Orientador: Mario Luis Assine / Coorientador: Edvard Elias de Souza Filho / Banca: José Cândido Stevaux / Banca: Manoel Luiz dos Santos / Banca: Sandra Baptista da Cunha / Banca: Mario Lincoln de Carlos Etchebehere / Resumo: Fluindo de norte para sul, o Paraguai é o rio-tronco de um trato de sistemas deposicionais composto por inúmeros megaleques fluviais, que caracteriza a paisagem do Pantanal Mato-Grossense. Desde o Pleistoceno, o rio Paraguai vem construindo um megaleque fluvial na borda noroeste do Pantanal, cuja geomorfologia é objeto desta tese. Para desenvolvimento da tese, foram utilizadas imagens de satélites para compartimentação geomorfológica, trabalho de campo para validação dos dados e amostragem de sedimentos com vibrotestemunhador, datação por Luminescência Opticamente Estimulada (LOE) e dados hidrológicos obtidos no campo e de estações fluviométricas. Antes de sua entrada na planície do Pantanal, o rio Paraguai corre num cinturão de meandros com 5 km de largura, de idade holocênica de 1 a 3 ka AP, com padrão de canal meandrante a norte e retilíneo a sul. O cinturão está embutido num vale inciso em depósitos pleistocênicos, que revelaram idades de 10 a 160 ka AP. Datação de depósitos de antigos lobos deposicionais do megaleque do Paraguai, existentes na planície do Pantanal, revelaram idades entre 10 e 70 ka AP. A superfície destes lobos está submetida a processos de pedogênese e incisão fluvial por canais tributários mais jovens, que mascaram as paleo-redes de canais distributários. Na entrada para o Pantanal, o rio deflete 90º para leste, torna-se mais sinuoso e adota padrão distributário devido à perda de confinamento e extravasamento de suas águas para planície durante o período das cheias. No Pantanal, está sendo construído o lobo distributário atual, área de sedimentação ativa devido à existência de espaço de acomodação. A descarga fluvial diminui devido extravasamento do fluxo para planície durante as cheias e perda d'água devido ao rompimento... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The Upper Paraguay drainage basin is situated mainly in west-central Brazil, near the Bolivian border. Flowing from north to south, the Paraguay is the trunk river of an alluvial depositional tract characterized by complex geomorphologic zonation that resulted from an intricate geologic evolution since the Late Pleistocene. This thesis focuses on the geomorphology of the Paraguay River at the northwestern border of the Pantanal wetlands. The study was based on the interpretation of remote sensing data, field ground truthing, vibrocore-sediment sampling, optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and hydrological data collected in the field and available from fluviometric stations. North of the Pantanal wetlands, the Paraguay River flows in a ~5 km wide, aggradational fluvial plain that has incised into older alluvial deposits with ages spanning from at least 10 ka to 160 ka BP. The river exhibits a meandering style over most of its course, but sinuosity drops from 2.2 to 1.1 near the northwest border of the Pantanal wetlands where the river has been forming the Paraguay fluvial megafan since the Late Pleistocene. Abandoned late Pleistocene lobes, at least 70 ka old, outline the fan-shaped geometry. The surfaces of the lobes have being affected by pedogenesis and dissected by tributary small channels, although flooding occurs during exceptional flooding events. At the Pantanal entrance, the river deflects 90º eastward, changing its fluvial style because of a progressive loss of confinement downstream of the point where the river reaches lowland plains. The river becomes more sinuous, adopts a distributary pattern within the wetland and brings about the creation of the modern depositional lobe characterized by higher topographic gradient and active sedimentation likely linked to increased accommodation... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

A área de estudo da presente pesquisa compreende a bacia hidrográfica do rio dos Sinos localizada entre as coordenadas de 50º 10 e 51º 20 de longitude oeste e entre 29º 15 e 30º 00 de latitude sul, atingindo municípios da Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre - RMPA e da chamada Serra Gaúcha. O objetivo do trabalho foi o de estudar as terras inundáveis da área especificada a partir de parâmetros geomorfológicos contextualizando-as dentro de uma concepção sistêmica da paisagem, adotando como recorte espacial a bacia hidrográfica. Buscou-se contribuir nas questões relativas às variadas nomenclaturas, definições e no método de estudo dessas áreas. Na escala da bacia analisaram-se a litologia e a pedologia a partir de mapas já presentes na literatura. Elaborou-se mapeamento geomorfológico na escala 1:100000, perfis transversais e longitudinais e análise de dados pluviométricos que serviram como base para a definição das imagens mais apropriadas para a delimitação do limite superior aproximado das terras inundáveis. Em escala de detalhe, 1: 10000 mapearam-se os lagos naturais, bem como aqueles com origem antropogênica, foi também possível refinar o limite das terras inundáveis estudadas. Por meio da elaboração dos mapas de uso nos limites e entorno das terras inundáveis foi possível uma visão do estado atual de conservação destas áreas. A metodologia operacional compreendeu o uso de técnicas do Sistema de Informações Geográficas e do Sensoriamento Remoto. A metodologia teórica metodológica foi embasada em Ab Saber (1969) que propôs três níveis básicos de pesquisa em geomorfologia, Ross (1992) com a proposta de taxonomia do relevo e Bertalanffy (1975) a partir da Teoria Geral dos Sistemas - TGS. No que se referem aos resultados na escala da bacia temos como principais formações litológicas: derrames basálticos e depósitos sedimentares, ambos pertencentes à Morfoestrutura da Bacia Sedimentar do Paraná e depósitos cenozóicos do Terciário e do Quaternário. As morfoesculturas resultantes compreendem áreas de planaltos, planícies e depressões relativas. Os basaltos de formação mais ácida formaram planaltos tabulares, os basaltos de constituição intermediária e básica formaram morros que variam entre 150 e 750 metros de altitude aproximadamente. Nos depósitos da formação Botucatu e Rosário do Sul predominam as colinas e morros de baixa altitude. As planícies flúvio - coluvionares e fluviais estão restritas aos depósitos do Quaternário e do Terciário respectivamente. Os solos localizados nas terras inundáveis foram o chernossolo háplico órtico no trecho médio e superior da bacia e o planossolo háplico eutrófico no trecho inferior. A partir da análise dos dados pluviométricos, que compreendeu o intervalo entre 1999 e 2008, constatou-se que as imagens mais apropriadas para a delimitação do limite superior aproximado das terras inundáveis seria a de outubro de 2005, porém utilizou-se a imagem de setembro de 2005, pelo fato desta, e não da outra, estar disponível. O mês de setembro foi antecedido pelo segundo mês com maior índice pluviométrico para 2005, assim, não houve grande prejuízo na utilização desta imagem. Dos seis mapas elaborados referentes ao aspecto natural das terras inundáveis constatou-se a incidência de lagos em todas as áreas, excluindo apenas o caso do mapa do trecho um jusante onde não há sinal de divagação de canal e alta taxa de alteração dos aspectos naturais. A maioria dos lagos se formaram naturalmente a partir do estrangulamento e abandono de meandro, há também lagos de origem antropogênica. A existência ou não de lagos definiu nomenclatura mais específica das terras inundáveis como fluvias ou flúviolacustres. A partir dos mapas das principais alterações antrópicas contatou-se que no trecho médio e de montante predomina a utilização agrícola. Nas áreas do trecho dois e três de jusante há maior incidência de vegetação natural, porém, de forma insuficiente, a ocupação urbana neste trecho se apresenta na maioria das vezes de forma concentrada. Constatou-se que nas áreas mais a jusante as terras inundáveis são maiores do que nas áreas mais a montante, o que pode ser explicado, entre outros fatores, pela influência do relevo na configuração espacial destas áreas. Acredita-se que a partir dos esforços aqui realizados que tiveram por base pressupostos conceituais e aplicados da Geomorfologia, foi possível melhor compreender as terras inundáveis, para a área de estudo e de forma geral independentemente de fatores de localização ou espaciais. / The study area of this research comprises the Bells river basin located between the coordinates 50 º 10 \'and 50 º 20\' west longitude and between 29 º 15 \'and 30 º 00\' south latitude, reaching municipalities in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre - RMPA and in the area of the called Serra Gaúcha. The aim of this work was to study the floodable lands in the specified area through geomorphological parameters, contextualizing these areas in a systemic approach of the landscape - the river basin. The methodology comprised, in a basin scale, geological and pedological analysis based on existing maps in the literature, 1:100000 scale geomorphological mapping, analysis of rainfall data that was the basis for defining the most appropriate images for the delineation of the approximate superior boundary of floodable lands. Scale of detail 1: 10000, water bodies placed in the defined areas, as well as major changes from land use, were mapped. High-resolution images were used in order to refine the floodable land boundaries, and these images served as well for paleochannels, land use and anthropogenic lakes mapping. The operational methodology included the use of techniques of Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing. The theoretical methodology was based on Ab\'Saber (1969) who proposed three basic levels of research in geomorphology, Ross (1992) with the proposed taxonomy of relief and Bertalanffy (1975) from the General Systems Theory - TGS. With regard to the results on the basin scale, we have as main lithological formations: basalt flows and sedimentary deposits, both belonging to morphostructural of Paraná Sedimentary Basin, and Tertiary and Quaternary Cenozoic deposits. The forms of relief are related to these structures, the more acidic basalts form tabular plateaus, the basalts of intermediate and basic constitution formed hills ranging between 150 and 750 altitude meters approximately, in the Botucatu and Rosário do Sul deposits predominate the hills and low altitude mountains, the fluvial-colluvial and fluvial plains are restricted to Quaternary and Tertiary deposits respectively. The soils from floodable lands form Mollisol in the middle and superior section of the basin and Haplic Eutrophic Planosol in the lower part. The driest months are January, February and March, and the wettest are October, May and June in the period between 1999 and 2008. We can find, from the six generated maps, that the incidence of lakes is higher in the lower section in the cases that have not lost their natural characteristics due to human action. Most of the lakes are formed naturally from the meander stranglehold, and there are lakes of anthropogenic origin. Differences in relation to water bodies have defined more specific classification of land as fluvial or fluvial-lacustrial. We can find, from the six generated maps concerning the natural aspects of wetlands, that there is incidence of lakes in all areas, excluding only the case of the section 1 downstream, where there isnt any case of meandering and theres high rate of anthropogenic action. Most of the lakes are formed naturally from the meander stranglehold, and there are lakes of anthropogenic origin. Differences in relation to water bodies have defined more specific classification of land as fluvial or fluvial-lacustrial. From the maps of the major anthropogenic changes it was found that in the middle and higher river sections the land is used for agriculture predominantly. In the areas corresponding to sections two and three, downstream, there is a higher incidence of natural vegetation, however its still insufficiently. The urban settlement is most often concentrated. It was found that in further downstream areas the wetlands are bigger than in the upstream areas: this phenomenom can be explained by the shape of relief in the adjacent areas and even by the study of areas beyond the boundary of floodable land. Finally, we conclude that a kind of approach, as addopted in this research (which was based on geomorphological analysis), opens up possibilities for classification and better understanding of floodable lands the phenomenon studied.

Abstract Agriculture is the main source of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), which are the nutrients accelerating the eutrophication of waters in Finland. Hence, mitigation measures are needed to reduce the nutrient loading from the arable land. Since Finland's accession to the EU in 1995 and the subsequent adaptation to its agri-environmental policy, constructed wetlands (CWs) have been one of the mitigation measures for which farmers may receive agri-environmental subsidies. The aim of this study was to find out how efficiently such CWs are able to retain the loading and how they should be designed and dimensioned in order to optimize their performance. Particular attention was paid to CW hydrology and hydraulics, since the dynamics of the water flowing through a CW is the major factor governing retention. Water quality and flow measurements were made in three CWs located in agricultural watersheds in southern Finland during 1999-2002. Hydraulic properties were examined in 2 of the CWs by simulations with 2-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality models. According to the calculations of material fluxes, the maximum annual retention was 72% for solid material (TSS), 67% for total P and 40% for total N. The lowest retentions were slightly negative, because the CW with the smallest CW-to-watershed area ratio (0.5% in the Alastaro CW) sometimes acted rather as a source than a sink of nutrients. The highest percent retentions were found in the Hovi CW with the largest CW-to-watershed area ratio (5%). In terms of mass per CW area, the Hovi CW retained 25 kg of total P and 300 kg of total N per one hectare per one year. In the Hovi CW also dissolved reactive P retention was high (49% in situ and 34% in laboratory microcosm experiments), obviously due to high contents and low P saturation of Al and Fe oxides of the CW soil. The basic underlying reason behind the high retentions of both dissolved nutrients and particulate matter in the Hovi CW was the long water residence time coupled with high hydraulic efficiency. In the deep part of the Hovi CW, near-bottom increase of dissolved O2 was found in phase with diurnal temperature changes. The oxygen transport by this kind of convective circulation of CW water inhibited near-bottom anoxia and thus decreased the risk of P desorption. According to the hydrodynamic simulations coupled with simulated tracer tests made for the Hovi CW, a 40% improvement in hydraulic efficiency was achieved by baffles directing the main flow to optimally exploit the CW area. The rectangular, elongated shape of the Alastaro CW also showed fairly high hydraulic efficiency. Hydrodynamic simulations were also coupled with a sediment transport model, which proved to be a useful method in predicting the change of TSS concentrations in CWs. Hourly datasets of inflow and outflow revealed high attenuation of runoff peaks in the well-designed and -dimensioned Hovi CW. The hourly outflow modeled with the reservoir routing method corresponded to the observed with a reasonable accuracy. When carefully designed, painstakingly implemented and wisely located, CWs may – even in cold climate – efficiently contribute to agricultural water pollution control.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / As a consequence of various cellar activities the wine industry produces copious volumes of potentially hazardous wastewater each year. South Africa is one of the top ten wine-producing countries, making the successful treatment of cellar effluent an important environmental obligation in this country. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are resilient to the seasonal input fluxes associated with agri-industrial waste and are ideal systems for the in-situ treatment of cellar effluent in small to medium-sized wineries not connected to municipal reticulation systems. In a project sponsored by the Water Research Commission of South Africa, a number of studies were undertaken to assess the remediation of winery wastewater and common components of winery wastewater in sand-filled pilot-scale constructed wetlands operated in batch mode. This thesis contains the results of three studies. The first study evaluated the temporal aspects of CW equilibration as a basis for future studies of system response to amendment. Microbial biomass and hydraulic conductivity values were monitored and microbial community fingerprints were obtained using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The study showed that microbial community fingerprinting provides a valuable tool to assess the time-scales of microbial equilibration, which was found to be in the order of 100 days. In the second study, the biodegradation and mineralization of ethanol by acclimated and non-acclimated microbial populations in CWs were compared. By increasing the influent ethanol concentration at incremental intervals (incremental priming), the biodegradative capacity was significantly enhanced. At an influent COD concentration of 15 800 mg/L, no volatile fatty acids were detected in the effluent of an incrementally primed system and the maximum effluent COD measured was 180 mg/L. In contrast, an identical, unprimed system, amended with a lower concentration of COD (7587 mg/L), exhibited a maximum effluent COD concentration of 1 400 mg/L, with the metabolites butyrate and propionate accounting for up to 83% of the effluent COD. It was conclusively demonstrated that the use of incremental priming, together with the batch mode of operation enhanced long-term function of the CWs. In the third study, the removal of the phenolic component of winery wastewater was evaluated in CWs, as well as in sand columns and microcosms. It was found that at low influent phenolic concentrations in CWs, complete organic removal was accomplished, but at high concentrations, there was incomplete substrate removal and an accumulation of potentially toxic metabolites, including catechol. The sand provided a suitable substrate for the treatment of phenolic-laden waste, and both biotic (48%) and abiotic (52%) removal mechanisms effected the removal of model phenolics. Prior acclimation of microbial communities increased the biodegradation rate of phenolic acids significantly.

Diatoms are useful indicators of ecological conditions but the mechanisms driving assemblage distribution are not clearly defined. Understanding the mechanisms underlying assemblage distribution is necessary to make accurate predictions about the effects of environmental change, such as hydrologic management, restoration, and climate change. The examination of diatom distribution and key drivers across a large wetland over several years can provide a resolved spatio-temporal framework for determining the relative importance of environmental and spatial factors influencing assemblage patterns. I examined a 6-year record of diatom distribution across the Everglades, a large hydrologically-managed subtropical wetland. Successful restoration of this ecosystem depends on using reliable ecological targets and bioassessment strategies based on a comprehensive understanding of the biotic responses to the variables being manipulated, especially hydrology. The components of my research are: 1) characterizing the relationship between diatom distribution and environmental factors; 2) investigating the taxonomy of species presumably with little or no limitation to dispersal by spatial factors; and 3) examining the relative importance of environmental and spatial factors on diatom distribution patterns within a hydrologically-managed environment. Building upon the well-documented utility of Everglades diatom transfer functions for phosphorus based on species optima and tolerance ranges, I developed transfer functions for hydroperiod and biovolume of periphyton (consortium of algae, bacteria, and fungi) and evaluated the utility of resultant diatom-based inference models for bioassessment. Considering the importance of environmental factors, diatoms in the Everglades and Caribbean wetlands may have restricted distributions. My taxonomic investigation of two species with presumed continental distributions and the consequent description of two new species suggest spatial factors can restrict diatom dispersal. The importance of both environmental and spatial controls on Everglades diatom distribution may be related to the availability of calcareous (high mineral content) periphyton that diatoms inhabit because periphyton mineral content is correlated with environmental factors, which differ among compartments within the ecosystem because of hydrologic management. I found environmental factors were more important controls on the distribution of persistent inhabitants of calcareous periphyton, suggesting spatial factors are relatively less important when species are well-suited to the habitats made available by environmental conditions influenced by hydrologic management.

The landscapes of British Columbia, prominently modified by glaciation, present many large and varied wetlands. These wetlands have not been well delineated nor classified although they are being rapidly modified for residential, agricultural and industrial developments. Some federal and provincial agencies are currently undertaking inventory and classification based largely on soil profile characteristics. To complement these efforts, particularly for management purposes, this study was undertaken in which predominantly plant-mediated processes were examined. The investigations were limited to the maritime marshes of south western British Columbia with study sites located in the Pitt, Brunswick and Iona marshes. Estimates of productivity were obtained from single and sequential harvesting of the aerial vegetation. Peak standing crops varied between species and between sites. Species differences were attributed to plant characteristics such as photosynthetic canopy development and shoot configuration. Peak standing crops were also related to environmental variables such as climate, water regime, salinity and substrate nutrient status. Data from sequential harvesting revealed that most emergents experienced a rapid growth in the spring and early summer declining with the onset of cold weather in the fall. Time of peak production differed markedly between species depending on presence or absence of overwintered photosynthetic shoots, time of shoot emergence and seasonal shoot mortality rates. Studies of belowground organs showed that roots and rhizomes may comprise up to 85 percent of the total phytomass of emergent vegetation emphasizing the importance of this fraction in wetland functions and processes. The main routes of disposition of the emergents were identified as the grazing route, accumulation route and the detrital route. Grazing was relatively unimportant in the marshes. Any grazing of the living vegetation was carried out largely by gastropods, earthworms, insects and resident and migrant waterfowl. Minimal grazing of the marsh vegetation appeared to be related to unfavourable wetland conditions, high levels of structural constituents and low levels of nitrogen in the plants. Quality of the vegetation declined sharply with age. Low ash levels and high phenolic content were also implicated in the minimal grazing of the Pitt marsh vegetation. Total energy content appeared to be unimportant in this regard. Organic matter accumulation was a distinct feature of the marshes studied. There was more organic matter accumulation in the Pitt than in the Brunswick marsh. Accumulation also seemed to be more uniform over large areas in the Pitt marsh than in the tidal marshes. Data from old growth samples indicated that a large portion of the phytomass produced in the marshes enters the detrital pathway via decomposition. Factors affecting decomposition rates were discerned largely from litter bag trials and in vitro decomposition studies. Fragmentation of litter by physical forces generally preceded biological degradation. Such comminution was more marked in the Fraser delta marshes where tidal and freshet activities are predominant. Temperature was a significant factor affecting disappearance rates. The rates were generally lower in the "cooler" Pitt marsh than in the "warmer" Brunswick marsh. Low soil temperatures together with low oxygen tensions were responsible for the relatively low decomposition rates in buried litter samples. Decomposition rates also reflected the chemical composition of the emergent vegetation. Less fibrous species such as Carex lyngbyei were more readily degraded than more fibrous species such as Carex sitchensis. Leaching of readily degradable plant materials occurred in significant quantities both in living and dead vegetation. Leaching losses in living shoots averaged 64 mg/g leaf dry matter in 4 days. Variations in stomatal number, shape and distribution were implicated in the possible mechanisms controlling leaching losses in living emergent vegetation. In dead shoots, dry weight losses of up to 50 percent were recorded over a four month period. Such losses were attributed mainly to leaching. High initial losses in the litter bag and in vitro decomposition trials were also suggestive of leaching. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

A century of intermittent archaeological research in the Azraq Basin of the eastern desert of Jordan has demonstrated that a long period of hominin occupation exists in this environmentally inhospitable region during the Pleistocene. Recent excavations at the site of Shishan Marsh 1 in the Azraq Basin have uncovered several artifact-bearing layers that correspond to the Middle (266 ± 40 kya) and Upper (125 ± 12 kya) Pleistocene. An examination of paleoclimatic data from this period indicates predominantly warm and dry conditions in the region and a gradual reduction of water availability. These factors forced hominins to modify their resource acquisition strategies and exploit the receding spring- and wadi-fed Azraq wetlands. This dissertation investigates the nature of lithic procurement strategies practiced by hominins at Shishan Marsh 1, a Middle-Upper Pleistocene site in the former wetlands, during periods of environmental stress. It involves a provenance analysis of sources within the region and a sample of lithic artifacts from Shishan Marsh 1 through laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The results indicate that the artifacts were procured from local and regional sources and likely through embedded procurement in an effort to provision individuals. They further provide insight into the nature of survival within the Azraq Basin, as hominin groups performed tethered mobility whereby they contracted around the Azraq wetlands. In this case, this stable water source operated as a desert refugium for hominins within the Azraq Basin. / Graduate / 2021-11-13

See the attached abstract below

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

The future projection of climate change suggests the strong need of improved systems to the re-source management systems. In Syria, the current water resource management systems are weak, and the country has no resilience to the scarcity of water resources in the region. In 2007 a drought has crippled the Syrian economy and impacted the life of millions of Syrian People, the devastating occurrence of the drought had larger impacts due to the lack of water resource management sys-tems and irresponsibility of use. This study investigates the current management systems that Syria has, and the supply and demand of the country, of which is aimed for with the term (water balance) that refer to the flow of water in and out of the system. Furthermore, a constructed wetland design is introduced as a system to treat municipal wastewater of the town Al-Haffah, located east of Latakia city of which is situated at the Mediterranean coast, on the Costal basin. All the data avail-able relevant to the investigation has been used in the case study, nevertheless some assumptions has been made due to lack of available data. The introduced system is later evaluated in regards of water need for agricultural purposes in Al-Haffah. The design with the assumed current value, in worst case scenario could save annually (48.57%) of the groundwater abstraction for agricultural purposes, Or (29.14%) of the total water demand for the agricultural practices in Al-Haffah. Whilst, in best case scenario, if two third of the required water for agriculture is met with rainfall the system saves (145.7%) of the assumed groundwater abstraction, Or (87.43%) of the total an-nual required water. / <p>2020-06-05</p>