Modelling the temperature and the phytoplankton distributions at the Aveiro near coastal zone,Portugal

The main objective of this paper is to implement a coupled three-dimensional physical and ecological model for the Aveiro coast, and to apply it to study the temperature and the phytoplankton biomass spatial distributions along the coastal ecosystem. The Aveiro coast is located at Portugal within the upwelling system of the Atlantic Iberian coast, characterized by nutrients availability and phytoplankton biomass accumulation, from April to October. In order to implement the ecological model, its validation was assessed by comparing simulations to data relative to the horizontal and vertical distributions of the temperature, nutrients and phytoplankton biomass, obtained during the CICLOS I survey off the Portuguese coast [Moita, M.T., 2001. Estrutura, Variabilidade e Dinâmica do Fitoplâncton na Costa de Portugal Continental. PhD Thesis. Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, 272 pp.]. A sensitivity analysis of the model has been performed in order to assess the influence of the main ecological model variables. The simulation results show that the model is capable of predicting realistic the temperature, the nutrients and the chlorophyll-a distributions for the study area. The scenarios evidence the setup of a thermal stratification pattern resulting from the upwelling of deep and rich in nutrients water to the surface layer and a chlorophyll-a maxima extending offshore, along the picnocline and the nutricline. The results confirm the crucial role played by the physical processes in the phytoplankton bloom along the Aveiro coast. They also evidence the close link between the surface phytoplankton distribution and the surface temperature distribution.     

Gastroenteric Viruses Detection in a Drinking Water Distribution-to-Consumption System in a Low-Income Community in Rio de Janeiro

Food and Environmental Virology - The availability of drinking water is one of the main determinants of quality of life, disease prevention and the promotion of health. Viruses are important agents...     

Trace elements: water-sediment interactions in tropical rivers

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This research aimed to determine the water-sediment interaction (partition coefficient Kd) of trace element (Cd, Cu, total Cr, Pb, and Zn) in tropical...     

Mapping and evaluating sugarcane expansion in Brazil’s savanna using MODIS and intensity analysis: a case-study from the state of Tocantins

In Brazil, the main biofuel crop is sugarcane, and with its rapid expansion, there is much debate about what land uses and land covers it is replacing, and what are the associated environmental and social impacts. Some argue sugarcane is mainly replacing cattle pasture, thus having minimal impacts on native vegetation and small-scale family farming. In contrast, others claim sugarcane is replacing cropland traditionally under soybeans, rice, beans, and corn. Thus, food security is negatively affected and small-scale family farming livelihoods and culture are threatened. This is a proof-of-concept paper illustrating methods contributing toward the resolution of such debates. First we map land use and cover change in areas undergoing sugarcane expansion using satellite data from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer); second, we test the hypothesis that sugarcane is replacing traditional annual crops using intensity analysis, via a case study of land change in the municipality of Pedro Afonso, Tocantins in northern Brazil between the 2008–2013 crop years. Maps matched reference data with overall agreements between 87–91%. Intensity analysis confirmed sugarcane is replacing annual crops much more than cattle pasture and other land uses and covers, pointing to particular economic and social processes driving land change.     

Tenure diversity and dependent causation in the effects of regional integration on land use: evaluating the evolutionary theory of land rights in Acre,Brazil

In the complex causation behind land change, dependent causation can play a central role. A case in point concerns land tenure diversity, where contrasting use rules for different lands may affect the impacts of other drivers on land use outcomes. We therefore evaluate the evolutionary theory of land rights (ETLR), which assumes homogeneous private property rights, in order to test for dependent causation due to distinct use rules among various types of private lands. In the present analysis, we focus on whether land tenure type modifies the effects of highway infrastructure on key outcomes highlighted in the ETLR framework. We take up the case of rural settlements along the Inter-Oceanic Highway in the eastern part of the Brazilian state of Acre, where there is considerable land tenure diversity. Findings from multivariate models for land titling, the castanha nut harvest, and cattle pasture all indicate that the effects of infrastructure depend on land tenure type. These results confirm the importance of dependent causation behind land use and bear implications for theory on land change, infrastructure impacts, and land system science.     

A qualitative examination of factors shaping high and low exposures to hazardous air pollutants among Hispanic households in Miami

Hispanic residents suffer disproportionately from exposure to toxic pollution hazards, but little is known about why some Hispanic residents live in high-risk neighbourhoods while others are protected from similar risks. This study uses comparative interview-based methods to further understanding of Hispanic people’s residential decision-making and their associated exposures to hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area (Florida), which is home to one of the most diverse Hispanic populations in the U.S. We use 22 in-depth interviews conducted with Hispanic householders living at high and low risk to HAPs, selected from a larger representative phone survey of 650 local residents. For Hispanic households at high risk, economic constraints, family ties, desiring a central location, a sense of community, and comfort in a shared culture contributed to their residences in high risk locations. In contrast, protective factors for Hispanic households living at low risk included the desire to live in an ethnically diverse setting, the ease of finding service work, and preferring environmental amenities and exclusivity. Findings demonstrate that there are considerable differences in factors shaping residential decision-making of low- and high-risk Hispanic residents, but that all were influenced by economic, socio-cultural, and environmental considerations to varying degrees.     

Heterogeneous alternative catalysts: A bibliometric and systematic evaluation of their application in solar photocatalytic processes

The present study sought to objectively demonstrate how a researcher can, in a structured way, select relevant articles about alternative heterogeneous catalysts in photocatalytic processes. Therefore, the ProKnow-C (Knowledge Development Process – Constructivist) method was used to systematize the results found, with the application bibliometric and systematic analysis techniques for the evaluation of the results. The search string adopted as criteria was: solar photocatalysis AND heterogeneous catalysts OR alternative catalysts AND effluents. The databases were Web of Science, Science Direct and Scopus. The final bibliographic portfolio obtained for the research theme was made up of 19 articles. It was possible to verify advances in the number of publications on the theme over the evaluated period, with the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry standing out in the final portfolio. Evaluating each article in the portfolio individually, it was possible to verify that most studies use combinations of catalysts already reported to create an alternative material to those already investigated in the literature. Those that use waste as catalysts chose to source this material from treatment plants and the steel industry. Around 58% of the papers used hydrogen peroxide in their processes, while 42% chose not to use it. Finally, approximately 63% of the papers in the portfolio used synthetic effluent in their processes, while the rest (37% of the research) chose to use real effluent. The results obtained in this research by applying the method can contribute to studies related to heterogeneous photocatalysis by alternative means over the years.     

Distribution of endocrine disruptors in the Mondego River estuary, Portugal

Recent studies in the Mondego River estuary demonstrated signs of pollution in the area, but the nature of the contamination remains unexplored. Because there seems to be any studies in that zone checking for the simultaneous presence of xenoestrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds, either of animal (estradiol and estrone), vegetal (daidzein, genistein and biochanin A), pharmaceutical (17alpha-ethynylestradiol) or industrial (bisphenol A, 4-octylphenol, 4-nonylphenol) origins, the main objective of this study was to investigate their presence, in every year season and at eight points along the estuarine gradient. For this propose, water samples (2 L) were collected in high and low tides, preconcentrated in the Oasis HLB cartridges and cleaned in silica cartridges before their analysis by HPLC-DAD and GC-MS. The current data showed the absence of contamination by animal or pharmaceutical estrogens and by alkylphenols, but demonstrated the presence of high levels of phytoestrogens (up to 1.1 mug/L) and of bisphenol A (up to 880.0 ng/L). Because these two chemicals existed in high environmental concentrations in the most upstream sampling station, and taking in account that these pollutants may additively contribute to endocrine disruption, namely on fish, it was concluded that at least this particularly area of the Mondego estuary deserves continuous monitoring programmes.     

Assessment of aquatic plants in the reservoirs of AES-tietê and development of an integrated control model for the most important species

The general objective of this work was to develop a monitoring and management model for aquatic plants that could be used in reservoir cascades in Brazil, using the reservoirs of AES-Tietê as a study case. The investigations were carried out at the reservoirs of Barra-Bonita, Bariri, Ibitinga, Promiss?o, and Nova-Avanhandava, located in the Tietê River Basin; Agua Vermelha, located in the Grande River Basin; Caconde, Limoeiro, and Euclides da Cunha, which are part of the Pardo River Basin; and the Mogi-Gua?u reservoir, which belongs to the Mogi-Gua?u River basin. The main products of this work were: development of techniques using satellite-generated images for monitoring and planning aquatic plant control; planning and construction of a boat to move coating plant masses and an airboat equipped with a DGPS navigation and application flow control system. Results allowed to conclude that the occurrence of all types of aquatic plants is directly associated with sedimentation process and, consequently, with nutrient and light availability. Reservoirs placed at the beginning of cascades are more subject to sedimentation and occurrence of marginal, floating and emerged plants, and are the priority when it comes to controlling these plants, since they provide a supply of weeds for the other reservoirs. Reservoirs placed downstream show smaller amounts of water-suspended solids, with greater transmission of light and occurrence of submerged plants.