GEOMORPHOLOGICAL RECONSTITUTION OF TECHNOGENIC RELIEF IN THE CÓRREGO DO CEDRO WATER BASIN - PRESIDENTE PRUDENTE/SP

• Grant number: 24/13441-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography
• Principal Investigator: João Osvaldo Rodrigues Nunes
• Grantee: Leonardo Cruz Mendes da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Humans have continuously altered the natural environment, beginning with the domestication of animals and the advent of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution, progressing through the Urban Revolution, and culminating in the Industrial and Green Revolutions. Urban expansion, fossil fuel exploitation, greenhouse gas emissions, increased nitrogen from agricultural fertilizers, water resource exploitation, and species extinction are among the key drivers of these changes. The investigation of 'human geological agency' encompasses its interference with the natural systems and dynamics related to landforms. This debate underpins the discussion of the Anthropocene, which is considered to differ from the Holocene in terms of processes, genetics, and stratigraphy, with technogenic landforms being a manifestation of this distinction. This research will be conducted in the Córrego do Cedro Watershed, located in the southern sector of the municipality of Presidente Prudente, São Paulo. The Córrego do Cedro has undergone intense occupation and urbanization since the founding of the municipality. The research hypothesis posits that human activities-such as vegetation removal, terracing, earthworks, soil sealing, and changes in land use and land cover-have directly impacted the landforms, altering the balance between morphogenesis and pedogenesis in the watershed and leading to the formation of technogenic features and landforms. The objective of this research is to reconstruct the technogenic landforms in the Córrego do Cedro Watershed by investigating physical elements (both natural and social) over historical time through desk-based, field, and laboratory research. In the desk-based phase, a theoretical and conceptual review will be conducted, along with the consultation of cartographic databases, aerial photographs, and Google Earth Pro images to verify the natural and human elements of the landscape, and the review of sample collection and analysis manuals. In the field, core sampling will be conducted to measure the thickness of technogenic soils, and samples will be collected from profiles, trenches, and/or sampling tubes, in addition to performing soil permeability and resistance tests. In the laboratory, morphological, textural, and micromorphological analyses of the samples will be carried out to identify technogenic/manufactured materials, along with chemical analysis and testing for potentially toxic metals. The results of these analyses and tests, in conjunction with the historical land use and occupation data, will aid in understanding the composition of the materials present in the study area and the landform alteration processes that have shaped the technogenic landforms. Geomorphological maps, technogenic landform maps, pedological/topographical profiles, and block diagrams will be developed to reconstruct human-induced changes in the study area.