Mapping and geomorphological characterization of fluvial terraces in the Upper Juruá River, southwestern Amazon: an approach based on Digital Elevation Models.

• Grant number: 24/14730-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2026
• End date: December 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal Investigator: Fabiano do Nascimento Pupim
• Grantee: Bruna Regina de Jesus
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/03007-5 - From sand grains to mountain chains: linking recent Andean orogenesis and climate changes to the assembly of lowland Amazonia (PAALE), AP.PNGP.PI

Abstract

The Amazon rainforest, globally renowned and scientifically requested for its exuberant biodiversity, shelters the world's largest river basin. Despite the growing recognition that the fluvial dynamics of a region play an important role in landscape evolution, information about the evolution of the Amazon River basin is still scarce. The Juruá and Purus rivers, in the southwestern portion of the Amazon, are less studied even presenting sedimentary deposits arranged in fluvial terrace levels with potential indicators of past climatic conditions. Therefore, as a contribution to the advancement of studies of this important fluvial system, the use of digital elevation models (DEM) is proposed for the mapping and characterization of the terraces and floodplains of the Upper Juruá River, in the region of the city of Cruzeiro do Sul (Acre). Geoprocessing techniques will be applied to 30 m spatial resolution FABDEM (Forest and Buildings removed Copernicus DEM) using the open-source Geographic Information System QGIS. The main result will be a map of the terrace and floodplain levels of the Upper Juruá River and the morphological and morphometric characterization of these geomorphological units. The obtained results will be integrated with sedimentology and geochronology data being developed by the research to which this project is linked. This approach, is expected to expand the knowledge about the responses of Amazonian fluvial systems to the climatic changes that occurred in the Late Quaternary, with a focus on the Upper Juruá River. (AU)