Departamento de Analise Geoambiental

Recent satellite observations have shown an increase in the total extent of Antarctic sea ice, during periods when the atmosphere and oceans tend to be warmer surrounding a significant part of the continent. Despite an increase in total sea ice, regional analyses depict negative trends in the Bellingshausen-Amundsen Sea and positive trends in the Ross Sea. Although several climate parameters are believed to drive the formation of Antarctic sea ice and the local atmosphere, a descriptive mechanism that could trigger such differences in trends are still unknown. In this study we employed a multivariate analysis in order to identify the response of the Antarctic sea ice with respect to commonly utilized climate forcings/parameters, as follows: (1) The global air surface temperature, (2) The global sea surface temperature, (3) The atmospheric CO2 concentration, (4) The South Annular Mode, (5) The Niño 3, (6) The Niño 3 + 4, 7) The Niño 4, (8) The Southern Oscillation Index, (9) The Multivariate ENSO Index, (10) the Total Solar Irradiance, (11) The maximum O3 depletion area, and (12) The minimum O3 concentration over Antarctica. Our results indicate that western Antarctic sea ice is simultaneously impacted by several parameters; and that the minimum, mean, and maximum sea ice extent may respond to a separate set of climatic/geochemical parameters.

Recent satellite observations have shown an increase in the total extent of Antarctic sea ice, during periods when the atmosphere and oceans tend to be warmer surrounding a significant part of the continent. Despite an increase in total sea ice, regional analyses depict negative trends in the Bellingshausen-Amundsen Sea and positive trends in the Ross Sea. Although several climate parameters are believed to drive the formation of Antarctic sea ice and the local atmosphere, a descriptive mechanism that could trigger such differences in trends are still unknown. In this study we employed a multivariate analysis in order to identify the response of the Antarctic sea ice with respect to commonly utilized climate forcings/parameters, as follows:

Natural water bodies ripparian areas and their springs's surroundings are protected by Brazilian law and are considered Permanent Preservation Areas. However, the inadequate classification of water bodies often hinders or prevents their conservation, and also negatively affects the environmental licensing process. The objective of this study was to propose a procedure for the classification of water bodies. For Thus, this case case study focused on the urban district of Macaé municipality, state of Rio de Janeiro (city of Macaé) and aims to: (i) identify the classes of water bodies; (ii) verify cases where the classification is at odds with the use and land cover of the surroundings; and (iii) determine whether the proposed procedure is appropriate to the study case. The proposed methodology was to integrate topographic-charts with time series of remote sensing data by the use of free Geographic Information Systems as a basis for manual classification of water bodies. The study area is the city of Macaé (RJ,Brazil), specifically its portion covered by Macaé River watershed, which covers four municipalities (Nova Friburgo, Macaé, Casimiro de Abreu and Carapebus) and supplies three with water (Rio das Ostras, Casimiro de Abreu and Macaé). Moreover, this watershed supplies water to more than 80% of oil production in Brazil. In the case studied, the results achieved through the proposed methodology were effective : the water bodies were differentiated in class groups, and the proposed procedures helped in cases where the recognition as natural or artificial were wrong.

Carbon sequestration is a crucial ecosystem service, naturally mitigating and reducing the ever-growing threat from climate change. Large forests, such as the Atlantic Forest, are important carbon reservoirs removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in their biomass. The assessment of carbon stock from forests fragments helps to establish a better understanding of the carbon cycle and the potential of climate mitigation strategies. Thus, we estimated the biomass and carbon stock of an Atlantic Forest fragment located in the foothills of Pedra de Itaocaia. We used a non-destructive methodology based on climbing techniques and an allometric equation. We climbed seven trees in order to thoroughly measure them in whole and calculate the volume of arboreal compartments. We compared the measured volume obtained from the climb to an estimated tree cylindrical volume and established a correction factor of 0.65 between both (i.e. tree form factor). The tree form factor adjusts the allometric equation and allows carbon estimations without the need to climb all trees in the fragment. The biomass and carbon stock estimates obtained were 100.1 and 50.5 MgC/ha, respectively, which implies that the fragment is on an intermediary stage of regeneration at approximately forty years old. This allometric equation efficiently integrates structural features of forest fragments similar to the one of Pedra de Itaocaia, thus contributing to advance the knowledge about processes taking place in forest fragments situated in the Atlantic Forest. Carbon estimation is imperative for a better understanding of climate mitigation strategies that can revert the threat of climate change to ecosystems.

Nas ultimas duas decadas a tematica ambiental adquiriu corpo no Brasil e, ainda que em descompasso com relacao aos Estados Unidos da America e Europa, trouxe a necessidade de analises intersetoriais e interdisciplinares dos problemas derivados da acao antropica. Uma das facetas desta ascensao tematica a agenda politica do pais foi a elaboracao da Politica Nacional de Defesa Civil (Resolucao CONDEC n.o 2, de 12 de dezembro de 1994) e do Sistema Nacional de Defesa Civil, o SINDEC (atraves do Decreto Federal no. 5.376 de 17 de fevereiro de 2005). Ao lado de determinados alarmismos, e em um cenario dominado por incertezas (ou certezas probabilisticas), as acoes da Defesa Civil deveriam se pautar por um pragmatismo responsavel. O vasto campo de sua atuacao previu, atraves da Classificacao e da Codificacao de Desastres (CODAR), os desastres naturais ligados a sismologia e os desastres mistos ligados a sismicidade induzida. Tais eventos, e suas referencias, sempre constituiram uma especie ...

The Environmental Protection Area (EPA) is a management category of the Nature Conservation Unit (UC) of the National System of Nature Conservation Units (NSNCU), Brazil. In 2019, it was the third number of management category sites (n. 355) and the largest in extension in the country, with approximately 50% of the protected coverage of NSNCU. However, there are reports on EPA problems, especially concerning setting and operating their sites. In this paper, we ask, Did the public authorities implant APAs appropriately administrative spheres (federal, state, and municipal) of the public authorities? The hypothesis is that most EPA i) are not implanted. In other words, they are not suitable, enough and ongoing resources, and ii) in completed operation. This article aims to analyze the site's accomplishment of the EPA management category. The methodological procedures involve a literature review, documentary research, and exploratory research from the National Register of Conservation Units (NRCU) and EPA data. In conclusion, none of EPA complies is following NSNCU, and all of them also need to be implanted and managed in degree.

Neste trabalho questiona-se o Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação da Natureza (SNUC) e o Decreto nº 4.340/2000, que o regulamenta, possibilitando as UC de exercerem todas as combinações possíveis de tipos de governança de áreas protegidas, tal como orienta o Sistema Internacional de Áreas Protegidas (SIAP) da International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) para os Sistemas Nacionais de Áreas Protegidas (SNAPs) evitarem entraves à gestão e à promoção de conflitos. O objetivo deste artigo é analisar os tipos de governança de áreas protegidas que cada categoria de manejo de UC pode desempenhar. A metodologia envolveu o método hipotético-dedutivo e seus desdobramentos: pesquisa exploratória de gabinete, por meio de revisão de literatura e leitura crítica. Identificou-se que as diretrizes do SNUC e do Decreto nº 4.340/2002 não permitem que as categorias de manejo de UC exerçam todos os tipos de governança de áreas protegidas, o que causa entraves à gestão.

A boa governança de áreas protegidas é entendida como um processo da gestão de áreas protegidas que responde aos pressupostos da boa governança da Conferência de Durban, aos valores de um sítio protegido e aos objetivos de proteção ambiental de um país. O processo de governança em Unidades de Conservação da Natureza (UC) no Brasil é regulado principalmente pelo Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação da Natureza (SNUC) e o Decreto n. 4.340/2002, que o regulamenta. Nesse contexto, questiona-se as políticas públicas ambientais do Brasil, principalmente o SNUC e o Decreto 4.340/2002 subsidiam uma boa governança de UC. A hipótese é que existem diretrizes nesses dois regulamentos legais que dificultam o alcance da boa governança em UC no Brasil. O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar se as políticas públicas ambientais do Brasil, principalmente o SNUC e o Decreto n. 4.340/2002, subsidiam os gestores de UC o alcance de uma boa governança em seus sítios protegidos. A metodologia deste ...

This article analyzes the evolution process of the Protected Areas and the changes in views regarding environmental protection. It is a literature review. In Brazil and other countries, the Protected Areas were created according to international models with different conceptions, mainly the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recommendations. In the IUCN International Protected Areas System, specific categories of strict sense protected areas allow natural resources and human occupation. In others not. The debate on this issue remains controversial worldwide. On the one hand, there are preservationists (strict protection believers) who argue that only sites with the objective of strict preservation should have the status of Protected Areas. Conservationists believe that such sites could maintain this status, even though they are not exclusively focused on strict preservation. The historical trend persists in considering land use and access to natural resources in occupying space, emphasizing issues of their domain and management, causing conflicts of views and interests. As a result, the establishment and maintenance of areas to be protected become more complex, mainly when they are historically occupied and used by man.

The carbon cycle is the chemical engine that provides power and weight to most living things, besides being closely related to the regulation of the global atmosphere and, consequently, climate. Growing forests absorb and fix large amounts of carbon and can still contribute significantly to the recovery of important ecosystem services. In this regard, this study focuses on simulating the dynamics of carbon sequestration in a mosaic of different vegetation area by the use of two images from Landsat TM, for the years 1993 and 2009. Through these images, we could analyze the changes occurred in the use and land cover, especially in areas of forests, grassland and bare soil, elements that absorb more carbon from among the ranks and in a backdrop of vegetation succession. Field validations were made in the cities of Niterói and Marica, regions with large degraded areas and remaining forest lands. From these first results it was possible to simulate the dynamics of vegetation cover by the...

The aim of this study is to establish parameters to evaluate ecosystem service from carbon sequestration of the actions supported by the Sustainable Rural Development Program in watersheds of the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil – Rio-Rural. The RioRural program supports sustainable agriculture practices and the conservation of natural resources, such as rotational grazing systems, the protection of springs and streams, agroforestry and restoration of degraded areas. To do so, carbon stocks were determined under degraded Brachiaria spp pasture, as well as in a semideciduous broadleaf Atlantic Forest fragment. We measured carbon stock in the soil, aboveground biomass and liter components. The study area is located in the municipality of Sao Jose de Uba, northwest of the state, which has a hot and humid tropical climate and clearly defined seasons (Aw in the Kopen classification). Three 50-meter long, 1.0-meter wide transects, situated at upper, middle and footslope were d...

Recent satellite observations have shown an increase in the total extent of Antarctic sea ice, during periods when the atmosphere and oceans tend to be warmer surrounding a significant part of the continent. Despite an increase in total sea ice, regional analyses depict negative trends in the Bellingshausen-Amundsen Sea and positive trends in the Ross Sea. Although several climate parameters are believed to drive the formation of Antarctic sea ice and the local atmosphere, a descriptive mechanism that could trigger such differences in trends are still unknown. In this study we employed a multivariate analysis in order to identify the response of the Antarctic sea ice with respect to commonly utilized climate forcings/parameters, as follows: (1) The global air surface temperature, (2) The global sea surface temperature, (3) The atmospheric CO 2 concentration, (4) The South Annular Mode, (5) The Niño 3, (6) The Niño 3 ? 4, 7) The Niño 4, (8) The Southern Oscillation Index, (9) The Multivariate ENSO Index, (10) the Total Solar Irradiance, (11) The maximum O 3 depletion area, and (12) The minimum O 3 concentration over Antarctica. Our results indicate that western Antarctic sea ice is simultaneously impacted by several parameters; and that the minimum, mean, and maximum sea ice extent may respond to a separate set of climatic/geochemical parameters.