Evolução geomorfológica e palaeoambiental dos terraços da margem esquerda do alto rio Paraná

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Geomorfologia e quaternário do rio Vaza-Barris, Nordeste, Brasil

Pós-graduação em Geociências e Meio Ambiente - IGCE

Master Conservationist Presentations - 2001

We begin the 2001 Master Conservationist program with honorees in production agriculture from District A which includes the Panhandle of Nebraska. I would like to ask Leon and Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel (Kresel) of Gurley who are unable to be present. They operated the family farm in partnership with Fred and Viola Kriesel until 1984 when Leon and Cheryl become sole owners/operators. The Kriesels produce certified wheat, millet, oats, and barley seed on 3200 dryland acres that are owned, rented, or contracted. Since 1984, 45,000 feet of terraces have been installed. Their holistic conservation plan also includes over 57,000 feet of windbreaks of mixed evergreen and broadleaf trees and shrubs. This mixture of plant species is unique in the Panhandle. They built an earthen dam with 11 acre-feet of permanent storage and 70.5 acre-feet of detention storage. Results include reduced soil erosion by wind and water, and increased productivity and wildlife populations. Local and international groups tour the farm. Congratulations to the Kriesels.

Master Conservationist Awards

It is a distinct pleasure to be with you this evening to present the Master Conservationist awards. I appreciate the opportunity to recognize those who have gone the extra mile to enhance Nebraska's natural resources and our way of life. Their efforts take on even more importance in a year like this when drought conditions have threatened field crops, pastures, and rangeland, as well as water for livestock and the citizens of our state. Times like this underscore how important it is for us to recognize the delicate balance of nature. The Master Conservationists we honor tonight have long-recognized the need for windbreaks to protect both crops and soils. They understand the benefits of controlled-grazing to maintain grass and protect the soil, as well as to provide forage in the future. Others have installed terraces and grassed waterways on fragile land, as well as reuse pits for irrigation water. Riverbanks have been restored and wildlife habitats have been developed. These practices and many others always are important, they take on new meaning in stressful periods like the one of 2002.

EROSION LOSSES FROM RUNOFF: INTERACTION OF SOIL COVER AND EROSION CONTROL PRACTICE

The flow of sediment from cropped land is the main pollutant of water sources in rural areas. Due to this fact, it is necessary to develop and implement technologies that will reduce water and sediment discharges. Accordingly, an experiment was conducted in the Department of Biosystems Engineering - ESALQ / USP, Piracicaba - SP with the objective to evaluate the effect of different soil cover (bean, grass and bare ground) and erosion control practices (wide base terraces and infiltration furrows in slopes (no practices to control erosion)) while measuring water losses in runoff. The statistical design adopted was randomized blocks in a 3x3 factorial scheme resulting in 9 treatments with 3 replicates (blocks). The period of rainfall data collection was December 6, 2007 to April 11, 2008. A 21.1 cm diameter rain gauge was installed in the experimental area. Terraces were the most efficient practices for reducing erosion losses in the treatments with infiltration furrows being better than the control treatment. Bean was more effective than grass in reducing erosion. Bare ground was the least efficient.

Morphology and surface sedimentation on the upper and middle continental slope off Uruguay

This paper presents for the first time a morphological and surface sediment characterization of the Uruguayan outer continental shelf and slope. The study is based on a high-resolution coverage using hydrographical, geomorphological and sedimentological sampling and several textural and productivity proxies. Along slope terraces and an important canyon system characterizes continental slope morphology, indicating that across- and down-slope sedimentary processes control large-scale sedimentation. Terraces represent the prolongation of the Argentinean Contouritic Depositional System that vanishes in the study area, presumably as a result of the dynamic of the Brazil-Malvinas confluence. Canyons incised in the upper slope are likely related to low-stand sea level conditions. At the outer shelf and shallow upper slope (170-250 m depth), off-shelf sand transport is inferred from the distribution of relict sand and reworked biogenic gravel. In the upper continental slope, the northern region is characterized by an erosive environment controlled by a steep slope and the southward flowing Brazil current. In the south, a depositional environment is enhanced by the presence of a gentler slope and seaward incised canyons and is mainly controlled by hemipelagic processes associated with nutrient-rich Sub-Antarctic Waters (SAW), by its confluence with South Atlantic Central Waters (SACW) and by the Rio de la Plata’s (RdlP) influence. Additionally, within the upper slope, the occurrence of igneous-metamorphic cobbles and pebbles in canyon and mound lag deposits suggests the influence of glacial fluvial discharge and/or iceberg transport processes. In the middle slope, sedimentation is controlled by thermohaline-induced deep-water bottom currents. The decreasing influence of the erosive Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) is evident in a northward diminution in grain size. The variety of transport and sedimentary processes identified reflect the control of the Brazil-Malvinas confluence zone and the Rio de la Plata’s discharge.

Evolución geomorfológica de la superficie de erosión R1000 en los Llanos de Castro Caldelas (Ourense)

[ES] Se presenta el análisis morfológico de un sector del replano RIOOO' El sector escogido está colgado por encima de la red fluvial actual. Este hecho permite atribuir a los cursos que drenan el replano un carácter semi funcional. Se han identificado once niveles de terrazas erosivas, que corresponden al desmantelamiento del replano inicial. La geometría de la red permite suponer que la organización actual se alcanzó mediante sucesivas capturas. Por otra parte, se han distinguido dos trazados de la red (centrípeta y en bayoneta); la red centrípeta define una superficie hueca y la red en bayoneta una superficie en rampas escalonadas. Se propone que ambas morfologías corresponderían a diferentes estadios de un mismo proceso: el vaciado del RIOOO' Por último, se propone la hipótesis de un descabalamiento tectónico del Rgoo para el origen de los Llanos.

Indicios de antecedencia en la red fluvial del sureste de Galicia

[ES] El presente trabajo ofrece un análisis preliminar de la red fluvial con antecedencia terciaria del sureste gallego. Las observaciones geomorfológicas de campo se centran en la cartografía de terrazas erosivas, canales abandonados, meandros colgados, codos de captura y redes anómalas. Para su interpretación se confrontaron con los thalwegs de los cursos principales y las fracturas alpinas cartografiadas por otros autores. Se propone una cronología para los procesos fluviales identificados; cronología que apunta una antigüedad de la red fluvial mayor a la estimada hasta el momento. De las siete tendencias identificadas, tres presentan una entidad regional (ENE-WSW, NE-SW, N-S), y cuatro local (NW-SE, SW-NE, SE-NW, S-N). Se confirma el carácter principal de la paleorred ENE-WSW (caracterizada por el río Sil) y como hipótesis se propone, para la Sierra de Queixa-San Mamede, el carácter de paleorrelieve positivo de herencia mesozoica. Este relieve habría sufrido varios procesos de levantamiento isostático y también tectónico durante la Orogenia Alpina. Estos levantamientos habrían provocado la superposición de capturas en las estribaciones surorientales de la Sierra de Queixa-San Mamede.

Morphogenesis of the Ourense plains:(NW of Spain)

[EN] We present a geomorphological analysis of Ourense Province (NW Spain) characterized by: a general narrowing of the fluvial network, highlands with smooth reliefs partially eroded and lowlands with residual reliefs, several extensive plains of erosion frequently limited by fractures -among which Tertiary grabens are inserted-, some ?Hollow Surface?-type morphology, absence of sedimentary deposits outside the grabens, and a generalized outcrop of the Hercynian Massif substratum. Traditionally, this ?piano?s keyboard morphology? has been interpreted as expression of block tectonics in tensile regimen; instead we suggest the existence of: an isostatic upheaval simultaneous to a sequence of tectonic pulses of compressive regimen with activity in favour of transcurrent faults, a General Surface (R600), several plains that present a ?Hollow Surface?-type morphology (R1600 R1400 R1000), a generalized alteration that correspond to a same process of decomposition associated to fluctuating conditions of redox equilibrium, a erosional terraces related principaly to the palaeo-fluvial nets; moreover, we propose the existence of two morphoestructural lineament: the first one represented by the Fault of Vila Real (NE-SW) -a ramification of the ?Basal Pyrenean Overthrust?-, that would have been active at an early moment of the tectonic sequence with a left transcurrent fault, secondly the lineament represented by the Fault of Maceda (NNW-SSE) that would be related to the ?Fault System NW-SE? and would have produced a right transcurrent fault during a late tectonic pulse.

Formaciones superficiales del replano erosivo R1000 en el sector de los Llanos de Castro Caldelas (Ourense, NO de España)

[ES] Se presenta la cartografía geomorfológica y el análisis de cuatro formaciones superficiales que recubren algunos sectores de los Llanos de Castro Caldelas, una planicie topográficamente aislada por el profundo encajamiento de la red fluvial del río Sil y por la falla de Maceda, de edad alpina. Sobre este replano erosivo se ha identificado una red fluvial fosil, parcialmente capturada por el río Sil y varios niveles de terrazas erosivas que corresponden al desmantelamiento del replano inicial R1000. La relación entre morfologías y depósitos permitió elaborar una secuencia de procesos desencadenada por un pulso tectónico que descabaló el replano R800 y produjo el levantamiento relativo de los Llanos de Castro Caldelas y otras áreas adyacentes

Consecuencias geomorfológicas del abandono agrícola en la cuenca del Guiniguada (Gran Canaria, Islas Canarias) : aplicación a la conservación del patrimonio de bancales

Doctorado en Geografía y ordenación del territorio

Tectonic geomorphology and active strain of the Northern Apennines mountain front

The Northern Apennines (NA) chain is the expression of the active plate margin between Europe and Adria. Given the low convergence rates and the moderate seismic activity, ambiguities still occur in defining a seismotectonic framework and many different scenarios have been proposed for the mountain front evolution. Differently from older models that indicate the mountain front as an active thrust at the surface, a recently proposed scenario describes the latter as the frontal limb of a long-wavelength fold (> 150 km) formed by a thrust fault tipped around 17 km at depth, and considered as the active subduction boundary. East of Bologna, this frontal limb is remarkably very straight and its surface is riddled with small, but pervasive high- angle normal faults. However, west of Bologna, some recesses are visible along strike of the mountain front: these perturbations seem due to the presence of shorter wavelength (15 to 25 km along strike) structures showing both NE and NW-vergence. The Pleistocene activity of these structures was already suggested, but not quantitative reconstructions are available in literature. This research investigates the tectonic geomorphology of the NA mountain front with the specific aim to quantify active deformations and infer possible deep causes of both short- and long-wavelength structures. This study documents the presence of a network of active extensional faults, in the foothills south and east of Bologna. For these structures, the strain rate has been measured to find a constant throw-to-length relationship and the slip rates have been compared with measured rates of erosion. Fluvial geomorphology and quantitative analysis of the topography document in detail the active tectonics of two growing domal structures (Castelvetro - Vignola foothills and the Ghiardo plateau) embedded in the mountain front west of Bologna. Here, tilting and river incision rates (interpreted as that long-term uplift rates) have been measured respectively at the mountain front and in the Enza and Panaro valleys, using a well defined stratigraphy of Pleistocene to Holocene river terraces and alluvial fan deposits as growth strata, and seismic reflection profiles relationships. The geometry and uplift rates of the anticlines constrain a simple trishear fault propagation folding model that inverts for blind thrust ramp depth, dip, and slip. Topographic swath profiles and the steepness index of river longitudinal profiles that traverse the anti- clines are consistent with stratigraphy, structures, aquifer geometry, and seismic reflection profiles. Available focal mechanisms of earthquakes with magnitude between Mw 4.1 to 5.4, obtained from a dataset of the instrumental seismicity for the last 30 years, evidence a clear vertical separation at around 15 km between shallow extensional and deeper compressional hypocenters along the mountain front and adjacent foothills. In summary, the studied anticlines appear to grow at rates slower than the growing rate of the longer- wavelength structure that defines the mountain front of the NA. The domal structures show evidences of NW-verging deformation and reactivations of older (late Neogene) thrusts. The reconstructed river incision rates together with rates coming from several other rivers along a 250 km wide stretch of the NA mountain front and recently available in the literature, all indicate a general increase from Middle to Late Pleistocene. This suggests focusing of deformation along a deep structure, as confirmed by the deep compressional seismicity. The maximum rate is however not constant along the mountain front, but varies from 0.2 mm/yr in the west to more than 2.2 mm/yr in the eastern sector, suggesting a similar (eastward-increasing) trend of the apenninic subduction.

El Niño southern oscillation and its effect on fog oases along the Peruvian and Chilean coastal deserts

Fog oases, locally named Lomas, are distributed in a fragmented way along the western coast of Chile and Peru (South America) between ~6°S and 30°S following an altitudinal gradient determined by a fog layer. This fragmentation has been attributed to the hyper aridity of the desert. However, periodically climatic events influence the ‘normal seasonality’ of this ecosystem through a higher than average water input that triggers plant responses (e.g. primary productivity and phenology). The impact of the climatic oscillation may vary according to the season (wet/dry). This thesis evaluates the potential effect of climate oscillations, such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), through the analysis of vegetation of this ecosystem following different approaches: Chapters two and three show the analysis of fog oasis along the Peruvian and Chilean deserts. The objectives are: 1) to explain the floristic connection of fog oases analysing their taxa composition differences and the phylogenetic affinities among them, 2) to explore the climate variables related to ENSO which likely affect fog production, and the responses of Lomas vegetation (composition, productivity, distribution) to climate patterns during ENSO events. Chapters four and five describe a fog-oasis in southern Peru during the 2008-2010 period. The objectives are: 3) to describe and create a new vegetation map of the Lomas vegetation using remote sensing analysis supported by field survey data, and 4) to identify the vegetation change during the dry season. The first part of our results show that: 1) there are three significantly different groups of Lomas (Northern Peru, Southern Peru, and Chile) with a significant phylogenetic divergence among them. The species composition reveals a latitudinal gradient of plant assemblages. The species origin, growth-forms typologies, and geographic position also reinforce the differences among groups. 2) Contradictory results have emerged from studies of low-cloud anomalies and the fog-collection during El Niño (EN). EN increases water availability in fog oases when fog should be less frequent due to the reduction of low-clouds amount and stratocumulus. Because a minor role of fog during EN is expected, it is likely that measurements of fog-water collection during EN are considering drizzle and fog at the same time. Although recent studies on fog oases have shown some relationship with the ENSO, responses of vegetation have been largely based on descriptive data, the absence of large temporal records limit the establishment of a direct relationship with climatic oscillations. The second part of the results show that: 3) five different classes of different spectral values correspond to the main land cover of Lomas using a Vegetation Index (VI). The study case is characterised by shrubs and trees with variable cover (dense, semi-dense and open). A secondary area is covered by small shrubs where the dominant tree species is not present. The cacti area and the old terraces with open vegetation were not identified with the VI. Agriculture is present in the area. Finally, 4) contrary to the dry season of 2008 and 2009 years, a higher VI was obtained during the dry season of 2010. The VI increased up to three times their average value, showing a clear spectral signal change, which coincided with the ENSO event of that period.

Applications of remote sensing and geographic information systems in geomorphological studies: Safaga - El Quseir area, Red Sea coast, Egypt as an example

In den letzten drei Jahrzehnten sind Fernerkundung und GIS in den Geowissenschaften zunehmend wichtiger geworden, um die konventionellen Methoden von Datensammlung und zur Herstellung von Landkarten zu verbessern. Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Anwendung von Fernerkundung und geographischen Informationssystemen (GIS) für geomorphologische Untersuchungen. Durch die Kombination beider Techniken ist es vor allem möglich geworden, geomorphologische Formen im Überblick und dennoch detailliert zu erfassen. Als Grundlagen werden in dieser Arbeit topographische und geologische Karten, Satellitenbilder und Klimadaten benutzt. Die Arbeit besteht aus 6 Kapiteln. Das erste Kapitel gibt einen allgemeinen Überblick über den Untersuchungsraum. Dieser umfasst folgende morphologische Einheiten, klimatischen Verhältnisse, insbesondere die Ariditätsindizes der Küsten- und Gebirgslandschaft sowie das Siedlungsmuster beschrieben. Kapitel 2 befasst sich mit der regionalen Geologie und Stratigraphie des Untersuchungsraumes. Es wird versucht, die Hauptformationen mit Hilfe von ETM-Satellitenbildern zu identifizieren. Angewandt werden hierzu folgende Methoden: Colour Band Composite, Image Rationing und die sog. überwachte Klassifikation. Kapitel 3 enthält eine Beschreibung der strukturell bedingten Oberflächenformen, um die Wechselwirkung zwischen Tektonik und geomorphologischen Prozessen aufzuklären. Es geht es um die vielfältigen Methoden, zum Beispiel das sog. Image Processing, um die im Gebirgskörper vorhandenen Lineamente einwandfrei zu deuten. Spezielle Filtermethoden werden angewandt, um die wichtigsten Lineamente zu kartieren. Kapitel 4 stellt den Versuch dar, mit Hilfe von aufbereiteten SRTM-Satellitenbildern eine automatisierte Erfassung des Gewässernetzes. Es wird ausführlich diskutiert, inwieweit bei diesen Arbeitsschritten die Qualität kleinmaßstäbiger SRTM-Satellitenbilder mit großmaßstäbigen topographischen Karten vergleichbar ist. Weiterhin werden hydrologische Parameter über eine qualitative und quantitative Analyse des Abflussregimes einzelner Wadis erfasst. Der Ursprung von Entwässerungssystemen wird auf der Basis geomorphologischer und geologischer Befunde interpretiert. Kapitel 5 befasst sich mit der Abschätzung der Gefahr episodischer Wadifluten. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit ihres jährlichen Auftretens bzw. des Auftretens starker Fluten im Abstand mehrerer Jahre wird in einer historischen Betrachtung bis 1921 zurückverfolgt. Die Bedeutung von Regentiefs, die sich über dem Roten Meer entwickeln, und die für eine Abflussbildung in Frage kommen, wird mit Hilfe der IDW-Methode (Inverse Distance Weighted) untersucht. Betrachtet werden außerdem weitere, regenbringende Wetterlagen mit Hilfe von Meteosat Infrarotbildern. Genauer betrachtet wird die Periode 1990-1997, in der kräftige, Wadifluten auslösende Regenfälle auftraten. Flutereignisse und Fluthöhe werden anhand von hydrographischen Daten (Pegelmessungen) ermittelt. Auch die Landnutzung und Siedlungsstruktur im Einzugsgebiet eines Wadis wird berücksichtigt. In Kapitel 6 geht es um die unterschiedlichen Küstenformen auf der Westseite des Roten Meeres zum Beispiel die Erosionsformen, Aufbauformen, untergetauchte Formen. Im abschließenden Teil geht es um die Stratigraphie und zeitliche Zuordnung von submarinen Terrassen auf Korallenriffen sowie den Vergleich mit anderen solcher Terrassen an der ägyptischen Rotmeerküste westlich und östlich der Sinai-Halbinsel.

Nanoscale surface properties and interaction with fundamental biomolecules of chlorite and phlogopite

The surface properties of minerals have important implications in geology, environment, industry and biotechnology and for certain aspects in the research on the origin of life. This research project aims to widen the knowledge on the nanoscale surface properties of chlorite and phlogopite by means of advanced methodologies, and also to investigate the interaction of fundamental biomolecules, such as nucleotides, RNA, DNA and amino acid glycine with the surface of the selected phyllosilicates. Multiple advanced and complex experimental approaches based on scanning probe microscopy and spatially resolved spectroscopy were used and in some cases specifically developed. The results demonstrate that chlorite exposes at the surface atomically flat terraces with 0.5 nm steps typically generated by the fragmentation of the octahedral sheet of the interlayer (brucitic-type). This fragmentation at the nanoscale generates a high anisotropy and inhomogeneity with surface type and isomorphous cationic substitutions determining variations of the effective surface potential difference, ranging between 50-100 mV and 400-500 mV, when measured in air, between the TOT surface and the interlayer brucitic sheet. The surface potential was ascribed to be the driving force of the observed high affinity of the surface with the fundamental biomolecules, like single molecules of nucleotides, DNA, RNA and amino acids. Phlogopite was also observed to present an extended atomically flat surface, featuring negative surface potential values of some hundreds of millivolts and no significant local variations. Phlogopite surface was sometimes observed to present curvature features that may be ascribed to local substitutions of the interlayer cations or the presence of a crystal lattice mismatch or structural defects, such as stacking faults or dislocation loops. Surface chemistry was found similar to the bulk. The study of the interaction with nucleotides and glycine revealed a lower affinity with respect to the brucite-like surface of chlorite.