The dissolved oxygen concentration values in the database and in the literature were generally higher than those found in this study, where episodic hypoxia was observed during the summer. Analysis of the database showed that the discrepancy was probably related with the time and the sites where the samples had been collected, rather than a long-term trend. The most problematic situations were within the inner lagoon near the city of Faro, where episodic hypoxia (<2 mg dm3 DO) occurred regularly in the early morning. These results emphasise the need for a balanced sampling strategy for oxygen monitoring which includes all periods of the day and night, as well as a representative range of sites throughout the lagoon. Such a strategy would provide adequate data to apply management measures to reduce the risk of more persistent hypoxia that would impact on the ecological, important natural resource. economic and leisure uses of this important natural resource.

Roberto Benjamin (org.), A fala e o gesto: ensaios de folkcomunicação sobre narrativas populares, Recife, Imprensa Universitária, 1996, 152 pp.

Apresentando como título uma paráfrase da famosa obra de Leroi-Gourham, este primeiro número da colecção “Pesquisa Académica” é uma colectânea de nove artigos/comunicações resultantes da investigação levada a cabo por Roberto Benjamim e seus alunos do curso de mestrado em comunicação rural da Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco. Os estudos abrangem um vasto leque de assuntos que vão desde a preocupação das metodologias de recolha, transcrição e análise de narrativas orais, à apresentação de exemplos de cartas populares pernambucanas analisadas com essa utensilagem.

Decapod crustacean larvae dynamics in the west continental coast of Portugal: the region adjacent to Aveiro coastal lagoon as model

Tese de dout., Ciências do Mar, Faculdade de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Univ. do Algarve, 2010