Pathogenic fungi: an unacknowledged risk at coastal resorts? New insights on microbiological sand quality in Portugal

Whilst the potential impact on beach users from microorganisms in water has received considerable attention, there has been relatively little investigation into microbial contaminants in sand. Thirty three beaches across Portugal were analyzed during a five year period (2006-2010) to determine the presence of yeasts, pathogenic fungi, dermatophytes, total coliforms, Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci in sand.Our results showed that 60.4% of the samples were positive for fungi and that 25.2% were positive for the bacterial parameters. The most frequent fungal species found were Candida sp. and Aspergillus sp., whereas intestinal enterococci were the most frequently isolated bacteria. Positive associations were detected among analyzed parameters and country-regions but none among those parameters and sampling period.Regarding threshold values, we propose 15 cfu/g for yeasts, 17 cfu/g for potential pathogenic fungi, 8 cfu/g for dermatophytes. Eighty four cfu/g for coliforms, 250 cfu/g for E. coli, and 100 cfu/g for intestinal enterococci.     

Study of the motions of fishing vessels by a time domain panel method

In this paper, a wide variety of computed motion results is presented for three existing fishing vessels. In order to do that, time domain computations of 3D ship motions are performed with a time domain Green's function. The computational method adopted is based on a previously developed one, whose numerical scheme here is subjected to modifications that increase its robustness and overall efficiency, so that it can be applied to calculate the motions of fishing vessels. The results are then compared with simulations using WAMIT for the zero speed case, and a strip theory method is used to determine the effect of forward speed. Results are presented for head seas, quartering head waves and following waves with three distinct Froude numbers.     

Morphology and modern sedimentary deposits of the macrotidal Marapanim Estuary (Amazon,Brazil)

The northern Brazilian coast, east of the Amazon River is characterized by several macrotidal estuarine systems that harbor large mangrove areas with approximately 7600 km². The Marapanim Estuary is influenced by macrotidal regime with moderate waves influence. Morphologic units were investigated by using remote sensing images (i.e., Landsat-7 ETM+, RADARSAT- 1 Wide and SRTM) integrated with bathymetric data. The modern sedimentary deposits were analyzed from 67 cores collected by Vibracore and Rammkersonde systems. Analysis of morphology and surface sedimentary deposits of the Marapanim River reveal they are strongly influenced by the interaction of tidal, wave and fluvial currents. Based on these processes it was possible to recognize three distinct longitudinal facies zonation that revels the geological filling of a macrotidal estuary. The estuary mouth contain fine to medium marine sands strongly influenced by waves and tides, responsible for macrotidal sandy beaches and estuarine channel development, which are characterized by wave-ripple bedding and longitudinal cross-bedding sands. The estuary funnel is mainly influenced by tides that form wide tidal mudflats, colonized by mangroves, along the estuarine margin, with parallel laminations, lenticular bedding, root fragments and organic matter lenses. The upstream estuary contains coarse sand to gravel of fluvial origin. Massive mud with organic matter lenses, marks and roots fragments occur in the floodplain accumulates during seasonal flooding providing a slowly aggrading in the alluvial plain. This morphologic and depositional pattern show easily a tripartite zonation of a macrotidal estuary, that are in the final stage of filling.     

Mercury pollution in two gold mining areas of the Brazilian Amazon

Gold has been exploited intensively in the Brazilian Amazon during the past fifteen years using garimpo methods (small-scale gold mining). In this study, two gold mining areas were investigated, the municipalities of Pocone and Alta Floresta located in the state of Mato Grosso. Central Brazil. The elemental mercury (Hg) used in amalgamating the gold, the final stage of the ore dressing process, has caused abnormal Hg concentrations in waterways. This has occurred principally in the Amazon region, where most of the ore prospected is alluvial. Background levels of metals were determined by analyzing sediments and soils located upstream of the anthropogenic inputs and unaffected by mining activities. The study aimed to evaluate the pollution level in sediments and soils, taking into account drainage waters directly affected by gold mining. ‘Geoaccumulation indexes’ (Igeo) of Hg in sediments from both study areas were used to assesses the pollution level in the aquatic environment. The geoaccumulation indexes of Hg in sediments of the Bento Gomes River in Pocone indicate a relatively high degree of pollution at some sites, even reaching class 4 (1.85 mg/kg). However, when the river reaches the Pantanal swamp, Hg concentrations drop considerably to 0.30 mg/kg. This drop seems to be due to accumulation of metals in the sediments of a lake (sampling site PG-24), which retains most of the sediments transported by the Bento Gomes River. Accumulation of metals in the lake also occurred for Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe and Mn. In the region of Alta Floresta, total Hg concentrations in sediments of the Teles Pires River were studied in the grain size fractions < 74 μm and > 74 μm. Hg concentrations in bottom sediments of this river were higher than those found in the Pocone region, with increases of 1.5 to 30 times the background, and thus reaching an Igeo up to class 5.     

GIS-based modeling of a rescaled surface of land development pressure in the Macaronesian islands

Land development is one of the major anthropogenic processes shaping environmental sustainability. However, no standard method exists for evaluating this spatial process. This article proposes a method of modeling a spatially explicit representation of land development pressure, resorting to an inverse distance weighting interpolation. The study area encompasses four Macaronesian islands where land development has caused dramatic changes to the landscape: São Miguel, Madeira, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife. The method is demonstrated over 1990–2006, a period marked by a rapid increase in land development which ended with the 2007–2008 financial crisis. First, centroids of land change in/into artificial surfaces were used as a proxy of land development pressure. Second, these centroids were coupled with ancillary sampled points, which took into account a topographic resistance factor representing areas absent of land change. These ancillary points allowed for confinement of the interpolation values while acting as structural information for the rescaling of the interpolation into a higher resolution of a digital elevation model. The results show that the method captured the overall trend and magnitude of artificial land change. Quantifying and identifying the islands’ pattern of land development pressure creates a variable that can play an important role in further modeling of anthropogenic spatial processes.     

Post-LGM sedimentation on the outer shelf-upper slope of the northernmost part of the São Paulo Bight, southeastern Brazil

Sedimentary and isotope data as well as ¹⁴C AMS dating on 15 box cores were used to identify the main post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) processes in the outer shelf and upper slope of the northernmost part of the São Paulo Bight, southeastern Brazil. Results show slight but significant variations in calcium carbonate, total sulphur and nitrogen contents as well as carbon and oxygen isotope ratios. Sedimentation rates, varying from 5 to 184 mm kyr⁻¹ are controlled by the shelf and upper slope morphology, the Brazil Current meander dynamics, and the Coastal Water offshore motion.     

Suitability of GNSS for analysis of soil subsidence in Recife in a highly urbanized coastal area

Natural Hazards - Recife Metropolitan Region, in the northeast of Brazil, is formed by a coastal plain bounded by hills and by the Atlantic Ocean. Recife Metropolitan Region has about 4 million...