Evaluation of metals in water and sediments of micro-basins in the city of Americana, São Paulo state, Brazil

Water pollution found in major rivers in Brazil has its origin from urban sewage discharges and industrial effluent, carried out by small streams and rivers crossing cities. Therefore, studies related to hydrographic micro-basins offer the opportunity to establish environmental management strategies for restoring water resources, based on diagnosis of the water quality. Despite this understanding, few studies in urban and rural areas have been performed in a systematic manner in Brazilian micro-basins. The main goal of this research was to diagnose the water resources in micro-basins in the region of the district of Americana, São Paulo state, Brazil, through the quantification of metals in water and sediment. The methodology was based on the investigation of metals (Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn), in four micro-basins, determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The most significant result showed high concentration levels of chromium (969 μg L-1), downstream of the discharge of sewage from the city of Nova Odessa. This concentration in the river was above the allowed limit of Brazilian regulation agency (50 μg L-1 for Cr). Also high levels of Cr were found in the sediment (98.9 μg g-1) collected at the same monitored site. These results are important indicators of environmental performance and anthropogenic activities to help the government establish environmental management strategies aimed at the reduction of water pollution. © 2013 WIT Press.

Matrix effect on butyltin analysis of sediments and fish tissues by GC-PFPD

Butyltin (BTs) quantification in environmental matrices can be affected by interfering species found primarily in complex matrices,such as sediment and biota tissues. This study investigated matrix effects in analytical procedures for butyltin (TBT,DBT and MBT) quantification and speciation in sediments and in two fish tissues (gill and liver) by gas chromatography with pulsed flame photometric detection (GC-PFPD) analysis. Unlike sediment samples,tissues exhibited a significant matrix effect,thus,the quantification should be made by curve over matrix to avoid quantification errors and loss of analytical accuracy. © 2013 Sociedade Brasileira de Química.

High-resolution aquifer analog of fluvial-aeolian sediments of the Guarani aquifer system

The Guarani aquifer system (GAS) represents one of the biggest aquifers in the world and is the most relevant groundwater resource in South America. For the first time, by combining field and laboratory measurements, a high-resolution aquifer analog model of fluvial-aeolian sediments of the GAS in São Paulo State (Brazil) is constructed. Three parallel sections of frontal outcrops, 28 m × 5.8 m, and two parallel sections of lateral outcrops, 7 m × 5.8 m, are recorded during open-pit mining of sandy sediments and describe in detail the three-dimensional distribution of the local lithofacies and hydrofacies. Variations of hydraulic conductivity, K, and porosity, n, are resolved on the centimeter scale, and the most permeable units of the fluvial-aeolian facies association are identified. The constructed aquifer analog model shows moderate hydraulic heterogeneity and a mean K value of 1.36 × 10-4 m/s, which is greater than the reported range of K values for the entire GAS in São Paulo State. The results suggest that the examined sedimentary unit constitutes a relevant portion of the GAS in São Paulo State in the context of groundwater extraction and pollution. Moreover, the constructed aquifer analog is considered an ideal basis for future numerical model experiments, aiming at in-depth understanding of the groundwater flow and contaminant transport patterns at this GAS portion or at comparable fluvial-aeolian facies associations. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Anthropogenic influences on Cd, Cr,Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations in soils and sediments in a watershed with sugar cane crops at São Paulo State, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Integrated quality assessment of sediments from harbour areas in Santos-São Vicente Estuarine System, Southern Brazil

Santos-São Vicente Estuarine System is a highly populated coastal zone in Brazil and where it is located the major port of Latin America. Historically, port activities, industrial and domestic effluents discharges have constituted the main sources of contaminants to estuarine system. This study aimed to assess the recent status of sediment quality from 5 zones of Port of Santos by applying a lines-of-evidence approach through integrating results of: (1) acute toxicity of whole sediment and chronic toxicity of liquid phases; (2) grain size, organic matter, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, linear alkylbenzenes and butyltins; (3) benthic community descriptors. Results revealed a gradient of increasing contamination for metals and organic compounds, alongside with their geochemical carriers. Sediment liquid phases were more toxic compared to whole sediment. Low number of species and individuals indicated the impoverishment of benthic community. The use of site-specific sediment quality guidelines was more appropriate to predict sediment toxicity. The integration of results through Sediment Quality Triad approach and principal component analysis allowed observing the effects of natural stressors and dredging on sediment quality and benthic distribution. Even with recent governmental efforts to control, pollution is still relevant in Port of Santos and a threat to local ecosystems. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Ecotoxicological assessment of sediments from an urban marine protected area (Xixová-Japuí State Park, SP, Brazil)

This study aimed to evaluate the environmental quality of the marine portion of Xixová-Japuí State Park (XJSP), an urban marine protected area, which is influenced by multiple contamination sources, by using ecotoxicological and geochemical analyses. Sediments were predominantly sandy, with low CaCO3 and organic matter contents, and presented contamination by metals (Cd,Cu,Zn). Acute toxicity was detected in three tested samples, and copepod exposed to sediments from four stations exhibited lower fecundities, despite the absence of significant effects. Contamination and toxicity seemed to be associated, suggesting that the environment is degraded and presents risks to the biota. Whole sediment TIE indicated ammonia as a main responsible for toxicity, suggesting sewage is a main contributor to sediment degradation. As external contamination sources seem to be negatively influencing the sediment quality, the park conservation objectives are not being fully reached, demanding actions to mitigate impacts. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Use of Chemometric Tools to Determine the Source of Metals in Sediments of the Rivers of the Turvo/Grande Hydrographical Basin, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Integrated assessment of metal contamination in sediments from two tropical estuaries

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Water mass reconstruction by Nd isotopic analysis from Mid Atlantic oceanic sediments

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Caracterização petrográfica das zonas de alteração hidrotermais no alvo Arex, do depósito polimetálico de Aripuanã, MT

The Roosevelt-Domain Aripuanã that by Filho et al 2004 is characterized by a metavolcanic sedimentary sequence, containing acidic to interemediary metavolcanic rocks and clastic and chemical sediments, deformed and metamorphosed at low grade, with U-Pb age of 1.743 +- 4 Ma, (by Granito Zé do Torno), and circumscribed bodies of granites late to post-orogenic (Aripuanã)...

Off-line TMAH-GC/MS and NMR characterization of humic substances extracted from river sediments of northwestern Sao Paulo under different soil uses

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A candidate short-term toxicity test using Ampelisca brevicornis to assess sublethal responses to pharmaceuticals bound to marine sediments

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Levels of metals, arsenic and phosphorus in sediments from two sectors of a Brazilian Marine Protected Area (Tupinambas Ecological Station)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Bridging hydraulic diffusivity from aquifer to particle-size scale: a study on loess sediments from southwest Hungary

In situ megascale hydraulic diffusivities (D) of a confined loess aquifer were estimated at various scales (10 <= L <= 1500 m) by a finite difference model, and laboratory microscale diffusivities of a loess sample by empirical formulas. A scatter plot reveals that D fits to a single power function of L, providing that microscale diffusivities are assigned to L = 1 m and that differences in diffusivity observed between micro- and megascales are assigned to medium heterogeneity appraised by variations in the curvature and slope of natural hydraulic head waves propagating through the aquifer. Subsequently, a general power relationship between D and L is defined where the base and exponent terms stand for the aquifer storage capability under a confined regime of flow, for the microscale hydraulic conductivity and specific yield of loess, and for the changes in curvature and slope of hydraulic head waves relative to values defined at unit scale.[GRAPHICS]Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz

Pb-210 and compositional data of sediments from Rondonian lakes, Madeira River basin, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)