Orientador: César Gustavo da Rocha Lima / Resumo: A bacia hidrográfica é uma unidade geomorfológica que agrega os impactos das interferências antrópicas e naturais sobre os recursos hídricos. Mudanças significativas nas características de uma bacia, causadas por processos naturais ou atividades antrópicas, podem gerar alterações, efeitos e impactos na estabilidade biótica e abiótica do sistema, desencadeando desequilíbrios ambientais e, portanto, a degradação da paisagem. Dentre os processos causadores dessa degradação, destaca-se a erosão dos solos. A erosão é um processo geológico responsável pela remoção e pelo transporte de partículas do solo, principalmente pela ação da água das chuvas sendo um importante agente na modelagem da paisagem terrestre e na redistribuição de energia no interior da bacia hidrográfica. Neste trabalho será analisada a relação entre algumas metodologias – e suas modificações - de predição de ocorrência de processos erosivos na Bacia Hidrográfica do Córrego do Engano utilizando um ambiente de Sistemas de Informações Geográficas. Foram aplicados três diferentes métodos: Vulnerabilidade Natural à Erosão (VNE), Equação Universal de Perda de Solos (USLE) e processo de análise hierárquica (AHP). Para a aplicação dos três métodos foi utilizado um Sistema de Informação Geográfica com a criação de um banco de dados com diversas informações necessárias para a aplicação dos métodos, como: mapa de precipitação, erosividade, tipos de solo, erodibilidade, tipos de rochas, fatores topográficos e uso e ocupação.... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The drainage basin is a geomorphological unit that aggregates the protection of anthropic and natural interferences on water resources. Changes in the characteristics of a basin, caused by natural processes or anthropic activities, can generate changes, effects and stability in the biology and in the abiotic system, triggering environmental imbalances and, therefore, a degradation of the landscape. Among the processes that causes this degradation, there is soil erosion. Erosion is a geological process responsible for the removal and transport of soil particles, mainly by the action of rainwater, being an important agent in the modeling of the terrestrial landscape and in the redistribution of energy within a drainage basin. This work will analyze the relationship between some methodologies - and their modifications - of predicting the occurrence of erosive processes in the Corrego do Engano drainage basin using a Geographic Information Systems environment. Three different methods were applied: Natural Erosion Vulnerability (VNE), Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and hierarchical analysis process (AHP). For the application of the three methods was used a Geographic Information System with the creation of a database with several information needed to work with these methods, such as: precipitation map, erosivity, soil types, erodibility, types of rocks, factors topography and land use. For each methodology was determined the probability of occurrence of erosive processes bas... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Federal, state and local governments are increasingly focused on the effects of development on water quality and quantity. With waterbodies being especially sensitive to certain pollutants, such as sediment and nutrients, regulations have been put in place to control the amount of pollutant that gets discharged. Sediment is a cause for concern as it originates during both rural and urban activities, and often carries other pollutants (metals, nutrients, etc.) with it. Existing erosion models focus primarily on estimating erosion from agricultural watersheds. Methods are needed to predict areas with high erosive potential (EP) in urban watersheds. Highlighting highly erosive areas in urbanized watersheds allows for the prioritization of maintenance and installation of Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs), and monitoring of sediment by municipal planners and engineers. This study utilizes commonly available geospatial layers in conjunction with a computational procedure to compute relative EP risk throughout a target urban watershed. A case study of the developed methodology was performed on a watershed in Blacksburg, VA, to generate EP risk maps. Results of the study indicate areas of erosive potential within the target watershed and provide a methodology for creating erosion potential risk maps for use by municipal planners and engineers / Master of Science

Earthen dams are often built into bedrock abutments and on bedrock foundations. Bedrock joints naturally occur in bedrock materials. These bedrock joints create voids for ground water to pass through. Historically earthen dams were sometimes built in direct contact with the bedrock joints, causing a contact point between the soil of the dam and the flowing water. It has been engineering practice to place grout into exposed bedrock joints for some time now. However, soil is not always cleaned out of bedrock joints before they are grouted, which leaves a weakness for water to push through. The purpose of this study is to understand the point at which water flowing through bedrock joints will erode soil from the earthen dam embankment. The information of how much soil is eroded away in an amount of time is also crucial to the scope of this study. The goals of this study were accomplished by building a physical model or apparatus of an earthen dam embankment on top of a simulated bedrock joint. Different soil types were tested in the apparatus to start a database of information about erosion rates of the soil along the bedrock joint and embankment interface. These results will be used to start a database for organizations that assign probabilities of dam failures. The purpose of the study is not to indicate when dams will fail, but to help with assigning probabilities of the likelihood of a serious problem being caused from this type of mechanism presented in this study.

Earthen dams and levees create high gradients and increased hydraulic pressures in the underlying soil, which can lead to erosion and other challenges. Karst formations and other defects such as cracks in the foundation and/or abutments can lead to failure mechanisms such as internal erosion. Generally these voids or cracks are filled with soil, but due to the increased pressures and gradients that dams and levees create, the original soil is pushed out, thus creating a void that acts as a conduit for more soil to follow. Different soils will erode at different rates and some even create a natural filter, preventing further erosion from occurring, but due to these increased gradients and the cyclic changes that can occur throughout the seasons these filters can be broken down, allowing for erosion to continue and potentially lead to complete failure of the structure unless certain reparatory measures are taken. In the lab we have simulated different conditions that exist in the field and the results of testing a variety of soils can be found in this paper.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A large-scale phenomenon that greatly affects the weather and the climate of different locations of the Globe and that has been widely studied during the last three decades is the El Niño Southern Oscilation (ENSO). ENSO leads to changes in the atmospheric circulation and affects climate variables, mainly rainfall, in all regions of Brazil. During El Niño years (the positive phase of ENSO), rainfall is often above normal in Southern Brazil whereas during La Niña years (the negative phase of ENSO), rainfall is often below normal. Some of the rainfall properties are affected by ENSO like frequency, intensity and amount. These properties are important to define if rainfall events are erosive. There are some methods of determining rainfall erosivity, among them the best and most used in Rio Grande do Sul State is the EI30 erosivity index. The objective of this dissertation was to determine and associate the EI30 erosivity index of rainfalls with the ENSO phenomenon in Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. Daily precipitation data recorded from 01 July 1978 to 30 July 2008 collected in a standard Climatological Station in Santa Maria, RS, were used. Individual erosive rainfall events were identified in the records, grouped into El Niño, La Niña and Neutral years, and had their EI30 calculated. Rainfalls were also grouped into three patterns: Advanced, Intermediate and Delayed. Pearson correlation and regression analyses between the EI30 erosivity index and the Niño Oceanic Index (NOI) were performed and the regression was tested with the t test in order to quantify the relationship between the two variables, aiming a possible predictability of the erosion potential of rainfall events from Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in the Pacific Ocean. Rainfall erosion potential in Santa Maria is affected by ENSO, so that a greater number of rainfall events have higher erosion potential during El Niño and neutral years. The variability of the rainfall erosion potential is greater during Neutral years than during years with SST anomalies. The frequency distribution of the EI30 erosivity index is skewed to the right in El Niño, La Niña and Neutral years. Rainfalls pattern is changed in years with SST anomalies, so that there is a slight increase in Advanced rainfalls during El Niño years and a slight decrease in Delayed rainfalls during La Niña years, whereas there is a decrease in rainfall events with Intermediate pattern during El Niño and La Niña years compared to Neutral years. The predictive capability of the erosion potential of rainfall events in Santa Maria from NOI index is weak or not possible. / Um dos fenômenos de grande escala que mais afetam o tempo e o clima de diferentes locais na superfície terrestre e que tem sido bastante estudado nas últimas três décadas é o fenômeno El Niño Oscilação Sul (ENOS). O ENOS provoca alterações na circulação atmosférica que afetam os elementos meteorológicos, principalmente a precipitação pluviométrica, em todas as regiões do Brasil. Em anos de El Niño, fase positiva do fenômeno, a precipitação pluviométrica é freqüentemente acima da normal na Região Sul do Brasil e em anos de La Niña, fase negativa do fenômeno, a precipitação pluviométrica é freqüentemente abaixo da normal. Algumas características das precipitações pluviométricas são afetadas pelo ENOS como a freqüência, a intensidade e a quantidade. Essas características são importantes para se definir se as chuvas são erosivas. Existem alguns métodos de determinação da erosividade das chuvas, através de índices de erosividade, entre os quais, o melhor e mais usado no Rio Grande do Sul (RS) é o Índice de Erosividade EI30. O objetivo desta dissertação foi determinar e associar o Índice de Erosividade EI30 das chuvas com o fenômeno ENOS para Santa Maria, RS. Usaram-se os dados de precipitação diária retirados de pluviogramas a partir de 01 de julho de 1978 a 30 de junho de 2008 coletados na Estação Climatológica Principal de Santa Maria, RS. As chuvas individuais e erosivas foram identificadas nos pluviogramas, classificadas em anos de El Nino, La Niña e Neutros e calculado o seu índice EI30. Também foram classificadas as chuvas em padrões de chuvas Avançado, Intermediário e Atrasado. Foi realizada a análise de correlação de Pearson e análise de regressão entre o Índice de Erosividade EI30 e o Índice Oceânico do Niño (ION) e a significância da regressão foi testada com o teste t com o objetivo de quantificar a associação entre as duas variáveis, com vistas à possível previsibilidade do potencial erosivo das chuvas a partir de anomalias de Temperatura da Superfície do Mar (TSM) no Oceano Pacífico. O potencial erosivo das chuvas em Santa Maria é afetado pelo fenômeno ENOS, de modo que um maior número de chuvas tem maior potencial erosivo em anos de El Niño e em anos Neutros. A variabilidade do potencial erosivo das chuvas em Santa Maria é maior nos anos Neutros do que nos anos de anomalia da TSM. A distribuição de freqüência do índice de erosividade EI30 de chuvas individuais é assimétrica positiva em anos de El Niño, La Niña e Neutros. O padrão das chuvas é alterado em anos de anomalia da TSM no sentido de que nos anos El Niño há um leve acréscimo nas chuvas de padrão avançado e em anos de La Niña há um leve acréscimo nas chuvas de padrão atrasado, e no padrão intermediário, decrescem o número de chuvas em anos de El Niño e La Niña comparado com anos Neutros. A capacidade preditiva do potencial erosivo das chuvas em Santa Maria pelo Índice ION é fraca ou inexistente.