Sustentabilidade ambiental do cultivo intensivo de Tilápias (Oreochromis niloticus) em tanques-rede e a capacidade de suporte de quatro reservatórios em uma região semi-árida tropical

Intensive production of tilápias, in cages or net tanks, has been proposed as an alternative to increase fish production, that would generate income and offer animal protein in different tropical and subtropical countries. However, this system of production enriches the aquatic environment with nutrients, principally nitrogen and phosphor derived from the dejections of the metabolism of food and eventual food surpluses consumed by the fishes; the alimentation of the fishes in this production modality is dependent on fish food. The emission of these nutritions in levels above the limit that the system is capable metabolize can provoke a phenomenon called eutrofization, putting in risk the quality of water for public and for fish production activities. In this context the work had as a goal to evaluate the trófico state of the four reservoirs for intensive production of tilapias in net-tanks, in other words, he maximum fish production that the reservoirs are able to hold, keeping the desired quantity of nutrient concentrations in water for public use. The results of the four ecosystems in the Boqueirão de Parelhas reservoir showed that it s possible to have an intensive production of tilapias in net tanks, in this environment the annual average concentration of phosphor, was below the considered critical limits to deflagrate the process of eutrofization in semi-arid regions. The carrying capacity of the Boqueirão de Parelhas reservoir depends on the conversion of the feeding facts and phosphor content in the food but it should vary between 100 and 300 tons per year over a variation in the conversion feeding factor of 1,7 to 2,0:1 and a variation in the P in the food of 0,7 to 0,9%

Caracterização hidrodinâmica e morfo-sedimentar do estuário Potengi e áreas adjascentes: subsídios para controle e recuperação ambiental no caso de derrames de hidrocarboneto

This study presents the Environmental Sensibility Mapping to oil spillings on the Potengi estuary - RN and neighboring coastline through remote sensing data, collecting, treatment and integration of the geomorphologic, oceanographic (temperature, salinity, density, direction and intensity), meteorological (wind speed and direction) and high resolution seismic (bathymetry and sonography) data. The Potengi river estuary is located on the eastern coastline of the Rio Grande do Norte State, being inserted in the geological context for the coastal Pernambuco-Paraíba basin and spreading over 18 km; it shelters the Natal harbor zone and an oil terminal, centralizing, therefore, important oil transport operations that can cause accidental spillings. Under the oceanographic point of view, the Potengi estuary is characterized by the absence of any expressive thermic stratification, being classified as partially mixed, B type according to Pritchard (1955), and 2 type in conformity to the stratification-circulation diagram by Hansen & Rattray (1966). Two main wind systems are responsable for the formation of wave sets that occur in the area. The dynamic tide presents, in the Natal Harbor, mean amplitude in spring and quadrature tides, with around 2.8 and 2m, respectively. The mechanism of saline tide mixing was defined through the salinity which is the main parameter for the identification of this mechanism. Important variations of the salinity mean values (36.32 psu), temperature (28.11ºC) and density (22.96 kg/m3) in the estuarine waters presented features belonging to low latitude regions. The water temperature follows the air temperature variations, in the region, with expressive daily amplitudes. In this study, the identification of the estuarine bed morphology through bathymetric and sonographic analysis, had the purpose to evaluate the influence of the superficial and bottom currents for the bottom shaping. In this way, the use of the side scan sonar showed, to be very useful in the identification of the bottom morphology and its relationship with the predominant action of the tidal currents in the Potengi estuary. Besides, it showed how the sonograms can be a support to the comparison of the several patterns derived from the local hydrodynamic variations. The holocene sediments, which fill the estuarine channel, are predominantly sandy, varying from selected, sometimes silty. The sedimentation is controlled by the environmental hydrodynamic conditions, being recognized two important textural facies: Muddy Facies and Sandy Facies. The distribution of these textural facies apparently oscillates owing to the tidal cycle and flow intensity. Each one of the above mentioned data was integrated in a Geographic Information System (GIS), from which was produced the Environmental Sensibility Map to oil spillings with Coastal Sensibility Index (CSI) to the Potengi estuary. The integrated analysis of these data is essential to oil spilling contingency plans, in order to reduce the spilling environmental consequences and to make efficient the endeavours of contention and cleaning up/removal on the Natal Harbor. This study has the aim to collaborate for the increase of informations about the estuarine environment and contribute to a better management of the question: environment/polluting loads

Dois testes de imageamento com GPR em problemas de controle ambiental em regiões tropicais: migração de dunas e localização de dutos de óleo enterrados

Because the penetration depth of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) signals is very limited in high conductive soils, the usefullness of this method in tropical regions is not yet completly known. The main objective of this researh is to test the usefullness of the method in Brazil. Two typical problems where GPR has been used in Europe and North American were choosed for this test: the first one is to characterize the internal structures of a sand body and the second problem is the localization of old buried pipes lines. The first test was done near the city of São Bento do Norte, in the northern coast of Rio Grande do Norte state, NE Brazil. In this region, there is a sand dune that is migrating very fast in the direction of adjacent settling areas. To characterize the internal structure of the dune and its relationship to the prevailing wind direction, as a preliminary step to understand the dune migration, GPR profiles using the 400 MHz frequency were performed in E-W, N-S, NE-SW, and SE-NW directions over the sand dune intersecting at the top of the dune. The practical resolution of the GPR data is around 30 cm; this was sufficient to distinguish individual foresets inside the dune. After applying the elevation correction to the data, we identified that dips of bedding structures are smallest for the N-S profile, which is perpendicular to the dominant wind direction, largest for the E-W profile, and intermediate for the SW-NE and SE-NW profiles. Foresets in the E-W profile dip with angles varying from 2 to 6 degrees. In the E-W profile, the water table and a horizontal truncation interface separating two generations of dunes were identified, as well as an abrupt directional change in the foreset patterns associated to a lateral contact between two dune generations, the older one extending to the west. The used high frequency of 400 Mhz does not allow a penetration deep enough to map completely these internal contacts. The second test was done near Estreito, a small town near Carnaúbais city, also in Rio Grande do Norte state. In this locality, there are several old pipe lines buried in area covered by plantations where digging should be minimized. Several GPR profiles using the 400 and 200 MHz frequency were performed trying to intercept perpendicularly the possible pipe lines. Because of the high conductivity of the soil, the raw original data can hardly be use to identify the pipe lines. However, after an adequate processing over the 200 MHz profiles, six pipe lines were identified. As a global result of the tests, GPR can be very usefull if the conductivity of the ground is low or, in the case of medium conductivities of the soils, if adequate processing is performed

Geoprocessamento de dados meteo-oceonográficos (cor do oceano e temperatura da superfície do mar) aplicado ao monitoramento ambiental na costa setentrional do Rio Grande do Norte

Orbital remote sensing has been used as a beneficial tool in improving the knowledge on oceanographic and hydrodynamic aspects in northern portion of the continental shelf of Rio Grande do Norte, offshore Potiguar Basin. Aspects such as geography, temporal and spatial resolution combined with a consistent methodology and provide a substantial economic advantage compared to traditional methods of in situ data collecting. Images of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard NASA's AQUA satellite were obtained to support systematic data collections related to the campaign of environmental monitoring and characterization of Potiguar Basin, held in May 2004. Images of Total Suspension Matter (TSM) and values of radiance standard were generated for the calculation of concentrations of total suspension matter (TSM), chlorophyll-a and sea surface temperature (SST). These data sets were used for statistical comparisons between measures in situ and satellite estimates looking validate algorithms or develop a comprehensive regional approach empirically. AQUA-MODIS images allowed the simultaneous comparison of two-dimensional water quality (total suspension matter), phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll-a) variability and physical (temperature). For images of total suspension matter, the generated models showed a good correlation with the field data, allowing quantitative and qualitative analysis. The images of chlorophyll-a showed a consistent correlation with the in situ values of concentration. The algorithms adjusted for these images obtained a correlation coefficient fairly well with the data field in order that the sensor can be having an effect throughout the water column and not just the surface. This has led to a fit between the data of chlorophyll-the integration of the average sampling interval of the entire water column up to the level of the first optical depth, with the data generated from the images. This method resulted in higher values of chlorophyll concentration to greater depths, due to the fact that we are integrating more values of chlorophyll in the water column. Thus we can represent the biomass available in the water column. Images SST and SST measures in situ showed a mean difference DT (SST insitu - SST sat) around -0.14 ° C, considered low, making the results very good. The integration of total suspension matter, chlorophyll-a, the temperature of the sea surface (SST) and auxiliary data enabled the recognition of some of the main ways to fund the continental shelf. The main features highlighted were submerged canyons of rivers Apodi and Açu, some of the lines and beachrocks reefs, structural highs and the continental shelf break which occurs at depths around -60 m. The results confirmed the high potential for use of the AQUA-MODIS images to environmental monitoring of sea areas due to ease of detection of the field two-dimensional material in suspension on the sea surface, temperature and the concentration of chlorophyll-a

Fragilidade ambiental da bacia hidrográfica do Rio Seridó (RN/PB Brasil)

There are many applications coming from geomorphological studies and their different constitutive and inter related elements, to the implementation of public politics of planning and environmental management. This search presents an analysis of the environmental fragility of the watershed of Seridó River, situated between the states of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil), including the identification of possible unstable areas. It is based on the methodological approach of Ecodynamics of the French researcher J. Tricart (1977) and on the operalisation proposal advocated by the Brazilian J. Ross (1994), related to the Potential and Emerging Ecodynamic Units, grounded in the Relief s Dissection Index or the topographic roughness, soil, rainfall and land use/vegetal cover. Under a quantitative perspective, the results obtained from the analysis of the watershed can be divided into classes of potential fragility: around 2.613,0 km² of low intensity, 5.188,4 km² of medium intensity and 2.585,5 km² of high intensity. Concerning the emerging fragility, the results are close to 2.212,0 km² of low intensity, 6.191,23 km² of medium intensity and 2.062,34 km² of high intensity. In the case of the watershed in question, the environmental degradation is particularly effective in the areas more dissected, where the ecological conditions, in synergy the environmental degradation, prevent the regeneration of vegetation when arises an opportunity for the (re)establishment of its equilibrium tenuous. The collected data is relevant for the territorial and environmental planning of the watershed, once we can still verify a close association of the cities on the central area of desertification with the areas of high environmental instability/fragility. This is an important tool to the understanding of the potential susceptibility of the natural and anthropic environments related to the advance and/or intensification of the erosion process, rock falls, mass movements, among other phenomena inside the potential unstable areas. From this perspective, the continuity of this research becomes extremely important to the understanding and arrangement of the process, together with the engendering and sustainability of the system in its totality; in narrow correlation because their potentialities, constraints and alternatives on Seridó River watershed, and in all the semi-arid region with similar characteristics

Extrafiscalidade: análise da norma potiguar regulamentadora do imposto sobre propriedade veicular automotora à luz da tutela ambiental

From the second half of the twentieth century the state bega n to use exaction beyond your fiscalist character, also as a means of alignment deformities economic and social balance, influencing in different directions, according to economic, social and political policy. It is what is usually called the extrafiscalit y. It is in light of this phenomenon and the constitutional perspective, the present work aims to analyze item IV of article. 8 of Law n. 6.967/96, regulatory Property Tax Vehicle Automotive (property taxes) in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, in view of its possible incompatibility with the principles of the Basic Statute and with international guidelines for protection of the environment The problem of this research is Seated in art. 225 of the Constitution, which provides that everyone has the right to an ecologically balanced environment. From the reading of this standard, extracted it is the responsibility of the state protecting the environment, which requires the adoption of suitable actions to that end. However, we look to state law cited follows th e constitutional path, since it exempts the collection of property taxes automotive vehicles with over 10 years of manufacturing, which could encourage the conservation of a fleet of old vehicles, mostly more polluting and harmful to the environment and hu man health. Would the state legislature oblivious to the constitutional principles and the global trend of environmental preservation? Thus questions whether such an incentive for more polluting vehicles, emitting more gases in the atmosphere. Moreover, th e international community is already moving through important conventions in an attempt to minimize and control global warming and climate change. Predicting the theme in CF/88 demonstrates that the country is no stranger to the issue. Thus, the work is a retelling of Law No. 6.967/96 order to check whether it is compatible with the existing system. The methodology consists of a documentary, deductive, dialectical literature. At the end of the survey, it was found that provide a tax benefit to these vehicle s is encouraged to maintain them in circulation and contribute to the increase in air and noise pollution, in addition to the traffic problems generated. Thus, this potiguar anything standard can be expressed extrafiscality because the medium and long term there is encouragement and worsening environmental problem. Despite the ability to pay clause, but this remission is an affront to legally protected interests. Thus, this device goes in reverse order compared to the values of the legal system and in relat ion to sustainable development. Modern Tax Law should be used as a tool to achieve the purposes collimated by the State, and not otherwise. It was noticed that the vast majority of Brazilian states does not follow this rule, including Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais have no such exemption. Therefore, the RN State does not constitute a model for sustainable public policies, nor example of environmental protection by state law.

Ampliação do Setor de Aulas Teóricas IV - UFRN: proposta arquitetônica baseada no conceito da flexibilidade e adaptabilidade, utilizando os parâmetros de conforto ambiental

In recent years, the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) has come through an intense process of expansion, common for the Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior (IFES) - Higher Education Institutions – since the implantation of the Programa de Reestruturação e Expansão das Universidades Federais (REUNI), a program of restructuring and expansion of the federal universities. The incentives made at UFRN can be seen into the expansion of the fields of teaching, research and extension, besides hiring human resources and adaptation / expansion of physical spaces. The focus of the UFRN at the technological area through the project (REUNI) has reflected in a significant expansion of the physical structure of the Center of Technology, area where the section of classes IV remains being the main set of rooms that supports the demand of the courses in the technological area, in which highlights the lack of classrooms. In this sense, the work presented here, proposes an architectural blueprint for expanding the physical space of this sector, based in this main parameters: (i) the spatial flexibility that attends the varying numbers of students per class; (ii) the environmental comfort, using the parameters and guidelines constructive for the Bioclimatic Zone 8; (iii) the requirements contained in the rules of ABNT NBR 9050:2004, 9077:2001 and NBR NBR 15220-3:2003. The architectural proposal used the maximum template allowed by the UFRN Central Campus Master Plan, four floors, considering the existing building (area equal to 7413.95 m²) as the ground floor and the extension proposed distributed on three floors, with an area of around 2,535, 00 m² each, making up a total of 7602.65 m² of total area built

A tributação como instrumento de proteção ambiental no Brasil

The Federal Constitution of 1988 gave special treatment to the issue of the environment, raising this diffuse right to the status of a fundamental right. In order to preserve it, the constitutional order is provided with various means to this purpose, including the possibility of using taxation. Several principles both constitutional, as infraconstitucional, support the use of taxation as a legal instrument to protect the environment. There is an intense legal debate about the suitability, characteristics, purposes and principles which underlie and restrict the environmental taxation. Discussions and proposals for reform of the tax system in order to include the ecological aspect at its core have been developed. The use of taxation as a way to fund public expenditures related to environmental causes, promote the internalization of negative externalities and as a way to induce behavior to benefit the environment finds support in the Brazilian legal system. This paper seeks to demonstrate that the national tax system is fully able to act as a tool available to the state for the implementation of the fundamental right to an ecologically balanced environment, whether through the taxes fiscal role or due, mainly, through the phenomenon of extrafiscality. Also, it is intended, through doctrinal, jurisprudential analysis and concrete cases, to investigate whether the tax system can be effective in protecting the environment in the way it is currently constructed, or if there is need to proceed with changes in its structure in order to achieve this goal

Unidades geoambientais e áreas de preservação permanente como instrumentos de auxílio para o planejamento ambiental - o caso da via costeira de Natal-RN

Brazilian law provides a series of rules and policies which regulate space use and occupancy as well as guide environmental planning. Among those are the Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs) which purpose is to ensure the preservation of elements that are essential to maintain the environmental function and landscape. Another important instrument identifier of spaces are geoenvironmental units, which are synthesis elements grouping areas of similar characteristics and can be used for the analysis of risk, fragility and potential use of spaces. The geoenvironmental units are defined by more complex processes (information integration), focusing not only on individual elements, but being determined from a systemic analysis. Is It possible to identify and delineate APPs from the identification and determination of geoenvironmental units? The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of geoenvironmental units in the process of identification and delineation of APPs a see how much of the study area, the area by the Coast line in Natal/RN, is still good for occupation. It was used the physiognomic method, in which the limits of the units are plotted on a synthetic document (aerial photographs), valuing aspects of relief in a range of detail by the analysis of systemic categories (element, structure, function and interaction), observed. The methodology used allowed the identification and delineation of eleven geoenvironmental units and, from these, it was possible to identify and delineate four out of the five PPAs occurring in the study area. Only a small space of 1.2 ha of the study area is not considered APP by law. Thus, the occupation of the unoccupied area by the Coast line is not feasible from a legal standpoint. The geoenvironmental units as well as the identified and delineated APPs in the area by the Coast line are spaces which preservation is guaranteed by law in various scopes and are necessary to maintain the environmental functions of the area. The planning for the use and occupation of the area should involve the recovery of degraded areas and the creation of elements that make possible the use as well as attract the community, as provided in the initial planning, by ensuring the public utility and social interest in the Project.

A política nacional de educação ambiental: limites e desafios para a sua efetivação na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

The Environmental Education is a plural and diversified knowledge field, composed by a group of social agents of specific State, government and civil society sectors, with different world views and theoretical matrices that exercised and influenced its genealogy and constitutive dynamic. The Environmental Education – while specific knowledge field – has been produced, systematized and diffused in Brazil in the last decades by official State organisms, through public policies, as well as by social movements of popular education, and constitutes a large and historical movement about the environmental question, that was worldwide projected in the 1960 decade (the environmentalist movement). Concerning the creation of public policies and specific programs to the Environmental Education, in the scope of the governmental initiative, the approval of the National Policy of Environmental Education, by means of the Law n. 9.795/99 – together with its regulatory decree, the Decree nº 4.281 – represents the consolidation of a inclusion process of the environmental dimension in the educational field. These normative acts, beyond charging the public power with the incumbency to define public policies that incorporate the environmental dimension and to promote the Environmental Education in all education levels, also charge the educational institution with the duty of promoting this component in an integrated and articulated way with the educational programs that such institutions develop. In this context, it is aimed to identify and analyze under the light of the dialectical and historical materialism, the practices and concepts developed under the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), with regard to its institutional policy on Environmental Education, relating it to establishing the Pnea. The analysis by means specific legislation on the subject and institutional documents UFRN. The research showed that, in general, the National Environmental Education Policy has limits to its effectiveness given the absence of specific funding for this purpose and the little government involvement in that the Brazilian State assumes, by through effective policies, the material conditions of financing actions with respect to this field of education. The fragmented and disjointed way the analyzed actions are developed constitutes a limit to the challenge for the UFRN implement, consistently and objectively, an Environmental Education policy, which can be monitored and evaluated as an effective public policy, both landmarks major goal of own Pnea as the demands of development whose agenda a critical environmental perspective.

Estudo de viabilidade técnico-ambiental para implantação de parques eólicos: um estudo de caso em um fragmento do litoral setentrional do Rio Grande do Norte/Brasil

The use of energy from renewable sources is increasingly demanded by society, especially aeolian - whose raw material is wind. Investments in wind power have become significant in Brazil with emphasis on the Northeast and in particular the Rio Grande do Norte state. According to the Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (Energy Research Company) (2012 ) , investments in the state grew significantly since 2002 with a total accumulated power, by 2013, of approximately 3,400 MW . Even with the early experiences of exploitation of wind energy in 2002, it is still considered new and requires further study referring to the likely changes in the environment and society. In this case, it is of growing and urgent importance to deeply study the wind still in the survey phase of the project, ie , at the beginning of decision making on the most feasible to implement these parks site. Given the above, the question is: from a technical and environmental analysis, how to identify viable areas to install Aeolian parks, taking into account the factors of the environmental dynamics that are relevant to minimize the negative results to the environment and the society? Thus, this study conducted a study on technical and environmental feasibility, proposing a methodology of exploration of feasible wind farms in coastal areas. The study area was a fragment of the northern coast of Rio Grande do Norte and its natural landscape units were identified through the environmental characterization of the area, as well as it was elaborated the map of the land cover, restriction homes and urban areas and Permanent Preservation Areas - PPAs. The environmental fragility was subdivided in the fragility of the natural dynamic, mapped through relief, soils and geology of natural units, and the fragility of the ecosystem, originated by the land cover map. In addition to these maps, it was generated the wind resource for an area from a height of 50 and 100 meters. The intersection between the fragility maps, PPAs and Restriction of homes superimposed on maps of wind potential, provided the map of feasibility of Aeolian parks, resulting in the most favorable areas for its facilities in a technical and environmental point of view. From this study, the entrepreneur can evaluate whether or not to proceed with the studies in this area and especially decrease potential conflicts with society.

Praias urbanas e racionalidade ambiental: avaliação da gestão, das intervenções urbanísticas e dos usos na praia de ponta negra

This dissertation addresses issues considered essential for sustainable development of urban waterfronts and beaches. Many of these spaces, even though they are of public authorities, economic market and general population interests - due to its landscape, its importance for recreation purposes and as a basis of " Sun and beach Tourism " (Turismo de Sol e Praia), among other factors - have shown aesthetic, health and cultural degradation, entailing environmental, economic and social losses and conflicts. Based on this perception, the research aims to understand the main reasons for these negative results for beach spaces. To this end, it was chosen the case study of a typical urban beach, Ponta Negra Beach, located in Natal, RN. Ponta Negra is associated with the "postcard" of the city and it has been deserving of municipal urban planning legislation that legally recognizes the importance of its landscape. Also it has received constant investments by the Government through urban projects, arguing to leave the site attractive to its users. Nevertheless, in the last fifteen years, the beach has lived with the expansion of its problems, such as those related to bathing water, to coastal erosion, and to the mangling of its natural surroundings. Social conflicts have also been frequent in this time frame: conflicts between residents of the waterfront and traders who work on the beach, between the traders themselves, between the managers of space and fishermen, between managers and formal and informal traders. Many of these social and environmental conflicts have taken such grand proportions that became legal matters. Assuming that the problems identified are related to the issue of rationality - understood as a system of values, norms and actions that relate means and ends - and upholding the need for focused research on "environmental rationality" to understand and interpret the dynamics of social and environmental problems encountered on site, the research that guides the study relies on the Mexican economist Enrique Leff's theory on "environmental rationality" which, briefly, can be defined as a system of values, norms, actions and means and ends relations based on the principles of environmental management and sustainable development. Among other aspects, rationality encompasses cross-sectional planning of public administration, the participation of society in the management of environmental resources, interdisciplinary reorganization of knowledge, the clash of opposing interests and the conciliation of common goals of different social actors. The study evaluates the relationship between "environmental rationality", as proposed by Enrique Leff, with the management, urban interventions and uses observed in Ponta Negra Beach. For that, some benchmarks were established and considered in the research as related to sustainable development of the "beachy" atmosphere. Analytical instruments chosen were the urban transformations and the environmental and social problems that have been the target of lawsuits. Also part of the study, the problems that were the subject of civil investigations, which are investigation procedures carried out by the Prosecutor's Office.

Praias urbanas e racionalidade ambiental: avaliação da gestão, das intervenções urbanísticas e dos usos na praia de ponta negra

This dissertation addresses issues considered essential for sustainable development of urban waterfronts and beaches. Many of these spaces, even though they are of public authorities, economic market and general population interests - due to its landscape, its importance for recreation purposes and as a basis of " Sun and beach Tourism " (Turismo de Sol e Praia), among other factors - have shown aesthetic, health and cultural degradation, entailing environmental, economic and social losses and conflicts. Based on this perception, the research aims to understand the main reasons for these negative results for beach spaces. To this end, it was chosen the case study of a typical urban beach, Ponta Negra Beach, located in Natal, RN. Ponta Negra is associated with the "postcard" of the city and it has been deserving of municipal urban planning legislation that legally recognizes the importance of its landscape. Also it has received constant investments by the Government through urban projects, arguing to leave the site attractive to its users. Nevertheless, in the last fifteen years, the beach has lived with the expansion of its problems, such as those related to bathing water, to coastal erosion, and to the mangling of its natural surroundings. Social conflicts have also been frequent in this time frame: conflicts between residents of the waterfront and traders who work on the beach, between the traders themselves, between the managers of space and fishermen, between managers and formal and informal traders. Many of these social and environmental conflicts have taken such grand proportions that became legal matters. Assuming that the problems identified are related to the issue of rationality - understood as a system of values, norms and actions that relate means and ends - and upholding the need for focused research on "environmental rationality" to understand and interpret the dynamics of social and environmental problems encountered on site, the research that guides the study relies on the Mexican economist Enrique Leff's theory on "environmental rationality" which, briefly, can be defined as a system of values, norms, actions and means and ends relations based on the principles of environmental management and sustainable development. Among other aspects, rationality encompasses cross-sectional planning of public administration, the participation of society in the management of environmental resources, interdisciplinary reorganization of knowledge, the clash of opposing interests and the conciliation of common goals of different social actors. The study evaluates the relationship between "environmental rationality", as proposed by Enrique Leff, with the management, urban interventions and uses observed in Ponta Negra Beach. For that, some benchmarks were established and considered in the research as related to sustainable development of the "beachy" atmosphere. Analytical instruments chosen were the urban transformations and the environmental and social problems that have been the target of lawsuits. Also part of the study, the problems that were the subject of civil investigations, which are investigation procedures carried out by the Prosecutor's Office.

Diversidade de macroalgas marinhas bentônicas dos recifes de Maracajaú, área de preservação ambiental dos recifes de corais, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

Despite the importance of coral reefs to humanity, these environments have been threatened throughout the world. Several factors contribute to the degradation of these ecosystems. The Maracajaú Reef Complex, in Rio Grande do Norte state is part of the Coral Reefs Environment Preservation Area in northeastern Brazil. This area has been receiving an increasing influx of tourism and the integrity of the local reefs is a matter of concern. In this study, the reef macroalgae communities were studied and compared within two areas distinguished by the presence or absence of tourism activities. Two sample sites were chosen: the first one, where diving activities are intense; and the other, where these practices do not occur. Samples were collected at both sites within a quadrate of 625 cm2 of area randomly thrown 5 times along a 10 meters transect line. Richness, Shannon-Hill diversity and Simpson dominance indices were determined based on biomass data. Similarity between sites was analyzed with Bray-Curtis similarity and distance index. Fifty-eight macroalgae species were observed, including 7 Chlorophyta, 13 Phaeophyta and 38 Rhodophyta. In the non-disturbed site, 49 species were found, while at the disturbed site, there were 42 species. Dictyotaceae and Corallinaceae were the most representative families at the non-disturbed site, and Rhodomelaceae and Dictyotaceae at the disturbed site. The non-disturbed site presented a higher biomass and the greatest richness and diversity indices. In the disturbed site the dominance index was greater and Caulerpa racemosa was the dominant species. The dendogram based on similarity index showed two major clusters, and an isolated element at the center that corresponds to a sample from the disturbed site. In the first cluster, samples from the non-impacted site were predominant and fleshy brown algae were more conspicuous. The second cluster was composed primarily of samples from the impacted site, where C. racemosa and red filamentous and erect calcareous algae associations (turf forming) were observed covering large extensions. These associations are represented by groups of algae adapted to environments where disturbances are frequent. They can grow rapidly on substrate where benthic community was removed and do not allow the establishment of other species. The results of the present study show that tourism activity is an impacting factor that has been causing shifts in macroalgae communities in the Maracajaú Reef Complex

Caracterização batimétrica e fisicooceanográfica do canal de acesso ao porto de Cabedelo/PB: uma análise ambiental ao derrame de óleo

The State of Paraíba is one of the most dynamic states of Brazil, strategically located in the northeast, is notable for the excellent potential for integration of different transportation modes forming the states of Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco and Alagoas. The dynamic that occurs with port activity causes changes in the space where it is installed. And the elements of this space are always more than suffering direct or indirect influences as the flow in the port is expanded. Therefore, this region became subject to the accidental spillage of oil, because it presents a heavy traffic of ships of various sizes that can run aground or collide with oil causing accidental events. The study of geomorphological and sedimentological compositions of seafloor becomes important as more is known about the relationships between these parameters and associated fauna, and can identify their preferred habitats. The database background, acoustically collected along the proposed study area, is a wealth of information, which were duly examined, cataloged and made available. Such information can serve as an important tool, providing a geomorphological survey of the sedimentary area studied, and come to subsidize, in a flexible, future decision making. With the study area Port of Cabedelo, Paraíba - Brazil, this research aimed to evaluate the influence of the tidal surface and background in modeling the seabed, including the acquisition of information about the location of submerged rocky bodies and the depth of these bodies may turn out to be natural traps for the trapping of oil in case of leaks, and obtain the relationship between types of bed and the hydrodynamic conditions present in the region. In this context, for this study were collected bathymetric data (depth) and physical oceanographic (height of water column, water temperature, intensity and direction of currents, waves and turbidity), meteorological (rainfall, air temperature, humidity, winds and barometric pressure) of the access channel to the Port of Cabedelo / PB and its basin evolution (where the cruise ships dock), and includes tools of remote sensing (Landsat 7 ETM +, 2001), so that images and the results are integrated into Geographic Information Systems and used in the elaboration of measures aimed at environmental protection areas under the influence of this scale facilities, serving as a grant to prepare a contingency plan in case of oil spills in the region. The main findings highlight the techniques of using hydroacoustic data acquisition together bathymetric surveys of high and low frequency. From there, five were prepared in bathymetric pattern of Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation - DHN, with the depth in meters, on a scale of 1:2500 (Channel and Basin Evolution of Access to Port of Cabedelo), where there is a large extent possible beachrocks that hinder the movement of vessels in the port area, which can cause collisions, running aground and leaking oil. From the scatter diagram of the vectors of currents, it can be seen as the tidal stream and undergoes a channeling effect caused by the bidirectional effect of the tide (ebb and flood) in the basin of the Port of Cabedelo evolution in NW-direction SE and the highest speed of the currents occurs at low tide. The characterization weather for the period from 28/02 to 04/07/2010 values was within the expected average for the region of study. The multidisciplinary integration of products (digital maps and remote sensing images), proved to be efficient for the characterization of underwater geomorphological study area, reaching the aim to discriminate and enhance submerged structures, previously not visible in the images