scholarly journals The Volta Grande do Xingu: reconstruction of past environments and forecasting of future scenarios of a unique Amazonian fluvial landscape

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 21-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. O. Sawakuchi ◽  
G. A. Hartmann ◽  
H. O. Sawakuchi ◽  
F. N. Pupim ◽  
D. J. Bertassoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
Xingu River ◽  
Future Workshop ◽  
Sedimentary Dynamics ◽  
Fluvial Landscape ◽  
Clearwater River ◽  
Belo Monte

Abstract. The Xingu River is a large clearwater river in eastern Amazonia and its downstream sector, known as the Volta Grande do Xingu ("Xingu Great Bend"), is a unique fluvial landscape that plays an important role in the biodiversity, biogeochemistry and prehistoric and historic peopling of Amazonia. The sedimentary dynamics of the Xingu River in the Volta Grande and its downstream sector will be shifted in the next few years due to the construction of dams associated with the Belo Monte hydropower project. Impacts on river biodiversity and carbon cycling are anticipated, especially due to likely changes in sedimentation and riverbed characteristics. This research project aims to define the geological and climate factors responsible for the development of the Volta Grande landscape and to track its environmental changes during the Holocene, using the modern system as a reference. In this context, sediment cores, riverbed rock and sediment samples and greenhouse gas (GHG) samples were collected in the Volta Grande do Xingu and adjacent upstream and downstream sectors. The reconstruction of past conditions in the Volta Grande is necessary for forecasting future scenarios and defining biodiversity conservation strategies under the operation of Belo Monte dams. This paper describes the scientific questions of the project and the sampling surveys performed by an international team of Earth scientists and biologists during the dry seasons of 2013 and 2014. Preliminary results are presented and a future workshop is planned to integrate results, present data to the scientific community and discuss possibilities for deeper drilling in the Xingu ria to extend the sedimentary record of the Volta Grande do Xingu.

scholarly journals Spatial patterns of water quality in Xingu River Basin (Amazonia) prior to the Belo Monte dam impoundment

2015 ◽  
Vol 75 (3 suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 34-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
JL. Rodrigues-Filho ◽  
DS. Abe ◽  
P. Gatti-Junior ◽  
GR. Medeiros ◽  
RM. Degani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Data Sampling ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Xingu River ◽  
Belo Monte

Abstract The Xingu River, one of the most important of the Amazon Basin, is characterized by clear and transparent waters that drain a 509.685 km2 watershed with distinct hydrological and ecological conditions and anthropogenic pressures along its course. As in other basins of the Amazon system, studies in the Xingu are scarce. Furthermore, the eminent construction of the Belo Monte for hydropower production, which will alter the environmental conditions in the basin in its lower middle portion, denotes high importance of studies that generate relevant information that may subsidize a more balanced and equitable development in the Amazon region. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the water quality in the Xingu River and its tributaries focusing on spatial patterns by the use of multivariate statistical techniques, identifying which water quality parameters were more important for the environmental changes in the watershed. Data sampling were carried out during two complete hydrological cycles in twenty-five sampling stations. The data of twenty seven variables were analyzed by Spearman's correlation coefficients, cluster analysis (CA), and principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed a high auto-correlation between variables (> 0.7). These variables were removed from multivariate analyzes because they provided redundant information about the environment. The CA resulted in the formation of six clusters, which were clearly observed in the PCA and were characterized by different water quality. The statistical results allowed to identify a high spatial variation in the water quality, which were related to specific features of the environment, different uses, influences of anthropogenic activities and geochemical characteristics of the drained basins. It was also demonstrated that most of the sampling stations in the Xingu River basin showed good water quality, due to the absence of local impacts and high power of depuration of the river itself.

scholarly journals ESTRUTURA E FRAGMENTAÇÃO GEOECOLÓGICA DE PAISAGEM FLUVIAL NO BAIXO RIO XINGU – AMAZÔNIA CENTRO-ORIENTAL (STRUCTURE AND GEOECOLOGICAL FRAGMENTATION OF THE RIVER LANDSCAPE IN THE LOWER XINGU RIVER - CENTRAL-EASTERN AMAZON)

2019 ◽  
pp. 122-142
Author(s):  
Eder Mileno Silva De Paula
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Landscape Fragmentation ◽  
Xingu River ◽  
River Landscape ◽  
River Geomorphology ◽  
Fluvial Landscape ◽  
Landscape Units ◽  
Identification And Characterization ◽  
Belo Monte

RESUMO:A análise geoecológica busca subsidiar o planejamento dos usos e da ocupação da paisagem em acordo com seus limites e potencialidades. A área de estudo é uma paisagem fluvial localizada a jusante da Usina Hidrelétrica de Belo Monte, no Baixo Rio Xingu, a qual promove modificações no contexto geoecológico regional e local. O objetivo da pesquisa é entender a estrutura geoecológica de paisagem fluvial no Baixo Rio Xingu, incluindo análise das métricas dos fragmentos que compõem as unidades paisagísticas. Analisou-se a paisagem através de estudo sistêmico e holístico de dados produzidos em atividades de campo, pesquisas bibliográficas e utilizando-se técnicas de sensoriamento remoto e geoprocessamento. O entendimento das inter-relações entre os componentes da paisagem permitiu a identificação e caracterização das unidades de paisagem fluvial e identificou-se que a transgressão do Oceano Atlântico sobre o Rio Amazonas possibilita o aumento e redução diária e pode aumentar ou diminuir sazonalmente as cotas fluviométricas do Rio Xingu, antecipando ou perdurando cheias.Palavras-chave: Fragmentação da Paisagem; Geomorfologia Fluvial; Análise Geoambiental. ABSTRACT:The geoecological analysis seeks to subsidize the planning of the uses and occupation of the landscape in accordance with its limits and potentialities. The study area is river landscape located downstream of the Hydroelectric of Belo Monte on the lower Xingu River, which promotes modifications in the regional geoecological context. In order to understand the geoecological structure of the fluvial landscape in the lower Xingu River, including the analysis of the metrics and fragments that compose it's units. The landscape was analyzed through a systemic and holistic study of data produced in field activities, bibliographical and using remote sensing and geoprocessing techniques. The understanding of the interrelations between the components of the landscape allowed the identification and characterization of the fluvial landscape units. The transgression of the Atlantic Ocean over the Amazon River makes it possible to increase and reduce daily, and may increase or decrease seasonally the Xingu River.Keywords: Landscape Fragmentation; River Geomorphology; Geoenvironmental Analysis.

An Assessment of Environmental Changes in Three Lakes from King's County (Nova Scotia, Canada) Using Diatom-Based Paleolimnological Techniques

2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua R. Thienpont ◽  
Brian K. Ginn ◽  
Brian F. Cumming ◽  
John P. Smol
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Lake Management ◽  
River System ◽  
210Pb Dating ◽  
Hydroelectric Power ◽  
Diatom Assemblages ◽  
Shoreline Development ◽  
Before And After

Abstract Paleolimnological approaches using sedimentary diatom assemblages were used to assess water quality changes over the last approximately 200 years in three lakes from King's County, Nova Scotia. In particular, the role of recent shoreline development in accelerating eutrophication in these systems was assessed. Sediment cores collected from each lake were analyzed for their diatom assemblages at approximately 5-year intervals, as determined by 210Pb dating. Analyses showed that each system has changed, but tracked different ecosystem changes. Tupper and George lakes recorded shifts, which are likely primarily related to climatic warming, with diatom assemblages changing from a preindustrial dominance by Aulacoseira spp. to present-day dominance by Cyclotella stelligera. In addition to the recent climatic-related changes, further diatom changes in the Tupper Lake core between approximately 1820 and 1970 were coincident with watershed disturbances (farming, forestry, and construction of hydroelectric power infrastructure). Black River Lake has recorded an increase in diatom-inferred total phosphorus since about 1950, likely due to impoundment of the Black River system for hydroelectric generation and subsequent changes in land runoff. Before-and-after (i.e., top-bottom) sediment analyses of six other lakes from King's County provided further evidence that the region is being influenced by climatic change (decreases in Aulacoseira spp., increases in planktonic diatom taxa), as well as showing other environmental stressors (e.g., acidification). However, we recorded no marked increase in diatom-inferred nutrient levels coincident with shoreline cottage development in any of the nine study lakes. Paleolimnological studies such as these allow lake managers to place the current limnological conditions into a long-term context, and thereby provide important background data for effective lake management.

scholarly journals Late Quaternary paleoenvironment of the Ross Sea continental shelf, Antarctica

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 275-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Nishimura ◽  
Toru Nakasone ◽  
Chikara Hiramatsu ◽  
Manabu Tanahashi
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometer

Based on sedimenlological and micropaleontological work on three sediment cores collected at about 167° Ε in the western Ross Sea, Antarctica, and accelerator mass spectrometer l4C ages of organic carbon, we have reconstructed environmental changes in the area during the late Quaternary. Since 38 ka BP at latest, this area was a marine environment with low productivity. A grounded ice sheet advanced and loaded the sediments before about 30-25 ka BP. After 25 ka BP, the southernmost site (76°46'S) was covered by floating ice (shelf ice), preventing deposition of coarse terrigenous materials and maintaining a supply of diatom tests and organic carbon until 20 ka BP. The northernmost site (74°33'S) was in a marine environment with a moderate productivity influenced by shelf ice/ice sheet after about 20 ka BP. Since about 10 ka BP, a sedimentary environment similar to the present-day one has prevailed over this area.

Effects of the Belo Monte hydro-electric-dam complex on crocodilians in the Xingu River, Brazilian Amazonia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Zilca Campos ◽  
Fábio Muniz ◽  
William E. Magnusson ◽  
Guilherme Mourão
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Xingu River ◽  
Hydroelectric Dam ◽  
River Reservoir ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Collateral Effects ◽  
Generating Capacity ◽  
Reservoir Filling ◽  
Belo Monte

Abstract The Belo Monte hydroelectric dam on the Xingu River has the third largest generating capacity of any hydroelectric dam in the world. We conducted surveys of crocodilians (Caiman crocodilus, Paleosuchus trigonatus) by boat in the Xingu River at the site of the dam prior to (2013-2015), and after filling (2016-2017). While the number of C. crocodilus sighted decreased with increasing water level, there was no difference in numbers prior to, and after reservoir filling. The number of P. trigonatus was unaffected by both water level prior to and after reservoir filling. Reservoir filling had little effect on the number of crocodilians using the forest around the Xingu River reservoir. Most crocodilians seen in forest surveys were P. trigonatus, both before and after reservoir filling, but C. crocodilus was recorded occasionally in the forest. It seems that most Amazonian crocodilians are sufficiently generalist to adapt to the new conditions created by the construction of dams, at least in the short-term. However, there may be long-term collateral effects on crocodilian populations from dams, due to as deforestation and improved access for hunters.

High-resolution radiocarbon dating to reconstruct last century environmental changes in the pacific island of Espiritu Santo

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Camperio ◽  
Caroline Welte ◽  
S. Nemiah Ladd ◽  
Matthew Prebble ◽  
Nathalie Dubois
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
High Accumulation ◽  
Sedimentary Records ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Rapid Accumulation

<p>Espiritu Santo is one of the 82 islands of the archipelago of Vanuatu and is the largest, highest, and most biodiverse of the insular country. Climatic changes linked to El Niño and extreme events such as cyclones and volcanic eruptions are a daily challenge in this remote area. These events can be recorded in sedimentary archives. Here we present a multi-proxy investigation of sediment cores retrieved from two small lakes located on the West coast of Espiritu Santo. Although the records span the last millennium, high-resolution radiocarbon dating of macrofossils reveals a rapid accumulation of sediment in the past 100 years. The high accumulation rate coupled with the high-resolution dating of freshwater sediments allows us to compare the <sup>14</sup>C bomb curve with the biogeochemical proxies of the sedimentary records. The results can then be validated against written and oral historical records linked with the societal perception of recent environmental changes in this vulnerable ecosystem.</p><div> <div title="Translate selected text"></div> <div title="Play"></div> <div title="Copy text to Clipboard"></div> </div>

scholarly journals Population and biological parameters of selected fish species from the middle Xingu River, Amazon Basin

2015 ◽  
Vol 75 (3 suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 112-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Camargo ◽  
T. Giarrizzo ◽  
VJ. Isaac
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Biological Parameters ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Xingu River ◽  
Biological Yield ◽  
Belo Monte

Abstract This study estimates the main biological parameters, including growth rates, asymptotic length, mortality, consumption by biomass, biological yield, and biomass, for the most abundant fish species found on the middle Xingu River, prior to the construction of the Belo Monte Dam. The specimens collected in experimental catches were analysed with empirical equations and length-based FISAT methods. For the 63 fish species studied, high growth rates (K) and high natural mortality (M) were related to early sexual maturation and low longevity. The predominance of species with short life cycles and a reduced number of age classes, determines high rates of stock turnover, which indicates high productivity for fisheries, and a low risk of overfishing.

scholarly journals Análisis comparativo de los moluscos en la reserva de la biosfera Los Petenes y lagunas costeras del sureste de México

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia González-Solis ◽  
Daniel Torruco ◽  
Ángel D. Torruco-González
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Evaluation ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Study Data ◽  
The Other ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Terminos Lagoon ◽  
Multiple Uses ◽  
Trophic Chains

The phylum Mollusca is widely distributed in all types of environments. The species it contains are important for their multiple uses as food (as part of several trophic chains), as vectors of other groups of organisms, for the extraction of substances, and as sentinels ofnatural and induced environmental changes. In this work, a comparative evaluation of the malacological biodiversity associated with different habitats in the Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve in Campeche and in eight coastal water bodies in southeastern Mexico was performed.To obtain data comparable to those that were used in a previous study, data from the Los Petenes mollusks were obtained by collection of sediment cores 10 cm in diameter at a depth of 15 cm at 20 sites in different habitats every four months during 2014. For the other lagoons,records were obtained from various published sources. For Los Petenes, a total of 175 species and 12,850 individuals were recorded. The species Rissoella caribaea was the most common and the most abundant. Comparative evaluation of each of the habitats that coexist in this ecosystem did not show significant changes in abundance. Similarly, faunal associations exhibited a sea-land gradient, and although thedifferences in biomass were significant, species richness did not show the same pattern among habitats. The Los Petenes system as a whole exhibited some of the greatest biodiversity among the water bodies analyzed, and the Terminos lagoon showed the highest biodiversity (169and 175 species, respectively). In contrast, the Sabancuy estuary featured fauna records with a richness of 43 species; in the Tupilco-Ostión lagoon, only 62 species were recorded, and in the rest of the lagoons, the numbers of species were even lower.

Penguin occupation in the Vestfold Hills

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Huang ◽  
Liguang Sun ◽  
Yuhong Wang ◽  
Renbin Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Core ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Before Present ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
History Of ◽  
Vestfold Hills ◽  
Free Area ◽  
Ornithogenic Sediment

AbstractDuring CHINARE-22 (December 2005–March 2006), we investigated six penguin colonies in the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica, and collected several penguin ornithogenic sediment cores, samples of fresh guano and modern penguin bone and feather. We selected seven penguin bones and feathers and six sediments from the longest sediment core and performed AMS14C dating. The results indicate that penguins occupied the Vestfold Hills as early as 8500 calibrated years before present (cal. yrbp), following local deglaciation and the formation of the ice free area. This is the first report on the Holocene history of penguins in the Vestfold Hills. As in other areas of Antarctica, penguins occupied this area as soon as local ice retreated and the ice free area formed, and they are very sensitive to climatic and environmental changes. This work provides the foundation for understanding the history of penguins occupation in Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica.

scholarly journals Expressions of climate perturbations in western Ugandan crater lake sediment records during the last 1000 yr

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 5183-5226 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Mills ◽  
D. B. Ryves ◽  
N. J. Anderson ◽  
C. L. Bryant ◽  
J. J. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Ecosystem Response ◽  
Large Lakes ◽  
Crater Lakes ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Western Uganda

Abstract. Equatorial East Africa has a complex, regional patchwork of climate regimes, with multiple interacting drivers. Recent studies have focussed on large lakes and reveal signals that are smoothed in both space and time, and, whilst useful at a continental scale, are of less relevance when understanding short-term, abrupt or immediate impacts of climate and environmental changes. Smaller-scale studies have highlighted spatial complexity and regional heterogeneity of tropical palaeoenvironments in terms of responses to climatic forcing (e.g. the Little Ice Age [LIA]) and questions remain over the spatial extent and synchroneity of climatic changes seen in East African records. Sediment cores from paired crater lakes in western Uganda were examined to assess ecosystem response to long-term climate and environmental change as well as testing responses to multiple drivers using redundancy analysis. These archives provide annual to sub-decadal records of environmental change. The records from the two lakes demonstrate an individualistic response to external (e.g. climatic) drivers, however, some of the broader patterns observed across East Africa suggest that the lakes are indeed sensitive to climatic perturbations such as a dry Mediaeval Climate Anomaly (MCA; 1000–1200 AD) and a relatively drier climate during the main phase of the LIA (1500–1800 AD); though lake levels in western Uganda do fluctuate. The relationship of Ugandan lakes to regional climate drivers breaks down c. 1800 AD, when major changes in the ecosystems appear to be a response to sediment and nutrient influxes as a result of increasing cultural impacts within the lake catchments. The data highlight the complexity of individual lake response to climate forcing, indicating shifting drivers through time. This research also highlights the importance of using multi-lake studies within a landscape to allow for rigorous testing of climate reconstructions, forcing and ecosystem response.

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