POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGES ALONG A TROPICAL COASTAL REGION OF BRAZIL

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.9771/geocad.v15i0.30623

Keywords:

Climate impacts, Anthropogenic impacts, beach erosion, coastal zone

Abstract

RESUMO. Potencias consequências das mudanças climáticas ao longo de uma região costeira tropical do Brasil. O presente estudo avalia qualitativamente os potenciais impactos induzidos pelas mudanças climáticas ao longo de uma faixa litorânea do estado da Bahia, a qual apresenta grande diversidade geomorfológica e exuberante beleza cênica. Entre esses impactos salientamos: um ganho significativo da energia das ondas podendo acelerar processos erosivos na linha das praias; intrusão de água salgada nos aquíferos costeiros; rápido recuo das falésias ativas; mudanças nas zonas baixas como terras úmidas e manguezais; represamento de salinidade nos estuários e aumento da turbidez e sedimentação sobre os recifes de corais. Estes efeitos irão gerar enormes prejuízos econômicos nas áreas urbanas. A aproximação de primeira ordem referente às avaliações feitas no presente estudo, crivado de incertezas, requerem, ainda, estudos posteriores que venham a refinar os cenários perspectivos quanto às mudanças climáticas na área de estudo. Todavia, mesmo com incertezas, essas avaliações podem vir a serem úteis como um instrumento válido para o planejamento e gerenciamento das zonas costeiras.

Palavras chave: Mudanças climáticas; zonas costeiras; nível do mar; impactos ambientais, Brasil.

ABSTRACT. The present study has a qualitative assessment of potential impacts induced by climate changes along a coastal region from the State of Bahia, which presents great geomorphological diversity and exhibits lush scenic beauty. Among these impacts we include: a significant increase of wave energy that will accelerate erosion processes along the beaches; intrusion of seawater into shallow coastal aquifers, a rapid retreat of active cliffs, changes in low-lying areas, such as wetlands and mangroves, increasing in salinity within estuaries and turbidity and sedimentation around coral reefs. These impacts will generate enormous economic losses in urban areas. The first-order approach for the assessments made in the present study, which is riddled with uncertainties, still requires further study to refine its prospects with regard to climate change scenarios along Brazilian coastal regions. However, even with these uncertainties, these evaluations can be useful as valid instruments for coastal zones planning and management.

Key words: Climate change; coastal zone; sea-level; environmental impacts; Brazil     

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Author Biographies

Abilio Carlos da Silva Pinto Bittencourt, Universidade Federal da Bahia, UFBA

He holds a degree in Geology from the Federal University of Bahia (1965) and a Master's in Geology from the Federal University of Bahia (1972). He is currently a researcher at the Federal University of Bahia. He has experience in the field of Geosciences, with an emphasis on Geological Oceanography. He has worked mainly on the following topics: Quarterly Coastal Evolution, Beach Morphodynamics, Coastal Processes, Wave Refraction, Numerical Modeling of Coastal Drift, Potential for Economic Damage Associated with Coastal Erosion.

Iracema Reimão Silva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, UFBA

Geologist, with a master's and doctorate in Marine, Coastal and Sedimentary Geology from the Federal University of Bahia. She is currently a professor at the Department of Oceanography at the Federal University of Bahia, effective professor of the Postgraduate Course in Geology and Coordinator of the Specialization Course in Management of Coastal Environments. Has experience in Geosciences, with emphasis on Coastal Geology, working mainly on the following topics: recreational quality and beach carrying capacity, wave and coastal current modeling, environmental management of coastal ecosystems, assessment of ecosystem services, climate change, dispersion of sediments and coastal erosion.

Adeylan Nascimento Santos, Universidade Salvador, UNIFACS/LAUREATE

Adeylan Nascimento Santos completed his studies in Brazil, having obtained a Degree in Geography from the State University of Santa Cruz (UESC) in 2003, where he also served as monitor of the Oceanography and Coastal Morphodynamics chairs, under the guidance of Dr. Ana Amelia O. Lavenère-Wanderley. He was also a scientific initiation scholarship in the PROIIC / PIBIC program, under the guidance of Dr. Alexandre Schiavetti in the CONOCE project, where he developed research on the topic “Biogeochemical modeling of continent-ocean interactions: Northeast Coast of South America”. Her course conclusion work, under the guidance of Dr. Ana Amelia O. Lavenère-Wanderley, was a monograph entitled ?Morphological and sedimentological characterization of the sandy ocean beach of the island of Atalaia, Canavieiras, Bahia: a response to seasonal variations in coastal dynamic processes?. The master's degree was concluded in 2006 with a grant from CNPq in the Graduate Program in Geology of the Institute of Geosciences of the Federal University of Bahia (IGEO/UFBA), with a dissertation entitled ?Geoenvironmental diagnosis of the coast of Costa das Baleias, extreme south of the State of Bahia?, guided by Dr. Abilio C.S.P. Bittencourt. Participated in the Costas da Bahia project, financed by CBPM, aimed at characterizing the coastal zone of this State, which carried out the compilation, on a scale of 1:100,000, of data related to geology, geomorphology, vegetation, mineral resources, conservation units, ecosystems , shoreline types and geological hazards, including coastal erosion. In 2010, with a CNPq grant, he concluded his doctorate in the Postgraduate Program in Geology at IGEO/UFBA, with a thesis entitled ?The coastal dynamics and its effects on the urban occupation of the seafront of the State of Alagoas?, and orientation of the Dr. Abilio Bittencourt. Having also participated in the SAO Letters Project, an agreement between the Ministry of the Environment of Brazil and UFBA, with the objective of preparing Environmental Sensitivity Letters for Oil Spills and the preparation of an Atlas of Environmental Sensitivity to Oil for Maritime Basins from Bahia. Between 2011 and 2015, he participated as a fellow in the National Post-Doctoral Program (PNPD) financed by MEC/CAPES and MCT/CNPq/FINEP at IGEO/UFBA, of the project ?Holocene sedimentation in the São Francisco River Delta region and adjacent continental shelf ?, coordinated by Dr. José Maria Landim Dominguez, with the objective of generating detailed information about the depositional systems, their evolution and the geological dynamics of the deltaic plain region and the continental shelf associated with the São Francisco River, providing knowledge about sedimentary deposits, their importance for purposes of economic exploitation and subsidy for an orderly occupation of the region. He worked as an adjunct professor (associate) at Universidade Salvador (UNIFACS/LAUREATE), between 2014 and 2018, where he taught courses in the areas of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sciences, for the courses of Environmental and Sanitary Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Medicine, Pharmacy , Technology in Environmental and Technological Management in Oil and Gas. He was part of the Education Development Nucleus (NDE) of this institution, supervised two undergraduate students and was the academic advisor of the Chapter of Students of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of UNIFACS in 2016 and 2017. Earth Sciences, with an emphasis on Marine, Coastal and Sedimentary Geology, with 27 publications in the area, including book, book chapters, full articles published in scientific journals and papers published in conference proceedings. In 2018, he obtained the recognition of qualifications at the Doctoral, Masters and Degree levels granted by Portuguese Higher Education Institutions, namely the University of Minho (UM).

José Maria Landim Dominguez, Universidade Federal da Bahia, UFBA

sé Maria Landim Dominguez completed a degree in geology from the Federal University of Bahia, where he also obtained a Master's degree in Geology, an area of ​​concentration in Sedimentology. He completed his PhD in Marine Geology and Geophysics at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami in 1987. He is currently a full professor in Coastal and Sedimentary Geology at the Federal University of Bahia and coordinates the inct AmbTropic - Tropical Marine Environments. He works in the areas of Oceanography, Marine Geology and Geophysics and Coastal Geology. His main research interests are: Origin and Evolution of the Coastal Zone and Continental Shelf, Sea Level Variations, Coastal Dynamics, Marine Sedimentation, Coastal Erosion and Deltaic Sedimentation.

Ruy Kenji Papa de Kikuchi, Universidade Federal da Bahia, UFBA

Full Professor at the Department of Oceanography at the Federal University of Bahia, where I have been teaching since 2002, at the undergraduate courses in Geology and Oceanography, at the postgraduate level in Geology and Ecology, and a researcher of scientific productivity at CNPq since 2002, currently on a scholarship. PQ-1C level. I have a degree in Geology from the University of São Paulo (1986), a Master's in Geology from the Federal University of Bahia (1994) and a PhD in Geology from the Federal University of Bahia (2000). I am an ad hoc reviewer of the journals Biota Neotropica, Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (0001-3765), Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Limnology and Oceanography, among others. I have experience in Oceanography, with emphasis on Geological Oceanography, working mainly on the following topics: reefs, corals, Abrolhos, Atol das Rocas, ecosystem conservation and global climate change. I am a member of the INCT Tropical Marine Environments, where I coordinate the Reefs and Coral Ecosystems Working Group and the Oil Spills GT (executive group of the Emergency Project to respond to oil accident issues, in consortium with the INCT MAR-COI and INCT PRO- OCEANO), I am a member of the Coastal Zones sub-network of the Clima Network, I am a member of the Technical Advisory Group of the National Action Plan for the conservation of coral environments and an advisor to the Management Council of APA Tinharé-Boipeba (BA).

Zelinda Margarida de Andrade Nery Leão, Universidade Federal da Bahia, UFBA

Zelinda Naturalist graduated from the former Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters at UFBA (1958), Specialization at the Laboratory of Micropaleontology at the University of Paris (1963), Master in Geosciences, Sedimentology option (UFBA/1971), Ph.D. in Marine Geology from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami, Florida, USA (1982). She has experience as a researcher having published numerous works in national and international scientific journals, chapters in international and national books and papers in conference proceedings. He was and is associated with several national and international scientific entities, among them: Brazilian Society of Geology (SBG), Brazilian Society for the Study of Coral Reefs (CORALLUS), International Society for Reef Studies (ISRS), Brazilian Society of Oceanography. Representative of Brazil at the GCRMN's Nucleus of Studies on Coral Reefs of Tropical South America (2002-2008), Full Member of the Academy of Sciences of Bahia (since 2011) and member of its Board of Directors since 2016. SCOR (2006-2008). He participated in the Committee of Marine Sciences (CCM) of the MCT (2007-2012). She has been a Professor at the Graduate Course in Geology at UFBA since 1980. She was Visiting Professor at the Graduate Course in Environmental Sciences at Universidade Santa Úrsula, Rio de Janeiro. Researcher at CNPq since 1983 and at CPGG/UFBA since 1972 (Senior). Coordinator of the PELD Project site 29 - Coral Reefs of Bahia (2009-2014) and GT1.3 - Reefs and Coral Ecosystems of INCT Tropical Marine Environments (inctAmbTropic) (2011-2017). His main area of ​​interest is the geology of reef areas: the natural processes at work and the environmental problems caused by the action of anthropogenic activity. His pioneering works served as a basis for the creation of Conservation Units in reef areas.

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Published

2022-11-16

How to Cite

Bittencourt, A. C. da S. P., Silva, I. R., Santos, A. N., Dominguez, J. M. L., Kikuchi, R. K. P. de, & Leão, Z. M. de A. N. (2022). POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGES ALONG A TROPICAL COASTAL REGION OF BRAZIL. Cadernos De Geociências, 15, e221501. https://doi.org/10.9771/geocad.v15i0.30623

Issue

Vol. 15 (2022): PUBLICAÇÃO EM FLUXO CONTÍNUO

Section

Geology