INTRODUÇÃO: A simpatectomia é o tratamento de escolha para hiperidrose localizada primária. A evolução da técnica visa à melhora dos resultados operatórios e à minimização dos efeitos colaterais, sendo o principal deles o suor reflexo. Esse suor reflexo pode afetar a satisfação em longo prazo, e pode variar conforme as estações do ano, juntamente com a satisfação dos pacientes com os resultados da operação. No entanto, não há dados objetivos quanto ao efeito da sazonalidade sobre os resultados operatórios e sobre os fatores relacionados à satisfação. Os objetivos do presente estudo são: avaliação da variabilidade sazonal sobre o grau das resoluções da sudorese palmar e plantar, bem como a incidência e a intensidade do suor reflexo e análise da influência desses fatores sobre a satisfação; avaliação da dor como fator relacionado à satisfação imediata; avaliação da segurança dos métodos de expansão pulmonar pós-operatória com e sem drenagem pleural e relação dos mesmos à dor. MÉTODOS: Estudo clínico, prospectivo, em duas fases. A primeira, para avaliação de fatores imediatos relacionados à satisfação (fatores antropométricos, dor, presença e intensidade do suor reflexo, grau de resolução da sudorese palma r e plantar, época do ano em que a simpatectomia foi realizada) e segurança dos métodos de expansão pulmonar, cujo desenho é prospectivo, aleatorizado e cego. A segunda, para as avaliações tardias e sazonais dos fatores relacionados à satisfação (fatores antropométricos, presença e intensidade do suor reflexo, grau de resolução da sudorese palmar e plantar), possui desenho prospectivo de coorte. Foram eleitos para o estudo pacientes com hiperidrose palmo-plantar primária submetidos à simpatectomia torácica videoassistida; o período de inclusão foi de 16 meses e o seguimento médio final de 623,63 ± 15,13 dias. Foram então avaliados no período de hospitalização (avaliação da dor, método de expansão pulmonar e do pneumotórax residual) e no sétimo dia de pós-operatório (dor, resultados operatórios e satisfação). Então, tardiamente, na primavera, no verão e no outono/inverno (resultados operatórios e satisfação). Foram considerados resultados operatórios os graus de resolução palmar e plantar e a presença e a intensidade do suor reflexo. Foram estudadas como variáveis independentes relacionadas à satisfação a época do ano onde a simpatectomia foi feita, a dor, os graus de resolução palmar e plantar, presença e intensidade do suor reflexo e fatores antropométricos, a saber, idade, gênero, etnia, índice de massa corporal. RESULTADOS: Foram incluídos 82 pacientes consecutivos, sendo que 80 completaram o seguimento imediato e 75 completaram todo o seguimento. Os resultados operatórios (resolução palmar e plantar, presença e intensidade do suor compensatório) tiveram variação entre todas as estações do ano. A satisfação teve igual variação sazonal e os fatores que estiveram relacionados à queda da satisfação foram distintos, conforme a estação do ano. A drenagem pleural tubular fechada e a expansão com Valsalva foram igualmente eficientes quanto à presença de pneumotórax residual, porém a drenagem pleural em selo d\'água aumentou o tempo cirúrgico e a dor pós-operatória nas primeiras 12 horas; o pneumotórax residual não aumentou a dor. CONCLUSÕES: OS melhores resultados operatórios foram obtidos imediatamente e na primavera, os piores no verão e em nível intermediário no outono/inverno. Na primavera, o único parâmetro relacionado à queda na satisfação foi a não resolução plantar; já no verão e no outono/inverno, foi a presença do suor reflexo, indepedente da sua intensidade. A drenagem pleural tubular fechada teve desempenho inferior à expansão pulmonar sob visão direta com manobra de Valsalva. O pneumotórax residual não influenciou a intensidade dor pós-operatória. / INTRODUCTION: Sympathectomy is the treatment of choice for primary and localized hyperhidrosis. Efforts in evolution of this technique have the aim to improve the surgical results and minimizing the collateral effects, witch told to be the sudomotor reflex. This sudomotor reflex could influence the long term satisfaction; it also could change between the seasons of the year, as well as the satisfaction could change in this matter. However, there is no objective data regarding the influence of the seasonality over the surgical results and satisfaction. The objectives of this study is to assess the seasonal variability of palmar and plantar resolution, as well as the incidence of sudomotor reflex and its intensity; to correlate this factors with satisfaction. To evaluate the pain as a factor related to immediate satisfaction; to assess the safety of lung expansion methods and relate this with postoperative pain. METHODS: A two stage prospective clinical assay. The first stage consists of assessment of the immediate factors related to satisfaction (anthropometrics factors, pain, presence and intensity of the sudomotor reflex, palmar and plantar resolutions, season of the year in witch the operation was performed) and the safety of lung expansion methods; it is a prospective, randomized and blinded study. The second stage is a cohort study, assessing the late factors related to satisfaction (anthropometrics factors, presence and intensity of the sudomotor reflex and palmar and plantar resolutions), under distinct climatic situations. There were included patients with typical palmar and plantar primary hyperhidrosis treated by thoracic video-assisted sympathectomy; the inclusion period was 16 months and the final follow-up time was 623 ± 15,13 days in average. They were assessed in hospital stay (pain, lung expansion technique and residual pneumothorax) and at seventh postoperative day (pain, surgical results and satisfaction). Thereafter they were assessed in spring, summer and autumn/winter (surgical results and satisfaction). The surgical results were palmar and plantar resolutions and presence and intensity of the sudomotor reflex. The independent variables related to satisfaction were season of the year in that the sympathectomy was performed, pain, palmar and plantar resolutions, sudomotor reflex (presence and intensity) and anthropometric parameters (age, gender, ethnics, body mass index). RE8UL T8: 82 consecutives patients were included; thereafter, 80 completed the immediate assess and 75 completed the long term follow-up. The surgical results (palmar and plantar resolutions, presence and intensity of the sudomotor reflex) had significant variation throughout the seasons of the year. Equally, the satisfaction had significant variation, as well as the factor related to dissatisfaction, throughout the seasons of the year. The underwater pleural drainage and the lung expansion with Valsalva maneuver were equally efficient in matter of residual pneumothorax; however the underwater pleural drainage was more painful and more operating time consuming; the residual pneumothorax do not increased the postoperative pain. CONCLUSIONS: The best results are obtained in immediate postoperative period and in spring; the worst results are seen in spring; the intermediate results are obtained in autumn/winter. In the spring, the unique factor related to dissatisfaction was the non resolution of plantar hyperhidrotic symptoms; in the summer and in the autumn/winter the presence of the sudomotor reflex, independently of its intensity, was related to dissatisfaction. The underwater pleural drainage should not be indicating after thoracic video-assisted sympathectomy for lung expansion. The residual pneumothorax does not influence the postoperative pain.

Urban water use arises from a mix of scale-dependent biophysical and socioeconomic factors. In Portland, Oregon, single-family residential water use exhibits a tightly coupled relationship with summertime weather, although this relationship varies with land use patterns across households and neighborhoods. This thesis developed a multilevel regression model to evaluate the relative importance of weather variability, parcel land use characteristics, and neighborhood geographic context in explaining single-family residential water demand patterns in the Portland metropolitan area. The model drew on a high-resolution panel dataset of weekly mean summer water use over five years (2001-2005) for a sample of 460 single-family households spanning an urban-to-suburban gradient. Water use was found to be most elastic with respect to parcel-scale building size. Building age was negatively related to water use at both the parcel and neighborhood scale. Half the variation in water use can be attributed to between-household factors. Between-neighborhood variation exerted a modest but statistically significant effect. The analysis decomposed household temperature sensitivity into four components: a fixed effect common to all households, a household-specific deviation from the fixed effect, a separate extreme heat effect, and a land use effect, where lot size exaggerated the effect of temperature on water use. Results suggested that land use planning may be an effective non-price mechanism for long-range management of peak demand, as land use decisions have water use implications. The combined effects of population growth, urbanization, and climate change expose water providers to risk of water stress. Modeling fine-grain relationships among heat, land use, and water use across scales plays a role in long-range climate change planning and adaptation.

Resource availability follows seasonal cycles in environmental conditions. To align physiology and behavior with prevailing environmental conditions, seasonal animals integrate cues from the environment with their internal state. One of the systems animals use to integrate those cues is the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its primary effector, glucocorticoid hormones. The HPA axis has wide-ranging effects on physiology and behavior and, in the context of a glucocorticoid stress response, is known to mediate tradeoffs between immediate survival and future fitness. The HPA axis also plays an important role in facilitating predictable life-history events. Variation in HPA axis activity has been reported in all vertebrates, often coordinating seasonal reproduction and possibly also transitions between life-history stages. My dissertation research used red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) to examine the role of the HPA axis in regulating seasonal life-history transitions, especially in females. In Chapter 2, I hypothesized that seasonal plasticity in stress responses is regulated, in part, by changes in the responsiveness of the adrenal glands to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). I found that glucocorticoid responses to ACTH challenge were smaller in males than in females during the spring, suggesting that reports of reduced stress responsiveness in males may reflect lower adrenal responsiveness to ACTH. The sex difference in mating season duration and consequently also in the timing of migration led me to hypothesize that sex differences in HPA axis activity could explain sex differences in the timing of migration. Furthermore, adrenal responsiveness to ACTH also varied seasonally in males, but not females, suggesting that female stress responses, which have not been studied, may not vary seasonally. In Chapter 3, I investigated potential seasonal variation in female stress responses, which have not previously been examined. In males, baseline glucocorticoids decrease over the course of the mating season resulting in significantly lower baseline levels in males that have begun to migrate. I hypothesized that a change in HPA axis activity occurs during spring and fall migration. Peak stress-induced glucocorticoid concentration occurred at an earlier sampling time in females during the spring compared to the fall. Peak stress-induced glucocorticoid concentrations also occurred at a later sampling time in migrating females than in pre-migratory females during the spring, suggesting that negative feedback regulation of the HPA axis changes as soon as females begin to migrate during the spring. Female red-sided garter snakes are biennial breeders that give birth approximately every other year implying that a female's recent reproductive history can influence whether or not she will reproduce in a given year. Body condition can be used as a proxy for recent reproductive history and can be related to baseline and stress-induced glucocorticoid concentrations. In Chapter 4, I hypothesized that hormonal and behavioral stress responses vary with body condition. Baseline glucocorticoids did not vary with body condition, but females in low body condition showed a significantly larger increase in plasma glucocorticoids in response to capture stress. Body condition, but not capture stress, influenced latency to copulate, suggesting that females are resistant to the behavioral effects of capture stress during the spring mating season. Only females in low body condition increased latency to copulate in response to injection of a physiological (15 µg) dose of exogenous CORT, while all females responded to a pharmacological (60 µg) dose, indicating that behavioral responses to exogenous glucocorticoids vary with female body condition. These data suggest that variation in body condition may be associated with differences in HPA axis sensitivity and/or glucocorticoid receptor (GR) density in the brain. I directly tested if there is a relationship among body condition, reproductive history and HPA axis activity in Chapter 5. I found that glucocorticoid stress responses and mating behavior did not vary with body condition, nor was body condition related to brain GR or reproductive condition (parturient vs post-parturient females). Only unreceptive females showed a significant stress-induced increase in glucocorticoids, suggesting that reduced stress responsiveness is associated with receptivity. Parturient females mated faster (were more proceptive) than post-parturient females. These data suggest that HPA axis activity influences reproductive "decisions" by modulating receptivity, while proceptivity is related primarily to recent reproductive history. Together, these chapters help characterize how HPA axis activity varies with season, sex, reproductive history and migration status. By systematically probing the HPA axis in a single, tractable system, I have gained insight into how changes in the HPA axis support and modulate transitions between life-history stages. These results highlight the HPA axis' important function in mediating the critical trade-offs all animals must navigate to be successful in a changing world.

Various epidemiological studies have linked exposure to Ultrafine Particles (UFP; diameter< 100 nm) to adverse health impacts. Roadway traffic is one of the major sources of UFPs and heavily influences UFP concentrations in the nearby vicinity of major roadways. Modeling efforts to predict UFPs have been limited due to the scarcity of reliable information on emissions, lack of monitoring data and limited understanding of complex processes affecting UFP concentrations near sources. In this study continuous measurement of ultrafine particle number concentrations (PNC) and mass concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM2.5 was conducted near an arterial road and freeway at different seasons and meteorological conditions and integrated with traffic count data. PNC showed high correlation with NO (r=0.64 for arterial; 0.61 for freeway), NO2 (r=0.57 for arterial; 0.53 for freeway) and NOx (NOx=NO+NO2; r=0.63 for arterial; 0.59 for freeway) and moderate to low correlation with traffic volume (r=0.33 for arterial; 0.32 for freeway) and PM2.5 (r=0.28 for arterial; 0.23 for freeway); respectively; for both sites at 15 minute averages. The PNC-NOx relationship prevailed on a shorter term (15 min), hourly, and throughout the day basis. Both PNC and NOx showed comparatively higher correlation with traffic during the morning period but became lower during evening which can be attributed to the higher boundary layer and wind speeds. The variable meteorology in the evening affects both PNC and NOx concentrations in the same way and the correlation between NOx and PNC is maintained high both during morning (r=0.74 for arterial; 0.69 for freeway), and evening (r=0.62 for arterial; 0.59 for freeway) periods. Thus nitrogen oxides can be used as a proxy for traffic-related UFP number concentration reflecting the effect of both traffic intensity and meteorological dilution. The PNC-NOx relation was explored for various meteorological parameters i.e. wind speed and temperature. It is found that NOx emission is temperature independent and can be used to reflect the effect of traffic intensity and meteorological dilution. Once the effect of traffic intensity and dilution is removed, the effect of temperature on PNC-NOx ratio becomes important which can be attributed to the variation in PNC emission factors with temperature. The high morning PNC-NOx ratio found at the arterial road is a result of new particle formation due to lower temperature and low concentration of exhaust gases in the morning air favoring nucleation over condensation. This finding has important implication when calculating emission factors for UFP number concentrations. Thus it can be concluded that roadside concentration of ultrafine particles not only depends on traffic intensity but also on meteorological parameters affecting dilution or new particle formation. High concentrations of ultrafine particle number concentration close to a roadway is expected due to higher traffic intensity , as well as during low wind speed causing low dilution and low temperature conditions favoring new particle formation. Finally a simplified approach of calculating particle number emission factor was developed using existing and easily available emission inventory for traffic related tracer gases. Using NOx emission factors from MOVES emission model, the emission ratio of PNC to NOx was converted to develop particle number emission factors. NOx was selected as the traffic related tracer gas since the number concentration of particles is closely correlated to NOx, NOx and particles are diluted in the same way and NOx emission factors are available for a variety of traffic situations. To ensure contribution of fresh traffic exhaust, the average of the difference of pollutant concentrations at high traffic condition and background condition was used to calculate PNC-NOX ratio. Using nitrogen oxides to define background and high-traffic conditions and MOVES emission factor for NOX to convert corresponding PNC-NOX ratio, an average emission factor of (1.82 ± 0.17) E+ 14 particle/ vehicle-km was obtained, suitable for summertime. When compared to existing particle number emission factors derived from dynamometer tests, it was found that there exits reasonable agreement between the calculated real world particle number emission factors and emission factors from dynamometer tests. The calculated emission factor and R-Line dispersion model was tested in predicting near-road particle number concentrations. Although only 23% of the variability in PNC was explained by the dispersion model, 84.33% of the measurements fell within the factor of two envelope. This suggests that there is potential to effectively use these models and thus warrants more in-depth analysis. Finally, a simple map of PNC gradients from major roads of Portland was developed. The results of this study helped identify proxy-indicators to provide reference values for estimating UFP concentrations and emissions that can be used for simple evaluation of particle concentration near major roadways for environmental and urban planning purposes and to assess expected impact of UFP pollution on population living near roadways exposed to elevated concentrations.

Eutrophication is one of the primary factors causing harmful cyanobacteria blooms in freshwater lakes; climate change such as warmer temperature can potentially further increase both frequency and intensity of blooms. This study investigated the long-term changes in water quality and summer phytoplankton assemblages in Oswego Lake, OR, in relation to lake management practices (e.g., hypolimnetic aeration and alum treatments), as well as climatic and regional meteorological conditions. Both water quality and phytoplankton assemblages were sampled biweekly during summer seasons between 2001 and 2013. The concentrations of total phosphorus (TP), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and total nitrogen (TN) decreased 66%, 93% and 31%, respectively, in response to the hypolimnetic aeration and alum treatments since 2005. The results of summer phytoplankton assemblages showed a 62% reduction of cyanobacteria biovolume and a switch from cyanobacteria dominance (2001-2005) to diatom and chlorophyte dominance (2006-2013). Cluster analysis identified four statistically different groups of summer phytoplankton assemblages (denoted Groups 1-4). Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis indicated that the four groups were associated with different water quality conditions. Group 1 occurred prior to hypolimnetic aeration and was primarily comprised of cyanobacteria, associated with water conditions of high nutrients and high primary production. Group 2, dominated by cyanobacteria and chlorophytes, occurred between hypolimnetic aeration and alum surface application. Group 2 was associated with turbid water conditions. Group 3 was dominated by diatoms, occurring after alum surface application. Group 4 included R-strategist phytoplankton that quickly respond to environmental changes, occurring in the years following alum injection, drawdown and inflow alum treatment. Both Group 3 and 4 were associated with reduced nutrients in the lake. The results demonstrated a strong temporal relationship between the long-term changes in water quality and summer phytoplankton assemblages and the lake management practices. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) index, an El-Niño-like pattern of Pacific climate variability, showed a statistically significant correlation with the summer phytoplankton dynamics, while the multivariate ENSO index (MEI) and regional meteorological variables (air temperature, rainfall, wind speed, wind direction and solar radiation) were not significantly related to the changes of phytoplankton communities during the study period. In conclusion, the study results suggest that the lake management practices had strong effects on both production and community compositions of phytoplankton, and suggest the need for a future study on large-scale climate impacts on lake ecosystems and best management practice.

Strong seasonality is observed in the volatile hourly Alberta temperature and its low- and high-order statistical moments. We propose a time series model consisting of a linear combination of an annual sinusoidal model, a diurnal sinusoidal model and a fractional residual model, to study the characteristics of these spatial and time-dependent Alberta temperatures. Wavelet multi-resolution analysis is used to measure Hurst exponents of the temperature series. Our empirical results show that these Hurst exponents vary over various time scales, indicating the existence of multi-fractality in the temperatures. Such temperature models are of importance for the pricing and insurance of agricultural crops, of tourist resorts and of all forms of energy extraction and generation of importance to the resource-based economy of Alberta. Of particular interests are the observed extreme volatilities in the winters, caused by the unpredictable Chinook winds, which may be an important reason to introduce a Chinook insurance option. / 64 leaves : map ; 29 cm

Thesis (M.S.) -- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 2005. / Title from title screen (viewed Aug. 14, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-106).

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Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2018-06-08T14:31:19Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Stefano Castro Tognini - 2018.pdf: 57497993 bytes, checksum: 7f2bc280505dae763265dbf74341c9ca (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2018-06-08T14:44:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Stefano Castro Tognini - 2018.pdf: 57497993 bytes, checksum: 7f2bc280505dae763265dbf74341c9ca (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-08T14:44:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Stefano Castro Tognini - 2018.pdf: 57497993 bytes, checksum: 7f2bc280505dae763265dbf74341c9ca (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The interaction of a cosmic ray particle with an element of the atmosphere results in a cascade of particles, known as extensive air showers, which can be divided into three main branches, known as the hadronic, the electromagnetic, and the muonic component. As for the latter, since muons can reach high depths underground, they are generally used to study cosmic rays at different underground depths. The dynamics of extensive air showers is directly connected to the density of the atmosphere, as it defines the probability of particles to decay or interact. As muons are mainly produced from the decay of pions and kaons, and a warmer atmosphere results in higher number of meson decays, such particles are prone to suffer a sea- sonality effect that is directly correlated to the yearly seasonal variations of the atmosphere, an effect that has been verified by a large number of experiments over the past six decades. In 2015 the MINOS experiment presented an anti correlation between the effective temperature of the atmosphere and the seasonality of the muon flux for multiplicities higher than one (i.e. more than one muon track per cosmic ray event). Said anti correlation is not yet fully understood, counting with only a qualitative hypothesis as a probable mechanism. As such, the main goals of this study are to verify the MINOS anti correlation effect and extend the study to verify the seasonality of the effect as a function of different variables in order to improve the understanding of the phenomenon and possible corroborations with the known hypothesis. Two full years of the NOνA Near Detector, ranging from April 2015 to April 2017, were used as the dataset for the analysis. The anti correlation between the multiple muon flux and the effective temperature of the atmosphere is confirmed by the NOνA Near Detector, being in full agreement with the results presented by the MINOS Collaboration. The seasonal effect is also broken down by different variables: i) track separation, ii) zenith angle, iii) track angular separation, and iv) multiplicity. Different regions of these variables represent different energy ranges for the detected underground muons, their hadron parents or the primary particles that originated the cosmic ray shower, being a way to verify any particular dependency with energy. The results show that there are no clear trends in any of the studied variables, except for the multiplicity, in which the intensity of the seasonal variation increases for higher multiplicities. / A interação entre um raio cósmico e algum elemento da atmosfera é responsável por produzir uma cascata de partículas, conhecida como chuveiro atmosférico extenso. Tal cascata pode ser dividida em três principais componentes, conhecidas como hadrônica, eletromagnética e muônica. O fato de que múons são capazes de alcançar grandes profundidades no subsolo, faz com que a última componente citada seja ideal para ser utilizada por detectores subterrâneos para estudar chuveiros atmosféricos extensos. A dinâmica desses chuveiros está diretamente associada à densidade da atmosfera, a qual é um fator determinante nas probabilidades de decaimento ou interação das partículas produzidas ao longo da mesma. Em vista do fato de que muons são produzidos à partir do decaimento de píons e káons, e considerando que uma atmosfera mais quente/fria implica em um maior/menor número de decaimento desses mésons, espera-se que o fluxo de múons de raios cósmicos tenha um sazonalidade anual, um efeito confirmado por um conjunto de experimentos ao longo das últimas 6 décadas. Em 2015 o experimento MINOS apresentou uma anticorrelação entre a temperatura efetiva da atmosfera e a sazonalidade do fluxo de múons para eventos com multiplicidade maior que um (ou seja, mais de uma trajetória detectada por evento de raio cósmico). Tal correlação inversa não é completamente compreendida, contando apenas com uma hipótese qualitativa como provável mecanismo físico. Portanto, os principais objetivos deste estudo implicam em verificar este efeito sazonal invertido no Near Detector do experimento NOνA, além de extender a verificação da sazonalidade de múons múltiplos em função de diferentes variáveis, de forma a trazer uma melhor compreensão sobre o fenômeno e trazer conclusões que possam corroborar com a hipótese mencionada anteriormente. Como forma de atingir os objetivos, desenvolveu-se uma análise usando dois anos de dados do NOνA Near Detector, acumulados entre abril de 2015 e abril de 2017. A anticorrelação entre o fluxo de múons múltiplos e a temperatura efetiva da atmosfera foi confirmada, estando de acordo com os resultados apresentados pelo experimento MINOS. O efeito sazonal foi estudado de acordo com diferente variáveis: i) separação entre trajetórias, ii) ângulo zenital, iii) separação angular e iv) multiplicidade. Diferentes regiões de valores destas variáveis representam diferentes regiões de energia dos múons detectados, dos hádrons que os originaram ou dos respectivos primários. Os resultados mostram que não existem claras correlações em nenhuma das variáveis estudadas, exceto pela multiplicidade, a qual mostra que a intensidade da variação sazonal de múons múltiplos aumenta à medida que a multiplicidade do evento aumenta.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:36:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:59:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Pesquisas versando sobre a distribuição de radionuclídeos naturais na Antártica são raras e desta forma, há grande interesse em se conhecer sua ocorrência e os fatores envolvidos com sua mobilização, transferência e acúmulo neste ambiente extremamente frágil. Os radionuclídeos naturais têm sido intensamente utilizados como traçadores no meio ambiente oceânico, auxiliando na compreensão de processos como afundamento, remoção e ressuspensão de partículas, mistura de massas dágua e circulação oceânica. O 234Th (t½ = 24,1 dias) é um radionuclídeo partículo-reativo produzido continuamente na água do mar pelo decaimento radioativo de seu precursor solúvel e de caráter conservativo com a salinidade 238U (t½ = 4,5 109 anos). Como apresenta meiavida relativamente curta, o 234Th é apropriado para quantificar processos que ocorrem em escala de tempo de dias a semanas. O desequilíbrio 234Th/ 238U nas águas superficiais do oceano tem sido utilizado para determinar o fluxo de carbono orgânico que afunda via material particulado. O fluxo de partículas produtivas biologicamente para além da zona eufótica no Oceano Austral tem destaque especial devido à sua importância no controle das concentrações de CO2 na atmosfera. Os radionuclídeos 210Pb (t½ = 22,3 anos) e 210Po (t½ = 138 dias) também são partículo-reativos. O desequilíbrio 210Po/ 210Pb tem sido utilizado para estimar os fluxos de partículas exportadas no oceano em uma escala de tempo de várias semanas. Os isótopos de Ra de meias-vidas longas, 226Ra (t½ = 1.600 anos) e 228Ra (t½ = 5,75 anos) são solúveis na água do mar exibem propriedades únicas que os tornam bons traçadores de massas dágua. Este trabalho teve por objetivos estudar as distribuições dos radionuclídeos naturais 238U, 234Th, 226Ra, 228Ra, 210Pb e 210Po no Estreito de Bransfield, durante duas campanhas realizadas no Verão Austral de 2011 (OPERANTAR XXIX e XXX). / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP