Do the shallow‐water habitats of a hypersaline tropical estuary act as nursery grounds for fishes?

Fish assemblages were studied in a hypersaline tropical estuary in Northeastern Brazil. A total of 104 species were collected by beach seine during the dry and rainy seasons of 2012. Two families, Atherinopsidae and Gerreidae, were numerically dominant in all zones of the estuary; juveniles of Atherinella brasiliensis, Eucinostomus argenteus, Lile piquitinga, Ulaema lefroyi, Lutjanus analis and Sphoeroides greeleyi contributed 77% of the total catch. The factors that best explained the fish abundance pattern were salinity and depth, which were related to spatial segregation. Species richness was lowest in the upper zone, an area with high salinity and shallow depth. The distinct roles of structurally different habitats (submerged macrophyte beds and mangrove prop‐roots) and the influence of physicochemical conditions in the middle zone of the estuary may influence taxonomic diversity. The middle zone of the estuary is the one most attractive to juveniles of reef species (Lutjanidae and Serranidae). The fish assemblages are clearly dominated by marine estuarine dependent species, highlighting the importance of the ecosystem as a nursery ground for marine species of the Brazilian coast.     

Ages (U–Pb SHRIMP and LA ICPMS) and stratigraphic evolution of the Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary successions from the extensional Camaquã Basin,Southern Brazil

During the Ediacaran, southern Brazil was the site of multiple episodes of volcanism and sedimentation, which are best preserved in the 3000 km² Camaquã Basin. The interlayered sedimentary and volcanic rocks record tectonic events and paleoenvironmental changes in a more than 10 km-thick succession. In this contribution, we report new U–Pb and Sm–Nd geochronological constraints for the 605 to 580 Ma Bom Jardim Group, the 570 Ma Acampamento Velho Formation, and a newly-recognized 544 Ma volcanism. Depositional patterns of these units reveal the transition from a restricted, fault-bounded basin into a wide, shallow basin. The expansion of the basin and diminished subsidence rates are demonstrated by increasing areal distribution and compressed isopachs and increasing onlap of sediments onto the basement to the west. The Sm–Nd isotopic composition of the volcanic rocks indicates mixed sources, including crustal rocks from the adjacent basement. Both Neoproterozoic and Paleoproterozoic sources are indicated for the western part of the basin, whereas only the older Paleoproterozoic signature can be discerned in the eastern part of the basin.     

Relationship between hydrogeological parameters for data-scarce regions: the case of the Araripe sedimentary basin, Brazil

This paper applies and validates a method for generating spatially distributed hydraulic conductivity (k) based on the specific capacity (Q _s) for data-scarce regions. This method has been applied to the Araripe sedimentary basin, Brazil, and consists of four steps: (1) selection of (32) wells for which both k and Q _s data are available; (2) estimation of k as a function of Q _s for the (128) wells for which only specific capacity data are available; (3) spatial distribution of k using the kriging geostatistical tool; (4) validation of the method, using (17) representative wells with k measured data. The equation relating k and Q _s showed a statistically significant linear relationship (R = 0.93), from which a database has been generated using kriging with the spherical model. The results showed a calibration coefficient of Nash and Sutcliffe (NS) of 0.54 and moderate spatial dependence ratio of 69 %. The validation process provided only a moderate efficiency (NS = 0.22), possibly due to the geological complexity of the focus system. Despite its limitations, the method indicates the possibility of application of ordinary kriging to generate reliable data from auxiliary variables, especially for the water management of data-scarce areas.     

Geoarchaeology of Pleistocene open-air sites in the Vila Nova da Barquinha-Santa Cita area (Lower Tejo River basin, central Portugal)

This paper aims to provide insight into human occupation and landscape change during the Pleistocene in a central area of the Lower Tejo basin (Portugal). Detailed geomorphological mapping, coupled with lithostratigraphy, sedimentology and luminescence dating, supports the identification of a complete terrace staircase sequence. It consists of six gravely terraces located below the culminant (Pliocene) basin unit. A chronological framework for the sedimentary sequences and associated human industries is proposed and correlated with marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS): T1 terrace, not dated; T2, not dated; T3, >300 ka; T4, ∼300-160 ka (MIS8, MIS7 and MIS6); T5, ∼136-75 ka (MIS5); T6, ∼62-30 ka (MIS3); colluvium and aeolian sands, ∼30-14 ka (MIS2); valley fill deposits, ∼14 ka to present (MIS1). The oldest artefacts were found at the base of the T4 terrace, with the local stratigraphic level dated to ≥175 ± 6 ka (Middle Pleistocene). The lithic assemblages collected from distinct stratigraphic levels (T4, T5 top, T6 terraces and colluvium) are characterized by the predominance of opportunistic technological choices, a feature that can be attributed partly to the preferential exploitation of the available raw material, dominated by local-sourced quartzites and quartz pebbles. The adaptation to local raw material (texture and volume), together with subsistence patterns and behaviours, could explain the rarity of Acheulian types (handaxes and cleavers) and picks in the T4 terraces of the Tejo tributaries; this is in contrast to the same terrace of the Tejo valley, in which these types are found. Interpretation of the environmental conditions (controlled by climate and glacio-eustatic sea-level changes) affecting the hunter-gatherer human groups is also presented.     

Geostatistical improvements of evapotranspiration spatial information using satellite land surface and weather stations data

The objective of the present study was to use the simple cokriging methodology to characterize the spatial variability of Penman–Monteith reference evapotranspiration and Thornthwaite potential evapotranspiration methods based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spetroradiometer (MODIS) global evapotranspiration products and high-resolution surfaces of WordClim temperature and precipitation data. The climatic element data referred to 39 National Institute of Meteorology climatic stations located in Minas Gerais state, Brazil and surrounding states. The use of geostatistics and simple cokriging technique enabled the characterization of the spatial variability of the evapotranspiration providing uncertainty information on the spatial prediction pattern. Evapotranspiration and precipitation surfaces were implemented for the climatic classification in Minas Gerais. Multivariate geostatistical determined improvements of evapotranspiration spatial information. The regions in the south of Minas Gerais derived from the moisture index estimated with the MODIS evapotranspiration (2000–2010), presented divergence of humid conditions when compared to the moisture index derived from the simple kriged and cokriged evapotranspiration (1961–1990), indicating climate change in this region. There was stronger pattern of crossed covariance between evapotranspiration and precipitation rather than temperature, indicating that trends in precipitation could be one of the main external drivers of the evapotranspiration in Minas Gerais state, Brazil.     

Timing of the HT/LP transpression in the Neoproterozoic Seridó Belt (Borborema Province,Brazil): Constraints from UPb (SHRIMP) geochronology and implications for the connections between NE Brazil and West Africa

The Seridó schist belt is a classical domain of the Borborema Province (NE Brazil) recording crustal melting at HT/LP conditions in a tectonic setting dominated by dextral transpressive deformation. A comparable tectonometamorphic setting has been described in the Pan-African Igarra and Ilesha schist belts of south Nigeria (Africa). The HT‐transpression of the Seridó has previously been imprecisely dated by using a range of isotopic methods on a suite of syntectonic granites. We provide new UPb zircon ages of the Acari granite and Santa Luzia migmatite that constrain the HT/LP metamorphism of the Seridó at c. 575 Ma. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility of the Santa Luzia migmatite shows that the magnetic fabric records the NE-trending dextral kinematics similar to those previously described in the Acari pluton. On the other hand, the UPb ages of the Totoró pluton provide evidence for an older, mostly mafic to intermediate magmatism intruding the pelitic schist that precedes the HT/LP metamorphism by approximately 15 m.y. In contrast with the Acari pluton and Santa Luzia migmatite, the magnetic fabrics of Totoró show a concentric steep-dipping structure apparently related to magma ascent. Thermobarometric studies in the Seridó, Igarra and Ilesha schist belts indicate that a large domain in the northern Borborema and south of the Nigeria shields was deformed at a high temperature and at relatively shallow depths. Although the tectonic setting for such a post-collision HT event remains an open issue, it allows us nevertheless to refine the across-Atlantic geological correlation between the continents.     

Numerical study on the effect of submerged depth on the horizontal plate wave energy converter

The growing search for clean and renewable energy sources has given rise to the studies of exploring sea wave energy. This paper is concerned with the numerical evaluation of the main operational principle of a submerged plate employed for the conversion of wave energy into electrical one. The numerical model used to solve the conservation equations of mass, momentum and transport of volume fraction is based on the finite volume method （FVM）. In order to tackle with the flow of mixture of air-water and its interaction with the device, the multiphase model volume of fluid （VOF） is employed. The purpose of this study is the evaluation of a numerical model for improvement of the knowledge about the submerged plate wave energy converter, as well as the investigation of the effect of the distance from the plate to the bottom of the sea （HP） on the performance of the converter. The simulations for several distances of the plate from the seabed show that the optimal efficiency is 64%, which is obtained for HP=0.53 m （88% of the depth）. This efficiency is 17% larger than that found in the worst case （HP=0.46 m, 77% of the depth）.     

Expansion of an invasive coral species over Abrolhos Bank,Southwestern Atlantic

Invasive coral species of the genus Tubastraea have been increasingly recorded in Southwestern Atlantic waters since the 1980s. Their invasion and infestation are mainly related to port and oil exploration activities. For the first time the presence of Tubastraea tagusensis colonies is reported in Espírito Santo State, colonizing a port shore area, and incrusting oil/gas platform structures situated in the southern Abrolhos Bank, which is part of the most important coral reef system of the South Atlantic Ocean. Tubastraea colonies exhibit fast growth and high recruitment rates, and colonized 40% of the analyzed structures in just four years. The projection of port and oil/gas industry growth for the Espírito Santo State (more than 300%) highlights an alert to the dispersal of this alien species to natural areas.