Mudbelts from the South and Southeast Brazil: implications for the anthropogenic influence on the marine environment

• Grant number: 17/20344-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): February 29, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Chemical Oceanography
• Principal researcher: Márcia Caruso Bícego
• Grantee: Patricia Andrade Neves
• Home Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/17763-2 - Mudbelts from the South and Southeast Brazil: implications about the anthropogenic influence on the marine environment, AP.TEM

Abstract

Mudbelts are elongated sediment deposits, which have bathymetric expression, three-dimensional shapes and sedimentological characteristics that reflect the tectonic conditioning, the climate of the adjacent continent and the continental shelf. Continental shelves are very sensitive environments on the continent-ocean interaction; they may contain features that are limited to humans; they influence the impact of risky events for society and can be a potential target for anthropogenic materials. The project's main objective is to evaluate the potential for accumulation of anthropogenic materials on the Brazilian southern continental shelf through the study of organic compounds and metals deposited in the mudbelts. This assessment will be done through the association of sedimentological and geochemical characteristics of the sediments deposited in mudbelts in order to diagnose the input mechanisms of terrigenous material and contaminants in the study region as well as to investigate the correlation between the intensity of regional human activities and the time-space distribution along the region. From the collected data, it is expected that one can define the extent structure, continuity, geometry and depocentre of the mudbelts as well as to evaluate the potential of accumulation of terrigenous and anthropogenic materials in the marine sediments of the southwest Atlantic.