GIS-based environmental risk assessment in the Ribeira Valley,São Paulo,Brazil

The Ribeira Valley region (State of Sao Paulo, Brazil) hosts the largest Brazilian Atlantic forest reserve. The region was an important mineral district during the ‘60s, from where several tons of lead and other metals were exploited. Residual materials produced by the mining are diffused in the environment until today. The area also encompasses a regional arsenium anomaly associated with unexplored gold deposits. The population presently living in this region performs basic farming activities, from which most of their food is yielded. These features coupled together imply in a complex relationship between natural and anthropogenic factors that are likely to affect the life and health of the local communities. The aim of this paper is to apply digital data integration techniques for environmental risk assessment in the Ribeira Valley using environmental geochemistry. Geochemical, digital elevation and remote sensing data (Landsat Thematic Mapper) were merged and analyzed using a geographical information system. The assumed model considered environmental mobilization through erosion and anomalous As–Pb areas. Data were analyzed through Boolean and fuzzy logic techniques. Fuzzy logic proved superior in this case study as it allowed not only the detection but also the distinction between low, moderate and high environmental risk areas.     

Weathering rates and anthropogenic influences in a sedimentary basin,São Paulo State,Brazil

The weathering rate of rocks and chemical dynamics of the Corumbataı́ River basin, São Paulo State, Brazil, were evaluated using major elements as natural tracers. This basin has serious environmental problems in terms of quality of surface and rainwater, which affect the determination of weathering rate. The Corumbataı́ River, downstream from Rio Claro City, receives several elements/compounds through anthropogenic activities, with only K, SO₄²⁻ and alkalinity yielding positive flux values. The negative flux of some anions/cations can be attributed to atmospheric loading mainly related to anthropogenic inputs, providing K a value of 16.7 ton/km⁻²a⁻¹ for the material removed by weathering in the Corumbataı́ River basin. This is equivalent to 26×10⁶ kg of rock being removed each year by the Corumbataı́ River. The instantaneous flux was found to be a function of discharge, with the majority of dry residue (dissolved load) being transported during the summer (wet) months. The removed material in Corumbataı́ River basin derives mainly from two sub-basins (Cabeças River and Passa Cinco River), where the sandstones weather more easily than siltstones and claystones in the basin.     

Geoelectrical mapping of contamination in the cemeteries: the case study in Piracicaba,São Paulo/Brazil

This paper presents the results of electrical resistivity methods in the area delineation that was potentially contaminated by liquefaction products, which are also called putrefactive liquids in Vila Rezende municipal cemetery, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. The results indicate a depth of water table between 3.1 and 5.1 m, with two groundwater direction flows, one to the SW and another to the SE. Due to the contamination plumes, which have the same groundwater direction flow, as well the conductive anomalies observed in the geoelectric sections, the contamination suspicions in the area were confirmed. The probable plume to the SE extends beyond the limits of the cemetery. The location of the conductive anomalies and the probable contamination plumes showed that the contamination is linked with the depth of the water table and the burial time. Mapping using the geostatistical method of ordinary kriging applied to the work drew structural characteristics of the regional phenomenon and spatial behavior of the electrical resistivity data, resulting in continued surfaces. Thus, this method has proved to be an important tool for mapping contamination plumes in cemeteries.     

Development of environmental and natural vulnerability maps for Brazilian coastal at São Sebastião in São Paulo State

In this study, environmental and natural vulnerability maps developed for a Brazilian coastal region at São Sebastião City in São Paulo State helped to address a better understanding of the ecosystem fragility. Intense anthropogenic activities take place in the site that are mainly related to the petroleum industry and involve the operation of refineries and storage/transport of gas/oil by pipelines. A Geographical Information System (GIS) allowed the maps elaboration and analysis, where the region vulnerability was classified into five indexes: very low, low, medium, high and very high. The results depicted well the most vulnerable areas in the site, which should receive special care for their preservation. They include the coastal zones, the fluvial marine plain, the mangrove and the urban area of São Sebastião City. The results reported herein also show that the approach utilized may provide the decision makers with tools to develop an integrated coastal zone management for preserving the environmental resources in São Sebastião municipality. The methodology adopted is of easy implementation and adaptation to other areas, only taking into account the decision rules fitting diverse criteria imposed by the new reality.     

Heavy metal distribution in recent sediments of the Tietê-Pinheiros river system in São Paulo state,Brazil

The concentrations and possible chemical associations of Al, Fe, Mn, Ca, Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, Ni and Cr in sediments of the Tietê-Pinheiros river system in São Paulo state, Brazil, were studied using a 3-step sequential extraction protocol recommended by the Standards, Measurements and Testing Programme (SM&T, formerly BCR). A single extraction with 0.1 mol l⁻¹ HCl was applied in parallel to anoxic and air-dried samples. The river system crosses the metropolitan area of São Paulo (MASP), which houses a population of nearly 17 million people, and receives a large load of industrial and domestic wastes. Samples were collected from reservoirs in the surroundings of MASP, named Billings, Pirapora and Rasgão, and from the Barra Bonita reservoir, that is located in the Tietê river, 270 km downstream from São Paulo city. The distribution of metals indicates the recent pollution characteristics for samples from the Billings, Pirapora and Rasgão reservoirs. In these sediments the metals are associated to a large degree with reactive forms such as sulphides and carbonates, or adsorbed to amorphous oxyhydroxides of Fe and Mn. In samples from Barra Bonita, heavy metals are mainly associated with the residual fraction, suggesting that their concentrations are controlled significantly by transport processes with fine particles as carriers from diffuse pollution sources.     

Micro- and nano-inclusions in a superdeep diamond from São Luiz,Brazil

We report cloudy micro- and nano-inclusions in a superdeep diamond from São-Luiz, Brazil which contains inclusions of ferropericlase (Mg, Fe)O and former bridgmanite (Mg, Fe)SiO₃ and ringwoodite (Mg, Fe)₂SiO₄. Field emission-SEM and TEM observations showed that the cloudy inclusions were composed of euhedral micro-inclusions with grain sizes ranging from tens nanometers to submicrometers. Infrared absorption spectra of the cloudy inclusions showed that water, carbonate, and silicates were not major components of these micro- and nano-inclusions and suggested that the main constituent of the inclusions was infrared-inactive. Some inclusions were suggested to contain material with lower atomic numbers than that of carbon. Mineral phase of nano- and micro-inclusions is unclear at present. Microbeam X-ray fluorescence analysis clarified that the micro-inclusions contained transition metals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) possibly as metallic or sulfide phases. The cloudy inclusions provide an important information on the growth environment of superdeep diamonds in the transition zone or the lower mantle.     

Magmatism and fenitization in the Cretaceous potassium-alkaline-carbonatitic complex of Ipanema S?o Paulo State, Brazil

The Ipanema alkaline-carbonatitic complex is part of the Meso-Cenozoic alkaline magmatism located within the southeastern part of the Brazilian Platform. Drill-core and field sampling have indicated the occurrence of glimmerites, with subordinate shonkinites (mela-syenites), clinopyroxene-bearing glimmerites, diorites and syenites. The glimmerites are cross-cut by lamprophyric dykes and calciocarbonatites. Fenitization has deeply affected the country rocks, originating dioritic and syenitic rocks. The Ipanema rocks show a distinct potassic affinity. The initial Sr-Nd- isotopic composition of the Ipanema rocks (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr?=?0.70661–0.70754 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd?=?0.51169–0.51181) is similar to that of tholeiitic and potassium-rich-alkaline rocks of the Eastern Paraguay. Stable isotope data for the Ipanema calciocarbonatite suggest interaction with fluids at temperatures typical of hydrothermal stages, as hypothesized for other carbonatite complexes from southeastern Brazil. The chemical differences between the lamprophyre, glimmerites, carbonatites, apatitites and magnetitites, and the absence of marked REE enrichment in the evolved lithologies, all indicate that fractional crystallization and accumulus of liquidus phases in a magma reservoir, likely coupled with liquid immiscibility processes, may have played an important role in the genesis of the Ipanema rocks.     

Soil quality indicator of oxisols grown with sugarcane and native forest in northeastern São Paulo state,Brazil

The evaluation of soil quality is an important tool for degradation monitoring and sustainable management implementation. The objective of this study was to measure physical and chemical soil properties to set soil quality and validate a model of soil quality indicator in latosols (oxisols) under sugarcane cropping and native forest. The study was carried out in the cities of Araras, Santa Ernestina, and Guariba in São Paulo State, Brazil. We collected 24 samples of disturbed and undisturbed soil at 0.0–0.10 m layer from three areas grown with sugarcane and neighboring locations under native woodland. We assessed the following soil properties: (a) chemical—pH in CaCl₂, organic matter (OM), phosphorus (P), potassium (K⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺), potential acidity (H?+?Al), aluminum (Al³⁺), and sulfur (S); (b) physical—macro- and microporosity, soil bulk density (Ds), aggregate stability, mean weight diameter (MWD), rill (K_r) and interrill (K_i) global erodibility, shear stress (τc), and magnetic susceptibility (MS). Data underwent multivariate statistics to identify the properties that denote soil quality and to set their weights within the functions of soil quality indicator (SQI). This study showed that the multivariate analysis was efficient in determining which physical and chemical properties were most sensitive, of which we can mention total sand, MS, clay, microporosity, Mg, Ca, pH, and OM. We can therefore conclude that the quality indicators of soils grown with sugarcane were lower than those under forest were, showing the need for adoption of conservation management practices.     

Multicusped crocodyliform teeth from the Upper Cretaceous (São José do Rio Preto Formation,Bauru Group) of São Paulo,Brazil

The six peculiar multicusped teeth described here were collected from sediments of the Upper Cretaceous of São José do Rio Preto Formation, near Ibirá (northeastern São Paulo, Brazil). Their bulbous crowns are slightly labio-lingual compressed, and bear a main plus two accessory cusps, which conceal a well developed cingulum. Wear facets are seen on the main and distal accessory cusps. Comparison to the known Crocodyliformes with multicusped teeth show that the new material is not referable to “protosuchians” or eusuchians, nor related to two unnamed forms from Morocco and “notosuchians” such as Uruguaysuchus, Chiamaerasuchus, and Simosuchus. On the other hand, possible affinities with Candidodon and Malawisuchus were maintained based on shared traits. This includes teeth with the main cusp and some accessory cusps arranged in more than one axis, a previously defined unambiguous apomorphy of the putative clade composed of Candidodon plus Malawisuchus. The term Candidodontidae can be applied to this group, and defined as all taxa closer to Candidodon itapecuruensis than to Notosuchus terrestris, Uruguaysuchus aznarezi, Comahuesuchus brachybuccalis, Sphagesaurus huenei, Baurusuchus pachecoi, and Crocodylus niloticus.     

Roaldite in the iron-meteorite São Julião de Moreira

Roaldite – Fe₄N – has been identified in the São Julião de Moreira iron meteorite using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and simultaneously acquired energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Mean-periodic-number images derived from raw EBSD patterns confirm this phase by an even higher spatial resolution compared to EDS.Roaldite appears in the form of systematically and repetitively aligned plates. Despite the locally heavy plastic deformation, it is shown that the origin of the oriented precipitation of roaldite is linked to the orientation of the kamacite matrix. Roaldite can be considered to be precipitated from kamacite using an inverse Kurdjumov-Sachs (K-S) or Nishiyama-Wassermann (N-W) orientation relationship. A more accurate discrimination is impossible due to the accumulated shock deformation, which blurs the local reference orientation of kamacite. The habit plane of roaldite is found to be {112}_R, which is most likely parallel to {120}_K of kamacite. Some of the roaldite plates contain two orientation variants which repeatedly alternate. Their misorientation angle is about 12°.     

Geophysical investigation using resistivity and GPR methods: a case study of a lubricant oil waste disposal area in the city of Ribeirão Preto,São Paulo,Brazil

Geophysics has been shown to be effective in identifying areas contaminated by waste disposal, contributing to the greater efficiency of soundings programs and the installation of monitoring wells. In the study area, four trenches were constructed with a total volume of about 25,000 m³. They were almost totally filled with re-refined lubricating oil waste for approximately 25 years. No protection liners were used in the bottoms and laterals of the disposal trenches. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the potential of the resistivity and ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods in characterizing the contamination of this lubricant oil waste disposal area in Ribeirão Preto, SP, situated on the geological domain of the basalt spills of the Serra Geral Formation and the sandstones of the Botucatu Formation. Geophysical results were shown in 2D profiles. The geophysical methods used enabled the identification of geophysical anomalies, which characterized the contamination produced by the trenches filled with lubricant oil waste. Conductive anomalies (smaller than 185 Ωm) immediately below the trenches suggest the action of bacteria in the hydrocarbons, as has been observed in several sites contaminated by hydrocarbons in previously reported cases in the literature. It was also possible to define the geometry of the trenches, as evidenced by the GPR method. Direct sampling (chemical analysis of the soil and the water in the monitoring well) confirmed the contamination. In the soil analysis, low concentrations of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were found, mainly naphthalene and phenanthrene. In the water samples, an analysis verified contamination of the groundwater by lead (Pb). The geophysical methods used in the investigation provided an excellent tool for environmental characterization in this study of a lubricant oil waste disposal area, and could be applied in the study of similar areas.     

Development of a drought vulnerability index using MCDM and GIS: study case in São Paulo and Ceará, Brazil

Natural Hazards - Although climate change vulnerability research in general has increased over the last decade, Latin American countries have more directed more limited efforts toward vulnerability...     

Water quality and risk assessment of dug wells: a case study for a poor community in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

Sparsely populated areas, or peripheral communities commonly lack access to a public water supply and sewerage systems. The inhabitants of these areas must make use of excavated wells to provide their water needs, and cesspits for domestic wastewater disposal. These on-site sanitation systems can release pathogens and nutrients into shallow groundwater. These poor communities urgently require cheap and efficient techniques for the detection of sanitary conditions, in order to prevent contamination of the water resources supplied by dug wells. The sanitary risk assessment methodology, applied in an irregular settlement south of the city of São Paulo, was based on a questionnaire with yes/no questions (risk factors), which allowed the identification of problems related to the well construction and operation, and the presence of potential contamination sources in its vicinity. These risk factors were compared against nitrate and bacterial analysis using the clustering statistical method, to verify the relationship between contamination and certain aspects surveyed in the questionnaire. Questions that were more related to contaminated wells were those concerning the presence of cover and its integrity; gaps between mouth and cover; the surrounding pavement and presence of ground irregularities; infiltration in the well casing; water-suspended materials; and proximity to contamination sources. Contamination models based on variograms allowed to observe that bacterial contamination presented a strong localized component, which was associated frequently with the way residents handled the wells, whereas nitrate contamination was related more to a regional (spatial) component; that is, the distance between wells and cesspits.     

Fecal Sterols in Estuarine Sediments as Markers of Sewage Contamination in the Cubat?o Area, S?o Paulo, Brazil

Sterol biomarkers serve as an alternative method for detecting sewage pollution. Sterols were extracted from samples of surface sediment collected in Cubat?o (the Vila dos Pescadores and Vila Esperan?a communities) and quantified using GC–MS after Soxhlet extraction, cleanup, and derivatization. Fecal contamination was evaluated based on the concentration of coprostanol and the ratio of the selected sterols. The most abundant sterol was cholestanol, followed by coprostanol. The concentrations of coprostanol in surface sediments ranged from a minimum of 4.21?μg?g^?1 dry sediment (Vila dos Pescadores station) to a maximum of 8.32?μg?g^?1 dry sediment (Vila Esperan?a station). A coprostanol concentration of about 10?μg?g^?1 was found, indicating areas of high sewage contamination. Coprostanol levels at sewage stations were higher than in other Brazilian coastal areas, which may be attributed to the fraction of the population without sanitation services.     

Tonian to early Cryogenian synorogenic basin of the São Gabriel Terrane,Dom Feliciano Belt,southernmost Brazil

A provenance and stratigraphic study of the Neoproterozoic Pontas do Salso Complex (PSC), western portion of the Dom Feliciano Belt (DFB), was conducted with U–Pb zircon geochronological analysis of the metasediments and the host rocks. The U–Pb isotopic data from detrital zircon of the metasediments indicate the source from the latest Middle Tonian to Late Cryogenian (between 897 and 684 Ma) and maximum depositional age of 685 ± 18 Ma in an arc-related basin setting adjacent in the Sao Gabriel Arc. The metasediments of the PSC form an elongated body in the N35°E direction and occur in the central portion of the São Gabriel Terrane (SGT), which is constituted by ophiolitic complexes and arc-related rocks, generated probably during the final consolidation of Rodinia supercontinent, although this question is still open. Low- to medium-K calc-alkaline, metaluminous affinity, and trace-element geochemistry suggest that the chemical composition of the protoliths was generated from metasomatized mantle sources in subduction zones. The PSC is composed of meta-arkoses, with subordinate metaconglomerates and metapelites. The meta-arkoses are disposed in plane-parallel layers, which also internally feature small-scale cross-bedding structures. The matrix has a blastopsammitic, poorly selected, fine to coarse texture, and hexagonal quartz and plagioclase porphyroclasts with superimposed thermal metamorphism. The polymict metaconglomerates are matrix-supported, with 15–55% of clasts of metavolcanic rocks, metasediments, undeformed granites, and quartz veins. The metapelites comprise mainly muscovite phyllites with syn-tectonic garnet and chloritoid porphyroblasts. The PSC represents a sedimentary succession deposited on an arc-related basin formed during the collapse and uplift of the SGT.     

Debris flow affecting the Cubatão Oil Refinery,Brazil

On February 6, 1994, a large debris flow developed because of intense rains in a 800-m-high mountain range called Serra do Cubatão, the local name for the Serra do Mar, located along the coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It affected the Presidente Bernardes Refinery, owned by Petrobrás, in Cubatão. The damages amounted to about US $40 million because of the muck cleaning, repairs, and 3-week interruption of the operations. This prompted Petrobrás to conduct studies, carried out by the authors, to develop protection works, which were done at a cost of approximately US $12 million. The paper describes the studies conducted on debris flow mechanics. A new criteria to define rainfall intensities that trigger debris flows is presented, as well as a correlation of slipped area with soil porosity and rain intensity. Also presented are (a) an actual grain size distribution of a deposited material, determined by laboratory and a large-scale field test, and (b) the size distribution of large boulders along the river bed. Based on theory, empirical experience and back-analysis of the events, the main parameters as the front velocity, the peak discharge and the volume of the transported sediments were determined in a rational basis for the design of the protection works. Finally, the paper describes the set of the protection works built, emphasizing their concept and function. They also included some low-cost innovative works.     

Ideas out of context and the contextualization of ideas: The transference of Jane Jacobs to São Paulo

The mobility and contextualization of urban policies between localities have received significant attention in recent literature. A number of mechanisms have been identified, including “best practices,” “policy tourism,” multinational firms, and conferences have been identified. This article identifies a new mechanism: the translation and publication of seminal theses into additional languages. Using citations analysis and interviews in São Paulo, this mechanism is confirmed as an additional mode of transference and identified as being responsible for the growth in interest in Jane Jacobs in São Paulo. However, this article finds that despite the increase in accessibility to her ideals, her emphasis on contextuality was overlooked in that case. This, in turn, calls attention to larger issues of the use of so-called ‘universally-good’ examples of urbanism.