Lichen-Transplant Biomonitoring in the Assessment of Dispersion of Atmospheric Trace-Element Pollutants: Effects of Orientation Towards the Wind Direction

Transplants of the epiphytic lichen Parmelia sulcata were suspended in nylon bags in a special device allowing a fixed orientation of the lichen towards the wind direction, viz. facing the wind (F orientation) or shielded from the wind by its substrate (T orientation). The F- and T-orientation data were mutually compared and also with reference values (= time zero values of the transplants). The data were analysed via Monte Carlo added target transformation factor analysis (MCATTFA) to get information on possible emission-source profiles and their contributions to total-element levels in transplants, in F- and T-orientations. Both orientations did not differ for Na, Mg, P, Cl, K, Fe, Co, Ni, Ga, Se, Br, Sr, Ba, La, Nd, Sm, Lu and Ta, but showed some time-related differences for Cr and Zn. For the remaining elements the data presents a high variability. Under the conditions of the experiment, F- and T-oriented transplants generally did not result in differences in source profiles reflected, nor in differences in source contributions to element levels in the transplants.     

Biochemical indicators of contaminant exposure in spotted pigfish (Orthopristis ruber) caught at three bays of Rio de Janeiro coast

The initial sampling in the Marine Monitoring Program (MOMAM), coordinated by the Ministry of Marine Affairs (IEAPM), was performed along the southeast coast of Brazil. Orthopristis ruber samples were collected at Guanabara, Sepetiba and Ilha Grande Bays. Microsomal CYP1A levels and cytosolic cholinesterase (ChE), catalase (CAT) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities were measured in the liver of these fish according to established procedures. CAT activity and CYP1A content were significantly higher (P < or = 0.05) in fish caught at Guanabara Bay, which might be due to higher levels of peroxisome proliferators and Ah receptor agonists, respectively, at this site compared to the other sites. Also, lower GST activity was observed in fish from this site, which may possibly be related to the presence of oxidative-stress inducing compounds.     

Climate variability and planktonic communities: The effect of an extreme event (severe drought) in a southern European estuary

As a consequence of climate change, flood and drought events are increasing in frequency throughout the world. Nevertheless, knowledge of the effects on zooplankton estuarine communities is still scarce. The present study aimed to examine zooplankton ecology over two contrasting environmental conditions: regular years and extreme dry years, in a shallow temperate southern European estuary, the Mondego Estuary (Portugal). Monthly samples were carried out during three consecutive years: 2003 characterized as a regular temperate year concerning precipitation and river flow, and an extremely dry period during 2004–2005. The spatial and temporal structure of the biological data was evaluated by a three-mode principal component analysis (PCA), which allowed us to distinguish three distinct ecological areas based on their biological composition and their relationship with hydrologic parameters. The severe drought in 2004–2005 was responsible for spatial shifts in the estuary regarding zooplankton community and interannual variability, with an increase in abundance and diversity during the period of low freshwater flow. This freshwater flow regime influenced the composition of the zooplankton community at the most upstream section of Mondego estuary (zone 3), with a replacement of the freshwater community by one predominantly dominated by estuarine organisms. The occurrence of such estuarine community contributed to the increase in zooplankton abundance which is ascribed to the estuarine species Acartia tonsa. The comparison with previous data obtained for this estuarine ecosystem, demonstrated the occurrence of a different scenario at times of high freshwater flow, being defined the existence of two sub-estuarine systems, the north and south arm, presenting the south one the highest values of abundance.     

Homogeneous regions for rainfall distribution in the city of Rio de Janeiro associated with the risk of natural disasters

Natural Hazards - Understanding the occurrence of natural disasters in regions where the occurrence is high is very important, and it is known that the occurrence of disasters associated with...     

Numerical modeling of the Patos Lagoon coastal plume,Brazil

The Southern Brazilian Shelf (SBS) is a freshwater-influenced region, but studies on the dynamics of coastal plumes are sparse and lack in space-time resolution. Studies on the dynamics of the Patos Lagoon plume are even more limited. The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of the principal physical forcing for the formation and behavior of the Patos Lagoon coastal plume. The study is carried out through 3D numerical modeling experiments and empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. Results showed that the amount of freshwater is the principal physical forcing controlling the plume formation. The Coriolis effect enhances the northward transport over the shelf, while the tidal effects contribute to intensify horizontal and vertical mixing, which are responsible for spreading the freshwater over the shelf. The wind effect, on the other hand, is the main mechanism controlling the behavior of the Patos Lagoon coastal plume over the inner SBS in synoptic time scales. Southeasterly and southwesterly winds contribute to the northeastward displacement of the plume, breaking the vertical stratification of the inner continental shelf. Northeasterly and northwesterly winds favor ebb conditions in the Patos Lagoon, contributing to the southwestward displacement of the plume enhancing the vertical stratification along and across-shore. The EOF analysis reveals two modes controlling the variability of the plume on the surface. The first mode (explaining 70% of the variability) is associated to the southwestward transportation of the plume due to the dominance of north quadrant winds, while the second mode (explaining 19% of the variability) is associated to the intermittent migration of the plume northeastward due to the passage of frontal systems over the area. Large scale plumes can be expected during winter and spring months, and are enhanced during El Niño events.     

A thin elastic core can control large-scale patterns of lithosphere shortening

Peak lithospheric strength should reside in the rocks that, under the applied stress, cannot either creep (due to low temperature) or break (due to high confining pressure). The greatest resistance comes from dry olivine/pyroxene-rich upper mantle/lowermost crust at Moho conditions (400–600 °C and > 1 GPa). We have conducted laboratory experiments to investigate the importance of the unbreakable core of the lithosphere in between its brittle and ductile parts and conclude that it can control the large-scale lithospheric deformation pattern under shortening. Regardless of the thickness of the unbreakable core, it acts as a restraining layer that is easily flexed but is unstretchable. This eliminates large scale brittle faulting or homogeneous thickening as available shortening modes and results in irregular wrinkling of the unbreakable layer. We discuss geodynamic implications of our laboratory experiments and advocate studies of large scale buckling of the lithosphere as a relevant shortening mode.     

Erosion of an active fault scarp leads to drainage capture in the Amazon region,Brazil

Far from the continental margin, drainage basins in Central Amazonia should be in topographic steady state; but they are not. Abandoned remnant fluvial valleys up to hundreds of square kilometers in size are observed throughout Amazonia, and are evidence of significant landscape reorganization. While major Late Miocene drainage shifts occurred due to initiation of the transcontinental Amazon River, local landscape change has remained active until today. Driven either by dynamic topography, tectonism, and/or climatic fluctuations, drainage captures in Amazonia provide a natural experiment for assessing the geomorphic response of low‐slope basins to sudden, capture related base‐level falls. This paper evaluates the timing of geomorphic change by examining a drainage capture event across the Baependi fault scarp involving the Cuieiras and Tarumã‐Mirim River basins northwest of the city of Manaus in Brazil. A system of capture‐related knickpoints was generated by base‐level fall following drainage capture; through numerical modeling of their initiation and propagation, the capture event is inferred to have occurred between the middle and late Pleistocene, consistent with other studies of landscape change in surrounding areas. In low‐slope settings like the Amazon River basin, base‐level fall can increase erosion rates by more than an order of magnitude, and moderate to large river basins can respond to episodes of base‐level fall over timescales of tens to hundreds of thousands of years. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Natural responses of Neoproterozoic dynamic karst springs to rainfall events,São Miguel Watershed,Minas Gerais,Brazil

Karst aquifers consist of complex networks of conduits in which groundwater flows and recharge/discharge processes are generally more dynamic than in other types of aquifers. Due to their intrinsic heterogeneity and anisotropy, monitoring, quantifying, and analysing natural responses of karst springs is an efficient tool. Unlike Cenozoic and Mesozoic rocks, in Neoproterozoic karst systems, groundwater circulates and stores generally in dissolution features known as tertiary porosity, as the rock's primary porosity is recrystallized, considered negligible. This article studies the hydrodynamics of a karst portion of the São Miguel River basin, southwest of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The region is predominantly composed of Neoproterozoic carbonate rocks, dating from about 570 to 540 million years ago. During a hydrological year (2019–2020), three karst springs (S1, S2, and S3) were daily monitored through their natural responses (variations of electrical conductivity, EC, temperature, T, and discharge, Q) to rainfall episodes. The data were interpreted based on the analysis of spring hydrographs, time series, recession curves (seasonal and intra-annual), and statistics of EC, T, and Q variations. The results show the three springs generally exhibit quick flow, typically karstic, in the case of hydrosystems with a well-structured and functional underground drainage network. The time series indicate the hydrosystem drained by S1 presents slower circulation and a lower degree of linearity, resulting from the higher sinuosity of the system, while the hydrosystems of S2 and S3 have similar behaviours, of quick water circulations immediately after a rainy episode. The degrees of karstification classify S1 and S2 as complex and extensive karst systems consisting of several subsystems, and S3 as a system in which the conduit network is more developed at the upper epiphreatic zone than near the outlet.     

Code‐based record selection methods for seismic performance assessment of buildings

The recent concerns regarding the seismic safety of the existing building stock have highlighted the need for an improvement of current seismic assessment procedures. Alongside with the development of more advanced commercial software tools and computational capacities, nonlinear dynamic analysis is progressively becoming a common and preferable procedure in the seismic assessment of buildings. Besides the complexity associated with the formulation of the mathematical model, major issues arise related with the definition of the seismic action, which can lead to different levels of uncertainty in terms of local and global building response. Aiming to address this issue, a comparative study of different code‐based record selection methods proposed by Eurocode 8, ASCE41‐13 and NZS1170.5:2004 is presented herein. The various methods are employed in the seismic assessment of four steel buildings, designed according to different criteria, and the obtained results are compared and discussed. Special attention is devoted to the influence of the number of real ground motion records selected on the estimation of the mean seismic response and, importantly, to the efficiency that is achieved when an additional selection criteria, based on the control of the spectral mismatch of each individual record with respect to the reference response spectrum, is adopted. The sufficiency of the methods with respect to the pairs of M–R of the selected group of records and the robustness of the scaling procedure are also examined. The paper closes with a study which demonstrates the suitability of a simplified probability‐based approach recently proposed for estimating mean seismic demands. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.