Analysis of erodibility factors and declivity in the Gurgueia River sub-basin, Piauí, Brazil

Soil degradation caused by erosion is one of the biggest environmental problems. The Geographic Information System (GIS) QGIS and ArcGIS were used to prepare thematic maps. The average slope resulted in smooth wavy (42.1%), flat (27.8%), and wavy to strong wavy (19.9%) over the entire length of the sub-basin. Erodibility resulted in very high (41%) mainly in sectors with a predominance of Neossolos Quartzarênicos soils, on average (7.1%) in the South and Southwest and low (51.1%) of the area corresponding to the soil of the type Dystrophic Yellow Latosol. The expansion of the agribusiness associated with inadequate soil management in areas susceptible to erosion at BHRG can compromise long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability. It is important develop suitable agricultural techniques appropriate to the soil to optimize its use and its sustainable production capacity.

Paleontological rescue, depositional environment, and stratigraphic correlation of a section of the Ponta Grossa Formation (Paraná Basin)

The urban area of Ponta Grossa (PR) occurs on one of the most abundant fossiliferous fields in the country, which records an endemic fauna that occurred in the Devonian of the Paraná Basin. The growing urbanization of the city increasingly buries these outcrops, and new works must be accompanied by a specialized team to safeguard the paleontological heritage. This is the case of the Bosque Mistral project, which exposed many layers of the Ponta Grossa Formation, rich in fossils and trace fossils. This study reports the main fossiliferous occurrences in the section, correlates the section with classical outcrops from the literature, and interprets the main depositional environments as well stratigraphic cycles using an integrated analysis of sedimentology and ichnology. The ichnological distribution also evidences the retrogradation pattern, and, particularly, the occurrence of ichnofabrics dominated by Zoophycos at the top of the section is a signature of high-frequency cycles associated with the transgressive systems tract. Macrofossill biodiversity varies according to the facies, in the sandy and silty layers different organisms from the muddy layers occur. In the former, the epibiont fauna (mainly trilobites and brachiopods) is predominant while in the muddy layers the predominance is the endobiont and semi-endobiont fauna (bivalve mollusks and infaunal brachiopods). In other words, the distribution of taxa across the layers is not random.

Ichnological Research of Silurian–Devonian Strata and the Zoophycos Distribution in the Paraná Basin

The Silurian–Devonian strata of the Paraná Basin (southern Brazil) have a wide variety of ichnofossils. The first records date from the beginning of the last century, with pioneering studies in 1912 addressing the Furnas and Ponta Grossa formations. Significant advances in the ichnological knowledge of these units occurred between the 1980s and 1990s, emphasizing ichnotaxonomic characterizations. These ichnological studies were important for better understanding and describing the main depositional environments, ecological strategies, biostratigraphy, and the relation with the preserved paleofauna. In this contribution, we review this knowledge and analyze the distribution and paleoecological significance of Zoophycos, the most remarkable ichnotaxon in the Lower Paleozoic beds of the Paraná Basin.

Review of Oliveirania santa catharinae (sic) Maury 1927 and associated ichnofossils (Itararé Group, Late Carboniferous of Paraná Basin, Brazil)

The sedimentary layers of Anitápolis, Santa Catarina, were the subject of relevant discussions about age and paleoenvironment in the first half of the 20th century. Today they are correlated to the ritmites from Itararé Group, but some of the fossils that are part of these studies were not subsequently revised. This is the case of Oliveirania santa catharinae (sic) Maury 1927, a species originally attributed to annelids, and the ichnofossils attributed to it by association. The Annelida fossils were considered here as pseudofossils of inorganic origin. The ichnofossils attributed to Oliveirania were redescribed as a new ichnospecies, Pterichnus mauryae isp. nov., possibly related to the activity of crustaceans. This is the first occurrence of Pterichnus in Brazil and the oldest in the world.

Photographs by Guilherme Glück: a methodology for analyzing the photographic image of the cultural landscape of Lapa, PR, Brazil

To read photographic images through Iconography and Iconology can be an interesting way to help describe landscapes. Which is the intention that corroborates the sense of “landscape as a way of seeing” proposed by Denis Cosgrove. In proposing this research aims to understand how the urban and cultural landscape was portrayed in Glück´s photographs. This study object is delimited by Glück's records about 1940, in the urban environment of the city of Lapa. These spaces were registered through the eyes of an immigrant, presenting the temporal transformations, in the yearnings to change and update Lapa as a republican city and adapted to new urban infrastructures, such as piped water, paved streets, electric power, new means of transportation, and communication. Through the systematization of the photographic methodological analysis, from iconographic investigation proposed by Panofsky, observing Cassirer's symbolic forms, through which he presented the advances in Cosgrove's research, it is intended to analyze Glück's images in a context of a city eager to incorporate republican and “modernity” standards.

Identification of Continental Wetlands Using Different Orbital Remote Sensors

This paper evaluates the potential of false-color composite images, from 3 different remote sensing satellites, for the identification of continental wetlands. Landsat 8, Sentinel-2 and CBERS-4 scenes from three different Ramsar sites (i.e., sites designated to be of international importance) two sites located within the Mato-Grossense Pantanal and one within the Sul-mato-grossense were used for analyses. For each site, images from both the dry and rainy seasons were analyzed using Near-Infrared (NIR), Shortwave Infrared (SWIR), and visible (VIS) bands. The results show that false-color composite images from both the Landsat 8 and the Sentinel-2 satellites, with both SWIR 2-NIR-BLUE and NIR-SWIR-RED spectral band combinations, allow the identification of wetlands.

Urban vitality and neighborhood design: a proposal for Campo Grande, MS, Brazil

This paper concerns the practical application, in a medium city neighborhood in the central-western region of Brazil, of six parameters to support urban vitality: permeability, variety, legibility, versatility, appropriate image, and perceptual wealth, as developed by Bentley & Alcock (1999). The methodological strategy addressed the theoretical framework and the reality of the neighborhood with the support of geotechnologies and urban records. The proposed interventions exercise a combination of urban design instruments, intending to implementing elements of vitality, so reverse the current situation of urban stagnation and social segregation of the place.

Groundwater vulnerability analysis to contamination at the Urubu river watershed, TO, Brazil

This study aims to evaluate the vulnerability of groundwater to contamination in the Urubu river watershed, Tocantins. The analysis was based on the VIX vulnerability index and considered the areas with the highest water accumulation, as indicated by the NDWI index values extracted from the study area. It was observed that the highest values of the VIX index were found in areas in which the groundwater levels were deeper. The western region of the basin presented areas more vulnerable to contamination due to the shallow depth of the water table. The use of the VIX and NDWI indices was effective in determining areas that are more susceptible to contamination within the Urubu river basin, thus, it can be considered an efficient tool for local natural resource management.

Devonian trilobites from the Paraná and Parecis basins in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil

Recent fieldwork in the state of Mato Grosso made it possible to find new specimens of trilobites, among them: Metacryphaeus australis, Metacryphaeus sp., and a homalonotide. Taphonomically, it was possible to observe that there are two patterns of conservation, one of which is where the specimens are complete, related to a rapid burial event; and another pattern of preservation where paleoenvironmental conditions provided disarticulation after death. These new findings, as well as their taphonomic interpretations, open possibilities to work on biostratigraphic correlations, in addition to paleobiogeographic assessments for trilobites in South America.

Overflow and flooding events in the Ronda stream watershed in Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil

Episodes of precipitation are part of the climate variability of a region; however, when associated with impermeability processes of the soils and inefficient urban drainage, they increase the rates of floods and overflows events, which cause severe inconvenience and damage for the population. Thus, this study correlates the record of 60 occurrences of floods and overflows, in the Ronda stream watershed, located largely in the urban area of the city of Ponta Grossa, between the years 1980 and 2017. Half of the occurrences happened due to extreme events, that is, with a precipitation equal to or greater than 50 mm. Many occurrences occurred in areas considered to be at risk, mainly in the floodplain of the Ronda stream.