Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / During the last five years, successful mine closure has become one of Iscor Coal Business primary strategic focus areas. Three Iscor Coalmines are currently in different stages of closure, i.e. North Field, Hlobane and Dumacol and the demand on management time spent on this issue is increasing. The changing legal environment, especially issues concerning rehabilitation and mine closure, demands that every company must take full responsibility for any detrimental effect that their operations may have on the environment. This study concerns itself with establishing a generic procedure for mine closure. The interface with all stakeholders, external and internal, is considered. The primary focus areas are determined and the most important issues within each area are discussed in such a way that operational managers and strategists could use it as base knowledge for future closures. Applying the model to an actual closure process, i.e. the closure of Durnacol Coalmine, tested the validity of the model and it was verified that the process could be used as a base for future reference.

La prima parte dell’elaborato presenta le origini e lo sviluppo delle politiche di valutazione del rischio per le sostanze chimiche. Dopo un primo inquadramento storico, l’attenzione è stata dedicata a temi emergenti come la valutazione delle incertezze, la necessità di integrazione delle valutazioni del rischio per l’uomo e per l'ambiente. La seconda parte presenta l’evoluzione delle politiche di valutazione del rischio dei prodotti fitosanitari, soprattutto a livello europeo (dall’applicazione della direttiva 91/414 all’attuale regolamento 1107/2009), con particolare attenzione all’applicazione del principio di precauzione. Il terzo capitolo approfondisce le fasi e gli approcci delle attuali procedure di valutazione ambientale del rischio dei pesticidi usati a livello europeo e americano; è stato in particolar modo esplorato il tema dell’individuazione degli obiettivi specifici di protezione in fase preliminare di valutazione del rischio. Il quarto capitolo tratta di un tema attualmente molto dibattuto, ovvero la valutazione dei potenziali effetti combinati sugli organismi non bersaglio esposti a più sostanze attive simultaneamente. Infine, l’obiettivo del quinto capitolo è quello di valutare la contaminazione ambientale dovuta all’applicazione di fungicidi a base rame su melo. A tale scopo è stato testato un nuovo modello per il calcolo integrato dell’esposizioni umana e ambientale MERLIN – Expo, sviluppato grazie al progetto europeo 4FUN. I risultati ottenuti per le acque superficiali e il sedimento sono stati confrontati con i risultati degli attuali modelli usati in Unione Europea, i modelli FOCUS. Le simulazioni probabilistiche hanno anche permesso di effettuare valutazioni di incertezza e sensitività sui parametri utilizzati nelle simulazioni. / This PhD thesis is a multidisciplinary work on the risk assessment of plant protection products including both legislative and scientific aspects. The first part of the thesis introduces the origin of risk assessment procedures with a wide glance on the whole process of risk analysis to protect the humans and the environment. The accent is put on emerging issues and trends, such as the uncertainties appraisal, the necessity of integration between human and environmental impacts without ignoring socio- economic and behavioural factors. The second chapter deals with the origin and development of global risk assessment policies on pesticides. It focuses in particular on European policies, from the original Directive 91/414 to the current Regulation 1107/2009 and the application of the precautionary principle. A brief comparison with US approaches for risk assessment is also presented. The third chapter gives an overview on the risk assessment procedures that nowadays provide the highest achievable protection for the environment, starting with the definition of clear and specific protection goals. The fourth chapter addresses the issue of combined risk assessment of pesticides: current approaches for the evaluation of effects on non-target organisms are analysed. The last chapter is dedicated to the estimation of the environmental contamination following the application of copper –based fungicides sprayed on orchards by using MERLIN - Expo, which is a multimedia model developed in the frame of the FP7 EU project 4FUN. The performance of the MERLIN- Expo software in estimating the contamination of the metal is also analysed through a comparison with the currently used FOCUS standard models for the calculation of pesticides concentrations in surface water and sediment. Both deterministic and probabilistic simulations have been run; the latter has allowed to perform uncertainty and sensitivity assessment.

[Truncated abstract] The application of reductionism, breaking down problems to simpler components that can be solved and then aggregating the results, is one of the bases of classical science. However, living organisms, ecosystems, social and economic structures are complex systems, characterised by non-linear interactions between their elements and exhibit emergent properties that are not directly traceable to their components. Sustainability assessment frameworks oversimplify system interactions, achieving limited predictive capacity and causing managerial behavior that may reduce system's ability to adapt to external disturbance. Intrigued by the importance of complexity, we explore the central theme of how complex thinking can influence the understanding and progress towards sustainability. The purpose is to conceptualize the relationship of key terms (such as sustainability, functionality and resilience), and consecutively develop new or adjust existing sustainability frameworks to take into account complex systems interactions. We aim at developing theory and frameworks that can be used to raise awareness of the pitfalls of the growth paradigm and direct towards modest positions when managing complex systems. We seek to define the structural elements that influence system adaptive capacity, allowing identification of early signs of system rigidity or vulnerability and the development of knowledge and techniques that can improve our predictive and managerial ability. The focus has been on a variety of system scales and dynamics. At the collective community level, a number of stakeholder engagement practices and frameworks are currently available. However, there is limited awareness of the complexity challenges among stakeholders, who are commonly directed to a triple bottom line analysis aiming at maximizing a combination of outputs. An attempt is conducted to measure the functionality of the processes underlying a standing stock, in contrast to sustainability measures that only assess the variations of the standing stock itself. We develop the Index of Sustainable Functionality (ISF), a framework for the assessment of complex systems interactions within a large-scale geographic domain and apply it to the State of Western Australia. '...' Finally, we focus on smaller systems scales and develop a methodology for the calculation of Product Ecological Footprint (PEF) including elements from the accounting method of activity based costing. We calculate PEF for three apple production systems and identify significant differences from first stage calculations within the same industry. Cross-industry application will provide a practical way to link individuals' consumption with their ecological impact, reduce misperceptions of products' ecological impacts and develop a market-driven approach to internalizing environmental externalities. At the firm level PEF can be compared with investment costs, resulting in the opportunity to optimize both functions of financial cost and ecological impact in decision making. We have developed methods for incorporating complexity in sustainability assessment frameworks. Further work is required in testing and validating these methodologies at multiple system scales and conditions. Integrating such tools in decision making mechanisms will enhance long-term management of socioecological systems performance.

Löslighet och transport av sällsynta jordartsmetaller i Källfallsfältets gruvsandsmagasin Hugo de Campos Pereira Syftet med detta arbete har varit att kartlägga vilka mekanismer som styr lösligheten av sällsynta jordartsmetaller (eng. rare earth elements, REE) i sulfidhaltig anrikningssand vid den föredetta gruvan Källfallsfältet i Västmanland. För syftet har markvatten- och grundvattenprovtagning utförts, tillsammans med laktester och geokemisk modellering med Visual MINTEQ ver. 3.0. Resultaten visade att sulfidvittring är den främsta processen som styr pH i anrikningssanden, och därmed också indirekt REEs löslighet. Däremot är sulfidvittring ingen källa till REE i sig då ämnena inte föreligger sulfidbundna, något som oxiderat tillgänglighetstest NT ENVIR 006 visade. Istället går REE ut i lösning i anrikningssanden genom vittring av lättvittrade silikatmineral. Vanligtvis betraktas metall bunden i silikatform inte som geokemiskt aktiv. Jämförelser mellan laktester med olika jämviktstid visade att en kinetisk (tidsberoende) faktor föreligger, kopplad till nämnda silikatvittring, som påverkar pH och således också metallöslighet vid laktester på anrikningssanden. Vid jämförelse mellan laktester och halter i anrikningssandens mark- och grundvatten bör denna därmed vägas in. Det pH-statiska laktestet SIS-CEN/TS 14997 visade begränsad möjlighet att undersöka kinetik med anledning av att det utförs under förhållandevis kort tid, 48 timmar. REE- och Cu-halter vid syratitrering (de behandlingar med lägst syratillsatser) och enstegslakning (SIS-CEN ISO/TS 21268-2:2010) visade god, respektive förhållandevis god, överensstämmelse med uppmätta markvattenhalter. Detta visade att syratitrering och enstegslakning är laktest som är tillämpbara, respektive förhållandevis väl tillämpbara, för att uppskatta markvattenhalter i anrikningssanden. Specieringsmodellering med Visual MINTEQ ver. 3.0 visade att pH och DOC är de viktigaste parametrarna som styr REEs speciering i anrikningssandens mark-, grund och ytvatten. Samtliga REE bildar starka komplex med löst organiskt material, men koncentrationerna av DOC var generellt sett låga. I sura sulfatrika mark-, grund och ytvatten domineras specieringen av lösta sulfatkomplex, huvudsakligen (REE)SO4+, följt av fria hydratiserade joner som näst vanligaste förekomstform. Dessa resultat överensstämmer väl med tidigare modelleringsstudier av REEs speciering i sura sulfatrika vatten resulterande från gruvavfall. Med bakgrund av detta och av att REEs ekotoxicitet verkar överensstämma med den fria jon-modellen (eng. free ion model) förväntas REE uppvisa högre toxicitet vid låga pH-värden. / Solubility and transport of rare earth elements in the mine tailings of Källfallsfältet Hugo de Campos Pereira The mechanisms which govern the solubility of rare earth elements (REEs) in sulfide-containing tailings at the former mine site of Källfallsfältet (Västmanland, Sweden) were studied by the means of soil water and ground water sampling, leaching tests and geochemical modeling using Visual MINTEQ ver. 3.0. The results showed that weathering of sulfides is the primary process governing pH in the tailings, and thus also REE solubility. However, weathering of sulfides is no source for REE in itself since the elements are not bound in sulfides, which the oxidized availability test NT ENVIR 006 showed. Instead REE are released into solution by weathering of easily weathered silicates. Usually, metal bound in silicate form is not considered geochemically active. A kinetic (time dependent) factor, associated with the weathering of silicates, was found to affect pH and thus also metal solubility in leaching tests performed on the tailings. The standardized pH static leaching test (SIS-CEN/TS 14997) showed limitations in observing kinetic effects because of its relatively short equilibration time (48 h). Thus, in future studies with similar materials, leaching test kinetics should be taken into account when comparing leached concentrations with field measured concentrations. Acid titration and one step batch test (SIS-CEN ISO/TS 21268-2:2010) proved to be applicable and relatively well applicable to the tailings, respectively, in order to estimate soil solution concentrations. Speciation calculations using Visual MINTEQ ver. 3.0 showed that pH and DOC concentration are the most important factors which affect REE speciation in soil solution, ground water and surface water associated with the tailings. In acid sulfate rich solutions, low in DOC, speciation is dominated by sulfate complexes, mainly (REE)SO4+, followed by free dissolved ions as the second most common form. These results are in accordance with previous modeling studies of REE speciation in acid sulfate rich waters resulting from tailings. This, together with previous results showing that REE ecotoxicity seems to follow the free ion model, implies that the toxicity of the elements is expected to increase with decreasing pH value.

Este trabalho aplica técnicas da área de inteligência artificial (IA) com o intuito de prever e classificar riscos ambientais, com o foco no problema da qualidade do ar. Para prever os riscos, dados foram adquiridos acerca das concentrações gasosas de determinados poluentes. Tais concentrações, denominadas de indicadores da qualidade do ar, são regulamentadas por várias legislações ao redor do mundo, inclusive a do Brasil. Estes dados foram empregados em um modelo que consiste de duas técnicas de IA: redes neurais artificiais e otimização por enxame de partículas. O resultado do modelo é a previsão de um dia adiante das concentrações gasosas dos indicadores da qualidade do ar. As previsões são usadas como entradas para a modelagem de riscos. A modelagem de riscos correlaciona as previsões dos poluentes observados para obter a qualidade do ar e o risco que tal qualidade oferece à saúde humana. O modelo de risco é baseado em lógica nebulosa, uma terceira técnica de IA. Ao término do trabalho, dois resultados foram alcançados. O primeiro foi o modelo de previsões que obteve resultados com um bom nível de acuidade. Em seguida, o modelo de riscos foi capaz de alcançar uma classificação coerente dos riscos ambientais. / In order to forecast and classify environmental risks, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques were applied to the air quality problem. Predetermined gaseous pollutant concentration data were acquired with the intent of predicting the risks. Such concentrations are denominated air quality indicators, and are regulated all around the world, including by brazilian law. The data concerning these indicators were used in a model that consists of two AI techniques: artificial neural networks and particle swarm optimization. The air quality indicators concentration prediction resulted in one day ahead values. The risk modeling utilizes the predictions as inputs values, correlating them in order to obtain the resulting air quality and, the risk that such quality has upon the human health. The risk model is based on a third AI technique, called fuzzy logic. The present work obtained two main results. The first was the accurate forecasts made by the prediction model. The second was the achievement of a coherent classification of the risks.

Um sistema de inferência fuzzy (SIF) para avaliação do grau de impacto da contaminação ambiental gerada por vazamentos em Postos Revendedores de Combustíveis (PRC) foi desenvolvido neste trabalho. Para obtenção do Índice de Impacto Ambiental por Vazamento em Postos Revendedores de Combustíveis (IIAVPRC) foram usadas dezessete variáveis linguísticas de entrada: tipo do contaminante, volume vazado, área impactada, estado físico do contaminante, existência de barreiras de contenção, topografia do terreno, emissão de gases, proximidade de rios/córregos, proximidade de poços artesianos, espessura do aquífero, precipitação anual, potencial de inundação, proximidade com áreas residenciais, proximidade com áreas comerciais, proximidade com áreas rurais e de agronegócio, proximidade de escolas e/ou creches e proximidade com áreas de preservação ambiental - agrupadas em índices parciais, de acordo com a fonte do contaminante, a propagação do contaminante e o local da contaminação. O método de inferência fuzzy de Mamdani foi utilizado para mapeamento das variáveis linguísticas de entrada e saída, usando uma base composta por 112 regras, baseada no conhecimento de especialistas e funções de pertinência triangulares. Quanto maior o IIAV-PRC - que varia entre 19,9 e 100 - maior o grau de contaminação da área estudada, indicando uma maior urgência no processo de decisão sobre a intervenção/remediação da área contaminada. O SIF desenvolvido foi utilizado com sucesso em estudo de caso de vazamento de 3.000 litros de óleo diesel, decorrente do rompimento da tubulação do sistema de abastecimento subterrâneo de combustível de um PRC, localizado na região metropolitana do Recife, estado de Pernambuco, Brasil, apresentando IIAV-PRC igual 63,7 - classificado como passivo ambiental grave. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que o IIAV-PRC pode ser utilizado - por órgãos fiscalizadores e/ou consultores e/ou arrendatários e/ou proprietários e/ou distribuidoras - como ferramenta de apoio à avaliação de impactos ambientais gerados por vazamentos em PRC e à tomada de decisões sobre ações de remediação das áreas impactadas. / A fuzzy inference system (FIS) to assess the environmental impact of contamination level generated by leaks in Stations Fuel Dealers (SFD) was developed in this work. An Environmental Impact Index for Leak in Stations Fuel Dealers (EIIL-SFD) were obtained using seventeen input linguistic variables: type of contaminant, leaked volume, impacted area, the contaminant physical condition, existence of containment barriers, topography land, greenhouse gas emissions, proximity to rivers/streams, proximity of wells, thickness of the aquifer, annual precipitation, flood potential, proximity to residential areas, proximity to shopping areas, proximity to rural areas and agribusiness, proximity to schools and/or nurseries and proximity to areas of environmental preservation - grouped in partial indexes, according to the source of the contaminant, the propagation of the contaminant and the site of contamination. The fuzzy inference Mamdani method was used for mapping input and output linguistic variables, using a base composed of 112 rules, based on expert knowledge and triangular membership functions. The higher the EIIL-SFD which range between 19.9 and 100 - greater the degree of contamination of the study area, indicating a greater urgency in decision-making on intervention/remediation of the contaminated area. The SIF developed was used successfully in case study of 3000-liter diesel fuel leak, due to the pipeline disruption of the underground fuel supply system of a SFD, located in the metropolitan region of Recife, state of Pernambuco, Brazil, presenting EIIL-SFD equal 63.7 - classified as serious environmental damage with a fine of application. The results suggest that the IIAV-PRC can be used - by regulatory agencies and/or consultants and / or tenants and / or owners and / or distributors - as a support tool for the assessment of environmental impact generated by leaks in PRC and the taking decisions about remediation actions of impacted areas.

Orientador: Luiz Lonardoni Foloni / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agricola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-05T18:46:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_CelsoLuizda_M.pdf: 2466251 bytes, checksum: ec6d5d80bece33b33227f9238012b5f8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004 / Resumo: A utilização de pesticidas na agricultura é uma prática necessária no controle de pragas, doenças ou de plantas daninhas para se atingir altos índices de produtividade e conseguir desta forma atender a demanda crescente de alimentos. Alguns destes pesticidas aplicados podem apresentar propriedades físico-químicas perigosas, seja ao ambiente e aos próprios seres vivos, podendo causar danos ambientais e problemas de saúde ao homem. Muitas vezes isto ocorre devido à falta de estudos sobre o comportamento e destino destes produtos no ambiente e estudos toxicológicos. Uma ferramenta importante para procurar evitar estes tipos de danos são os modelos matemáticos que permitem antecipar para o qual ou quais compartimentos esta molécula tende a caminhar e também, auxiliar no desenvolvimento de pesquisa no campo, diminuindo os gastos e esforços. O objetivo deste projeto foi utilizar um modelo matemático de fugacidade (nível) I na análise de risco do comportamento, como auxílio na avaliação preliminar da distribuição ambiental, dos principais pesticidas registrados junto ao Ministério da Agricultura, usados e aplicados de acordo com as recomendações de seus fabricantes, nos sistemas de produção convencional e plantio direto, nas principais culturas brasileiras: algodão, arroz, café, cana-de-açúcar, citros, milho e soja. A metodologia utilizada foi baseada nas fórmulas matemáticas descritas por Mackay (1991). Como resultados, foram selecionados os 10 produtos que mais se distribuíram nos compartimentos ambientais (ar, água, solo, sedimento, biota, folhas das plantas, caule e raiz) aqui apresentados em ordem decrescente de preferência. Estes pesticidas foram para o compartimento ar: acetochlor> disulfuton> acephate> thiodicarb> quinclorac> thiram> tolifluanid> pendimenthalin> trifluralin> endosulfan; para a água: nicosulfuron> metsulfuron methyl> monocrotofós> bispyribac sodium> metamidofós> thiamethoxam> halosuluron methyl> chlorimuron etílico> imazapic> imidacloprid; para o solo: diquat> paraquat> hexythiazox> parathion metil> benomyl> tiofanato metílico> msma> iprodione> epoxiconazole> propargite; para o sedimento: diquat> paraquat> hexythiazox> parathion metil> benomyl> tiofanato metílico> msma> iprodione> epoxiconazole> propargite; para a biota: propanil> acetochlor> disulfoton> pendimenthalin> bifenthrin> carboxin> endosulfan> clorpirifós> tolyfluanid> thiram; para a folha: aldicarb> fluazifop-p-butil> metconazole> diflubenzuron> tolyfluanid> disulfuton> fludioxonil> difenoconazole> acetochlor> tebuconazole; para a raiz e caule: lambdacyhalothrin> zetacypermethrin> cypermethrin> alfacipermetrina> bifenthrin> acrinathrin> permethrin> lactofen> betacyflutrin> chlorfluazuron. Os pesticidas estudados também foram comparados pelo critério de GUS (índice de vulnerabilidade de águas subterrâneas). Os produtos que apresentaram potencial de lixiviação em ordem alfabética foram: acetochlor, aldicarb, atrazina, bispyribac-sodium, carbendazim, carbofuran, clorimuron, etílico, cyproconazole, difenoconazole, fipronil, flumioxazin, fomezafen, hexazinone, imazapic, imazaquim, imazetapir, metalacloro, metomyl, metribuzin, metsulfuron-methyl, monocrotofós, nicosulfuron, quinclorac, simazine, tebuthiuron, thiamethoxam e triclorfon. As conclusões deste trabalho permitiram verificar que o compartimento ambiental que apresentou maior vulnerabilidade na preferência da distribuição dos pesticidas foi o compartimento água. A avaliação preliminar do risco de contaminação por pesticidas de uma área agrícola pode ser feita a partir das características físico-químicas dos pesticidas utilizando o modelo de fugacidade Mackay nível I (1991). Este modelo pela simplicidade e rapidez nas respostas mostra ser uma excelente ferramenta, como fator de decisão na utilização do pesticida. O critério de GUS também se apresentou como mais um mecanismo para ser utilizado quando não se dispõe de todas as informações, como tomada de decisão na escolha da utilização de um pesticida visando monitorar ou até mesmo impedir a contaminação de águas subterrâneas / Abstract: The utilization of pesticides in agriculture is a necessary practice to control pests, diseases or weeds to reach an excellent index of productivity and get attend the increasing necessity of food. Some of this pesticides applied, show dangerous physical-chemical proprieties to the environmental and health human. Many times it happen because we haven¿t enough studies of the toxicity and behavior or destination of pesticides in the environmental. One of important tool to try avoid this type of damage are the mathematics models, which permit anticipated for which behavior of this molecule tend walk and also help in the development of field research reduce expense and effort. The goal of this project was use a mathematics calculus based on mathematics models of fugacity level 1, which help in the analysis of risk the main environmental behavior of all pesticides, registered in the Ministry of Agriculture, used and applied according to the recommendation of manufactures pesticides industry (WIN FIT; 2000), at the system of conventional production, and no till system of cotton, rice, coffee, sugar-cane, citrus, corn and soybean cultivation. The utilized methodology was mathematics formula describe by Mackay (1991) to figure out of fugacity (¿, Pa), capacity of fugacity (Z, mol m-3 Pa-1) , concentration (C, g mol-1) in the compartment air, water, soil, sediment, biota, leaves, root, stem of plant. It was used the physical-chemical parameters to each pesticides applied to each culture studied (cotton, rice, sugar-cane, coffee, citrus, corn and soybean) with data of each compartment: volume (m³), fraction organic (%) and density (?, g m-3) got from the Mackay (1991). As the results of mathematics calculus it were chose the 10 products which were more distributed in the compartment environmental present such as following the preference, where from the air compartment: acetochlor> disulfuton> acephate> thiodicarb> quinclorac> thiram> tolifluanid> pendimenthalin> trifluralin> endosulfan; from the water compartment: nicosulfuron> metsulfuron-methyl> monocrotofos> bispyribac-sodium> metamidofos> thiamethoxam> halosuluron methyl> chlorimuron etílico> imazapic> imidacloprid; from the soil compartment: diquat> paraquat> hexythiazox> parathion metil> benomyl> tiofanato metílico>msma>iprodione> epoxiconazole> propargite; from the sediment compartment: diquat> paraquat> hexythiazox> parathion metil> benomyl> tiofanato metílico> msma> iprodione> epoxiconazole> propargite; from the biota compartment: propanil> acetochlor> disulfoton> pendimenthalin> bifenthrin> carboxin> endosulfan> clorpirifós> tolyfluanid> thiram; from the leave compartment: aldicarb> fluazifop-p-butil> metconazole> diflubenzuron> tolyfluanid> disulfuton> fludioxonil> difenoconazole> acetochlor> tebuconazole; from the trunk and root compartments: lambdacyhalothrin> zetacypermethrin> cypermethrin> alfacipermetrina> bifentrhin> acrinathrin> permethrin> lactofen> betacyflutrin> chlorfluazuron. The pesticides studied too were also by the GUS (Groundwater Ubiquity Score) where the index is calculated through the half-life value of the compose on the soil and coefficient of adsorption and organic tissue of the soil. The products that showed lixiviation potential by GUS alphabetical order were: acetochlor, aldicarb, atrazina, bispyribac sodium, carbendazim, carbofuran, clorimuron, etilico, cyproconazole, difenoconazole, fipronil, flumioxazin, fomezafen, hexazinone, imazapic, imazaquim, imazetapir, metalacloro, metomyl, metribuzin, metsulfuron-methyl, monocrotofos, nicosulfuron, quinclorac, simazine, tebuthiuron, thiamethoxam and triclorfon. In conclusion, the environmental compartment showed more vulnerability in the preference of pesticide distribution in the compartment water. The preliminary evaluation of risk contamination in agriculture area by pesticides can be made based on physical-chemical pesticide characteristic used in the fugacity model Mackay level 1 (1991). This fugacity model Mackay level 1 (1991) is an excellent tool to be used as a factor of decision in the pesticides use. The GUS criteria showed itself as one more mechanism to be used dire the lack of information, as decision make skill in choice of a pesticide utilization aiming monitoring or even though avoiding groundwater contamination / Mestrado / Agua e Solo / Mestre em Engenharia Agrícola

Orientador: Marcos Cesar Ferreira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-25T23:24:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Messias_CassianoGustavo_M.pdf: 23638977 bytes, checksum: e704bfa68254415de27c9956b5cdab14 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: As paisagens rurais vêm sendo transformadas continuamente pela ocupação humana, principalmente em razão de adaptações técnicas requeridas para o desenvolvimento da agricultura. De maneira geral, estas alterações antrópicas estão diretamente ligadas à utilização dos recursos naturais como insumos da produção agrícola. Os recursos mais impactados por este modo de produção são a vegetação e o solo. Dentre as formas de avaliação do grau de comprometimento da paisagem em razão da exploração agrícola do território é o mapeamento da fragilidade ambiental. Esta pesquisa teve como principal objetivo avaliar os graus de fragilidade ambiental de diferentes áreas do Parque Nacional da Serra da Canastra, situado no sudoeste de Minas Gerais. Criado em 1972, o parque tem como meta principal preservar ecossistemas naturais ainda existentes no bioma do cerrado brasileiro. A metodologia de mapeamento da fragilidade ambiental utilizada neste trabalho baseia-se em cinco variáveis geográficas: índice de vegetação, probabilidade de ocorrência de chuvas intensas, declividades, densidade de estradas e densidade de lineamentos estruturais. Estas variáveis foram processadas em sistemas de informação geográfica, por meio de técnicas de análise espacial, utilizadas para a transformação destas, mapeadas segundo a lógica booleana, em variáveis probabilísticas fuzzy. Os mapas fuzzy foram combinados por meio de algoritmo baseado em soma ponderada, gerando-se um mapa de fragilidade ambiental do Parque Nacional. Este mapa final foi comparado a mapas de processos erosivos e de movimento de massa, checados em campo, com o objetivo de se atribuir pesos às variáveis ambientais por meio do teste de Kolmogorov-Smirnov. A metodologia se mostrou eficiente para a identificação e mapeamento de áreas com maior grau de fragilidade no parque, considerando-se a evidência dos processos erosivos e dos movimentos de massa / Abstract: Rural landscapes have been continually transformed by human occupation, mainly due to technical adjustments required for the development of agriculture. In general, these anthropogenic changes are directly linked to the use of natural resources as inputs into agricultural production. The resources most impacted by this mode of production are the vegetation and soil. Among the manners of assessing the degree of landscape vulnerability is the environmental fragility mapping. This research aimed to assess the degree of environmental vulnerability of different areas located within the Serra da Canastra National Park, located in southwestern Minas Gerais. Created in 1972, the park has as main goal to preserve remaining natural ecosystems of the Brazilian Cerrado biome. The methodology for environmental fragility mapping, used in this work, is based on five geographic variables: vegetation index, probability of intense rainfall, slope terrain, roads and structural lineaments densities. These variables, mapped according to the Boolean logic, were processed in a geographic information system through spatial analysis techniques and transformed in fuzzy probabilistic variables. The fuzzy maps were combined by means of algorithm based on a weighted sum, generating the environmental fragility map of the National Park. The estimative of weights values of the five environmental variables was carried out comparing erosion-mass movement maps and the fragility map, using the D-value of Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Considering the evidence of erosion and mass movements, we concluded that the methodology is efficient for the identification and mapping of areas with the high degree of fragility in the park / Mestrado / Análise Ambiental e Dinâmica Territorial / Mestre em Geografia

M.Sc (Aquatic Health) / There has been a recent onslaught of water quality problems in South Africa, with many believing that South Africa is nearing a water crisis in the not so distant future. A Regional Scale Risk Assessment was conducted on the Koekemoer Spruit in order to validate the use of such a risk assessment in the management of small catchments. During the study the use of Artificial Mussels (AMs) in the bio-monitoring of metals were also validated. The Regional Scale Risk Assessment methodology created by Landis (2005) was used during the study. Various lines of evidence were used during the risk assessment process: water quality analysis, invertebrate assessments, diatom assessment and AM and snail assessments. It was found that the Koekemoer Spruit has an impact on the Vaal River with regards to some water quality aspects, especially with regards to an increase in nitrates. It was found that a significant (p<0.05) correlation exists between AMs and Melanoides turbiculata with regards to As, U, Se and Co accumulations. Gold mining was identified as a major stressor source within the system. Other notable sources of stressors within the system included agricultural activities and a golf course. The environment was found to be the endpoint that is at highest risk from the various sources within the system. The in-stream habitat was found to have the highest risk compared to the other identified habitats.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:20:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_francisco_sales.pdf: 1424498 bytes, checksum: 31e4dca2f34d83cb1a300966669297f2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-17 / In order to forecast and classify environmental risks, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques were applied to the air quality problem. Predetermined gaseous pollutant concentration data were acquired with the intent of predicting the risks. Such concentrations are denominated air quality indicators, and are regulated all around the world, including by brazilian law. The data concerning these indicators were used in a model that consists of two AI techniques: artificial neural networks and particle swarm optimization. The air quality indicators concentration prediction resulted in one day ahead values. The risk modeling utilizes the predictions as inputs values, correlating them in order to obtain the resulting air quality and, the risk that such quality has upon the human health. The risk model is based on a third AI technique, called fuzzy logic. The present work obtained two main results. The first was the accurate forecasts made by the prediction model. The second was the achievement of a coherent classification of the risks. / Este trabalho aplica técnicas da área de inteligência artificial (IA) com o intuito de prever e classificar riscos ambientais, com o foco no problema da qualidade do ar. Para prever os riscos, dados foram adquiridos acerca das concentrações gasosas de determinados poluentes. Tais concentrações, denominadas de indicadores da qualidade do ar, são regulamentadas por várias legislações ao redor do mundo, inclusive a do Brasil. Estes dados foram empregados em um modelo que consiste de duas técnicas de IA: redes neurais artificiais e otimização por enxame de partículas. O resultado do modelo é a previsão de um dia adiante das concentrações gasosas dos indicadores da qualidade do ar. As previsões são usadas como entradas para a modelagem de riscos. A modelagem de riscos correlaciona as previsões dos poluentes observados para obter a qualidade do ar e o risco que tal qualidade oferece à saúde humana. O modelo de risco é baseado em lógica nebulosa, uma terceira técnica de IA. Ao término do trabalho, dois resultados foram alcançados. O primeiro foi o modelo de previsões que obteve resultados com um bom nível de acuidade. Em seguida, o modelo de riscos foi capaz de alcançar uma classificação coerente dos riscos ambientais.