Environmental fragility evaluation and guidelines for environmental zoning: a study case on Ibiuna (the Southeastern Brazilian region)

Environmental fragility models are important decision tools for policy makers as they help quantify environmental sensitivity and understand the relationship between human activities and environmental quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate three different environmental fragility models within the Brazilian rainforest region and to use the results to develop environmental zone classes. Two rural river basins located in Ibiuna, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, were studied. Input variables, including slope class, relief dissection rate, soil class, lithology, land cover, and climate data, were used to compute environmental fragility classes using three standard models. The model outputs were evaluated on their ability to accurately predict the most sensitive and least sensitive areas. The best models for each region were used to derive environmental zoning maps, including restoration priorities, best regions for agriculture, and areas with high needs for soil management. These maps will help support land use strategies for environmental restoration. This study provides insight into territorial ordering and management of environmental services with a regional perspective.     

The impacts of pyroclastic surges on buildings at the eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat

We investigated the impacts on buildings of three pyroclastic surges that struck three separate villages on 25 June, 21 September and 26 December, 1997, during the course of the andesitic dome building eruption of the Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, which began on 18 July, 1995. A detailed analysis of the building damage of the 26 December event was used to compare the findings on the flow and behaviour of dilute pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) with the classical reports of PDCs from historical eruptions of similar size. The main characteristics of the PDC, as inferred from the building damage, were the lateral loading and directionality of the current; the impacts corresponded to the dynamic pressure of the PDC, with a relatively slow rate of rise and without the peak overpressure or a shock front associated with explosive blast; and the entrainment of missiles and ground materials which greatly added to the destructiveness of the PDC. The high temperature of the ash, causing the rapid ignition of furniture and other combustibles, was a major cause of damage even where the dynamic pressure was low at the periphery of the current. The vulnerability of buildings lay in the openings, mainly windows, which allowed the current to enter the building envelope, and in the flammable contents, as well as the lack of resistance to the intense heat and dynamic pressure of some types of vernacular building construction, such as wooden chattel houses, rubble masonry walls and galvanised steel-sheet roofs. Marked variability in the level of damage due to dynamic pressure (in a range 1–5 kPa, or more) was evident throughout most of the impact area, except for the zone of total loss, and this was attributable to the effects of topography and sheltering, and projectiles, and probably localised variations in current velocity and density. A marked velocity gradient existed from the outer part to the central axis of the PDC, where buildings and vegetation were razed to the ground. The gradient correlated with the impacts due to lateral loading and heat transfer, as well as the size of the projectiles, whilst the temperature of the ash in the undiluted PDC was probably uniform across the impact area. The main hazard characteristics of the PDCs were very consistent with those described by other authors in the classic eruptions of Pelée (1902), Lamington (1951) and St Helens (1980), despite differences in the eruptive styles and scales. We devised for the first time a building damage scale for dynamic pressure which can be used in research and in future volcanic emergencies for modelling PDCs and making informed judgements on their potential impacts. Editorial responsibility: T. Druitt     

Atmospheric Dioxin and Furan Deposition in Relation to Land-Use and Other Pollutants: A Survey with Lichens

Polychlorodibenzeno-dioxins and polychlorodibenzeno-furans (PCDD/Fs) are considered among the most toxic compounds on earth. The aim of the present study was to evaluate atmospheric PCDD/F deposition and identify the areas with greater deposition of these compounds in an important industrialized and urbanized region of Portugal, using lichens as biomonitors. For this purpose, samples of the lichen Xanthoria parietina were collected at 60 sampling sites, covering urban, industrial, forestry and agriculture areas, and analyzed for PCDD/Fs, sulfur, nitrogen, zinc, iron, chromium, lead, cobalt, nickel, copper, calcium, manganese, magnesium and potassium. The concentrations of PCDD/Fs in lichens were compared with the other elements and related to land-use and population density. The results obtained through the geostatistical interpolations and after principal component analysis have shown that PCDD/F deposition estimated by lichens is greater near industrial and highly populated urban areas. We found that lichens are suitable biomonitors of PCDD/F atmospheric deposition and can contribute to a better knowledge of air quality in a region, enabling identification of critical pollutant deposition areas.     

The influence of bedrock‐derived acidity in the development of surface and underground karst: evidence from the Precambrian carbonates of semi‐arid northeastern Brazil

Very extensive cave systems are developed in Precambrian Una Group carbonates in the Campo Formoso area, eastern Brazil. In contrast, the area is largely devoid of significant surface karst landforms, as would be expected given its semi‐arid climate. The caves in the area display many morphological features characteristic of deep‐seated hypogenic caves, such as lack of relationship with the surface, ramiform/network pattern, abrupt variations of passage cross‐sections and absence of fluvial sediments, but do not show evidence of vertical passages marking the ascending path of acidic water nor present extensive gypsum or acid clay mineral deposits. Hydrochemical analyses of present‐day ground water indicate that oxidation of bedrock sulphide is an active process, and sulphuric acid may be the main agent driving carbonate dissolution in the area. A shallow mode of speleogenesis is thus proposed, in which sulphuric acid produced through the oxidation of sulphide beds within the carbonates controls cave initiation and development. Moreover, the geological situation of the area in an ancient stable passive margin precludes the possibility of deep‐seated sources of acidity. Under dry climate, due to the absence of recharge, solutional landforms will be largely subdued in the surface. Hypogenic processes, if present, are likely to predominate, producing a landscape characterized by a marked disparity in the comparative degree of development between surface and underground landforms. Rates of karst landform development have traditionally been analysed through a climatic perspective, runoff being the main controlling factor in promoting karst development. This view needs to be reassessed in the light of the growing awareness of the importance of climate‐independent processes related to hypogenic sources of acidity. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical analysis of wetting-induced instabilities in partially saturated soils under plane strain conditions

This paper concerns the hydromechanical stability of partially saturated soils during wetting. The response of a loose silty sand is numerically/theoretically investigated with the main aim of identifying both triggering mechanisms and predisposing factors to instability. This latter is testified by both a rapid increase in the pore water pressure and an unexpected loss of numerical convergence. The study has been conducted at different scales from laboratory tests to boundary value problems, and in both cases, the controllability theory has been employed to both interpret and justify the numerical results.     

Assembly of Pampia to the SW Gondwana margin: A case of strike-slip docking?

Different hypotheses have been proposed to account for the geologic evolution of the southwestern margin of Gondwana in the Early Paleozoic, involving accretion and displacement of different terranes in a protracted convergent margin. In order to constrain and understand the kinematic and paleogeographic evolution of the Pampia terrane a paleomagnetic study was carried out in different Cambrian to Devonian units of the Eastern Cordillera (Cordillera Oriental) and the Interandean Zone (Interandino) of NW Argentina. Paleomagnetic poles from the Campanario Formation (Middle to Upper Cambrian): 1.5°N 1.9°E A₉₅ = 9.2° K = 37.46 N = 8; and Santa Rosita Formation (Lower Ordovician): 8.6°N 355.3°E A₉₅ = 10.1° K = 26.78 n = 9, representative of the Pampia terrane, are interpreted to indicate a Late Cambrian significant displacement with respect to the Río de la Plata and other Gondwana cratons. A model, compatible with several geological evidences that explains this displacement in the framework of the final stages of Gondwana assembly is presented. We propose a simple dextral strike-slip kinematic model in which Pampia and Antofalla (? Arequipa?) blocks moved during Late Cambrian times from a position at the present southern border of the Kalahari craton into its final position next to the Rio de la Plata craton by the Early Ordovician.     

Spatiotemporal variability of methane over the Amazon from satellite observations

The spatiotemporal variability of the greenhouse gas methane(CH_4) in the atmosphere over the Amazon is studied using data from the space-borne measurements of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder on board NASA's AQUA satellite for the period 2003–12. The results show a pronounced variability of this gas over the Amazon Basin lowlands region, where wetland areas occur. CH_4 has a well-defined seasonal behavior, with a progressive increase of its concentration during the dry season, followed by a decrease during the wet season. Concerning this variability, the present study indicates the important role of ENSO in modulating the variability of CH_4 emissions over the northern Amazon, where this association seems to be mostly linked to changes in flooded areas in response to ENSO-related precipitation changes. In this region, a CH_4 decrease(increase) is due to the El Nino-related(La Ni ?na-related) dryness(wetness). On the other hand, an increase(decrease) in the biomass burning over the southeastern Amazon during very dry(wet) years explains the increase(decrease) in CH_4 emissions in this region. The present analysis identifies the two main areas of the Amazon, its northern and southeastern sectors, with remarkable interannual variations of CH_4. This result might be useful for future monitoring of the variations in the concentration of CH_4, the second-most important greenhouse gas, in this area.     

Mapping Lichen Diversity as a First Step for Air Quality Assessment

The evaluation of air quality is an important topic. It is well known that lichens have a set of characteristics that make them well suited for biomonitoring purposes. Sampling lichen diversity is not as expensive as chemical analysis, allowing a dense sampling grid and reducing the costs. Lichen diversity can be used to identify more disturbed areas, resulting from pollution, land use or ecological variables. In recent years, in order to enable extended use of lichens and to reduce ambiguities, i.e., variations due to unwanted environmental variables, efforts have been made to develop a feasible protocol for lichen sampling for biomonitoring purposes. This work aims at providing the information needed a priori for an air quality assessment study, in the form of a map showing areas where lichen diversity and abundance is lower. This study was done by sampling foliose and fruticulose lichen diversity and frequency, in a region in southwest Portugal (Sines) with large industrial facilities. A long-term study has been underway in the same area since the 1970s using lichens as bioindicators to evaluate air quality. In this work, we used a standard protocol to determine a lichen diversity value (LDV), to be used as an indicator of environmental quality. In order to reduce uncertainty concerning the type of disturbance affecting lichens, sampling sites were restricted using well-defined criteria. Whenever possible, sampling site variables were quantified. This method allowed us to reduce the many sources of variability affecting lichen diversity.     

Estimating the uncertainty of coral isochron U–Th ages

Recently, alternative models to estimate the age of diagenetically altered fossil reef corals have been presented based on either redistribution of U or its immediate daughters ²³⁴Th and ²³⁰Th. Here, we present three methods to estimate the uncertainty of ages derived using an amended version of our coral isochron method [Scholz et al., 2004. U-series dating of diagenetically altered fossil reef corals. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 218, 163–178], which is based on addition/loss of U. The obtained uncertainties are substantially larger than those previously published and should, in general, be more reliable. The isochron method yields larger uncertainties than alternative models based on Th redistribution due to -recoil processes. However, comparison of model open-system ages based on such redistribution of U-series daughters for different sub-samples from an individual coral specimen shows that the smaller errors derived with these models cannot account for the observed variability. We recognise that none of the available models is applicable to all corals, probably reflecting different diagenetic processes even in different sub-samples from one coral specimen. To better understand the diagenetic processes and precisely constrain the uncertainties of the ages derived from diagenetically altered corals, the application of all available models is recommended.