Search

Urbanization profoundly alters environmental conditions for organisms, particularly through the urban heat island (UHI) effect, which elevates temperatures in city centers. This study examines the influence of urban environmental variables on rove and ground beetle communities. We sampled 36 grasslands in Rennes (northwestern France), yielding 3317 and 505 staphylinid and carabid adult individuals, respectively, belonging to 121 and 60 species, respectively. Staphylinid and carabid communities are not primarily affected by temperature-related variables. Staphylinids, often overlooked in urban ecology, showed species composition variation to be influenced by habitat and temperature, whereas their functional diversity was positively correlated with herbaceous vegetation height only. In contrast, carabid communities exhibited no significant relationship with the tested environmental variables. This study underscores the taxon-dependent nature of ectotherm’s responses to thermal environments. Although a further investigation into species-specific traits, and particularly dispersal capacities in staphylinids, is needed to advance our understanding of urbanization’s impact, our results indicate that functional diversity in staphylinid assemblages can be favored by locally reducing the mowing frequency or increasing the cutting height within urban green spaces.

Along with worldwide urbanization, upheavals in habitat and temperature are major threats for biodiversity. However, due to their interdependence, their relative roles as drivers of animal community composition remain entangled. Here, we investigated how taxonomic and functional compositions of arthropod communities were related to uncorrelated habitat and temperature gradients, and compared landscape (i.e., urbanization, Urban Heat Island (UHI)) to local variables (i.e., vegetation height and cover, near-ground temperature). We sampled 20,499 spiders (137 species) on 36 grasslands in Rennes (northwestern France). Unlike rural areas, urban sites were characterized by short vegetation and intense UHI, hosted species-poor communities, and were composed of small thermophilic species. UHI intensification and local loss of habitat complexity (short and dense vegetation) were associated with declining large and heat-sensitive species. These results highlight the prevalent role of urban warming, rather than land cover change, as an urban filter. Further, we show that landscape-scale UHI, not local temperature, filters species according to their functional attributes. UHI can therefore be considered as a thermal barrier, filtering species according to their physiological capacity to cope with urban thermal conditions. Finally, to counterbalance biotic homogenization, we argue for the importance of implementing complex habitat structures at the local scale within urban green infrastructure.

Chile is one of the Latin American countries most affected by Climate Change. There is a high level of uncertainty regarding the variability of precipitation and its projections in many regions of this country. This poses challenges for climate characterization and for defining strategies to reduce its risks. The study area is the Puna of Atacama Desert, Andean highlands located to the eastern side of the extreme arid lands, a region that concentrates the main copper and lithium mining at word scale, and where meteorological observations are scarce, with missing data and unreliable projections. Considering this data limitations, a daily precipitation database of 35 weather stations was constructed in order to evaluate some extreme precipitation indices that allow establishing changes between 1981-2017, in addition to spatial interpolations based on topography. It is concluded that most of the meteorological stations do not present significant trends of change, e.g. Extremely wet days (R99p), Wet days (RR) and Consecutive wet days (CWD). The index with the highest number of stations with a trend is CDD, which shows an increase in consecutive dry days. One of the main contributions of this research was to expand the number of observations and to generate maps of the spatial distribution of the indices of extremes. We are facing open questions regarding living with uncertainty, and meeting the challenges of maintaining records to increase the levels of certainty of climatic changes.

The phenology of tropical forests is tightly related to climate conditions. In the Amazon, the seasonal greening of forests is conditioned by solar radiation and rainfall. Yet, increasing anthropogenic pressures (e.g. logging and wildfires), raise concerns about the impacts of forest degradation on the functioning of forest ecosystems, especially in a climate change context. In this study, we relied on remote sensing data to assess the contribution of solar radiation and precipitation to forest greening in mature and fire degraded forests, with a focus on the 2015 drought event. Our results showed that forest greening is more dependent on water resources in degraded forests than in mature forests. As a consequence, the expected increase in drought episodes and associated fire occurrences under climate change could lead to a long-term drying of tropical forests.

The Amazon Basin is undergoing extensive environmental degradation as a result of deforestation and the rising occurrence of fires. The degradation caused by fires is exacerbated by the occurrence of anomalously dry periods in the Amazon Basin. The objectives of this study were: (i) to quantify the extent of areas that burned between 2001 and 2019 and relate them to extreme drought events in a 20-year time series; (ii) to identify the proportion of countries comprising the Amazon Basin in which environmental degradation was strongly observed, relating the spatial patterns of fires; and (iii) examine the Amazon Basin carbon balance following the occurrence of fires. To this end, the following variables were evaluated by remote sensing between 2001 and 2019: gross primary production, standardized precipitation index, burned areas, fire foci, and carbon emissions. During the examined period, fires affected 23.78% of the total Amazon Basin. Brazil had the largest affected area (220,087 fire foci, 773,360 km2 burned area, 54.7% of the total burned in the Amazon Basin), followed by Bolivia (102,499 fire foci, 571,250 km2 burned area, 40.4%). Overall, these fires have not only affected forests in agricultural frontier areas (76.91%), but also those in indigenous lands (17.16%) and conservation units (5.93%), which are recognized as biodiversity conservation areas. During the study period, the forest absorbed 1,092,037 Mg of C, but emitted 2908 Tg of C, which is 2.66-fold greater than the C absorbed, thereby compromising the role of the forest in acting as a C sink. Our findings show that environmental degradation caused by fires is related to the occurrence of dry periods in the Amazon Basin.

Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in the world, and its international market has been growing for many years. Unfortunately, the Brazilian coffee production is threatened by high temperatures projected by climate change models. We evaluated three schemes of low levels of shade, which avoid the loss of production, as a strategy to adapt coffee to possible climate change. Additionally, as field measurements are expensive and often difficult to implement, we used numerical simulation to complement the evaluation. The microclimate simulator software Envi-met is a computer program often used to simulate urban environments, and we tested it on agriculture design. We verified that the shaded schemes assessed in the field decreased the air temperature in 0.6 °C in the studied period and reduced other possible climate stressors such as wind speed, radiation and raised air humidity in the dry period. Envi-met described the studied meteorological variable cycle very well, showing that combining numerical modelling and field research may be an important tool for planning the adaptation of the coffee sector to possible climate change, allowing growers choose a proper technique for their regions and environmental conditions. Finally, we highlighted the importance of planning the shade scheme on coffee areas in an interdisciplinary approach, including local climate evaluation to achieve a balance between temperature attenuation and production.

Understanding the long-term behavior of rainfall and potential evapotranspiration (PET) over watersheds is crucial for the monitoring of hydrometeorological processes and climate change at the regional scale. The São Francisco watershed (SFW) in Brazil is an important hydrological system that transports water from humid regions throughout the Brazilian semiarid region. However, long-term, gapless meteorological data with good spatial coverage in the region are not available. Thus, gridded datasets, such as the Climate Research Unit TimeSeries (CRU TS), can be used as alternative sources of information, if carefully validated beforehand. The objective of this study was to assess CRU TS (v4.02) rainfall and PET data over the SFW, and to evaluate their long-term (1942–2016) climatological aspects. Point-based measurements retrieved from rain gauges and meteorological stations of national agencies were used for validation. Overall, rainfall and PET gridded data correlated well with point-based observations (r = 0.87 and r = 0.89), with a poorer performance in the lower (semiarid) portion of the SFW (r ranging from 0.50 to 0.70 in individual stations). Increasing PET trends throughout the entire SFW and decreasing rainfall trends in areas surrounding the semiarid SFW were detected in both gridded (smoother slopes) and observational (steeper slopes) datasets. This study provides users with prior information on the accuracy of long-term CRU TS rainfall and PET estimates over the SFW.

The approach of the relation between the spatial-temporal variability of cases of dengue fever and climate variability (2007-2017) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul is in the heart of this paper. It begins with a brief characterization of the situation of Rio Grande do Sul in the context of the distribution of dengue in Brazil and defines the aspects of climate variability that can be considered, given the regionalized management of the health system in this state. After presenting the approach of the subject the aim is to present the methodology used to analyze the annual climatic types (AAC), the climatic variability and correlations with the variability of the disease between the years of 2007 and 2017. The secondary data used for the analysis were: the monthly values of temperature, precipitation and their climatological norm (1961-1990) for 16 meteorological stations (INMET) distributed within the state; confirmed cases of indigenous dengue fever for 19 regional health coordinations per year (SINAN Net-RS); monthly sea surface temperature anomalies according to Niño 3.4 (NOAA / CPC) and ENSO events by year. Based on the results of this analysis, the usual climatic typologies attributed to the temporal variability of annual climatic types (AAC) are put into question; we identify the annual climate types most related to the onset of dengue fever; Associations are found between monthly and annual anomalies with the annual occurrence of dengue fever seen in regional health data and the state as a whole. The most significant correspondence was between the occurrence of dengue fever and El Niño events.

O presente artigo reúne uma avaliação comparativa de 6 diferentes índices de conforto e desconforto térmico aplicado a cidade Presidente Prudente/Brasil. A partir da análise dos índices de Wind Chill, Thom, índice de temperatura efetiva com vento, índice de temperatura resultante, diagrama de conforto térmico, e índice térmico subjetivo de Presidente Prudente foi contabilizado o número de dias com situações confortáveis e desconfortáveis nos períodos das 9h, 15h e 21h, entre os anos de 2005 a 2016, além de discutir as vantagens e desvantagens de utilização para cada técnica. Os índices demonstraram resultados diferentes a partir da metodologia empregada demonstrando pouco consenso entre as metodologias utilizadas atualmente em análises bioclimáticas. Os índices de Thom e o índice térmico subjetivo de Presidente Prudente apresentaram, sobretudo, resultados considerados “confortáveis” na maior parte dos dias analisados; os índices de Wind Chill, temperatura resultante e temperatura efetiva com vento, cada qual com seu método de classificação, representaram a maior quantidade de situações de “desconforto térmico ao calor”, “quente” e “quente moderado” principalmente nos horários das 15h e 21h; e, por fim, com a avaliação do diagrama de conforto, foi observado um problema metodológico especialmente para dados com valores extremos de umidade, que acabam por mascarar as condições térmicas extremas, importantes para análises de conforto térmico.

O presente trabalho sintetiza as análises dos resultados da aplicação da modelagem dos dados pluviométricos anuais, oriundos do Instituto Agronômico do Paraná (IAPAR), do Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET) e da Agência Nacional de Águas (ANA), com o intuito de identificar as tendências espaço-temporais das chuvas no estado do Paraná; calculadas ao nível dos pixels dos mapas, com uma resolução espacial de um quilômetro possibilitada pela alta densidade de estações com dados de precipitação disponíveis para o estado. Foi verificado que as tendências mais expressivas observadas no estado são aquelas que indicam aumento das precipitações anuais, mas para áreas mais específicas. Enquanto que as tendências de redução nas precipitações anuais abrangem uma área maior do estado, porém com índices mais modestos. As áreas que apresentaram tendências de aumento nos testes da Correlação Linear e de Mann-Kendall são as mesorregiões: Metropolitana (mais especificamente Curitiba e o norte do litoral paranaense), Centro-Sul, Oeste (Catanduvas), Centro-Ocidental (Altamira do Paraná), Norte Central e Norte Pioneiro. E as mesorregiões em que as precipitações anuais tendem a diminuir são: Centro-Oriental, Norte Central (Maringá e Califórnia), Noroeste, Sudeste e o extremo oeste da mesorregião Oeste.

Este artigo objetiva avaliar o processo de expansão da cultura da cana-de-açúcar ocorrido em quatro microrregiões da Mesorregião Sul Goiano, a partir da utilização de indicadores propostos pelo Sistema de Indicadores para a Avaliação da Sustentabilidade Hídrica e Monitoramento da Atividade Canavieira - SISH-Cana (FERRAZ, 2012). Foi realizada uma avaliação analítica e comparativa do processo de expansão da cultura canavieira ocorrido no período de 2005/2006 a 2010/2011 nas seguintes microrregiões da Mesorregião Sul Goiano: Sudoeste de Goiás, Vale do Rio dos Bois, Quirinópolis e Meia Ponte (Unidades Territoriais de Análise). Os resultados dos indicadores sugerem que as proporções de ocupação da cultura canavieira nas microrregiões estudadas ainda são relativamente pequenas em relação às áreas totais dos seus territórios. Sugerem também que o setor sucroalcooleiro tem prioritariamente expandido sobre as áreas mais adequadas, justamente aquelas com declividades inferiores a 12% e com solos de aptidão moderada a preferencial, onde se torna possível desenvolver a atividade canavieira com alto nível tecnológico. Demonstraram também que o processo de expansão da cultura da cana-de-açúcar está ocorrendo principalmente sobre áreas tradicionalmente ocupadas com agricultura, mas, também apontam a tendência de aumento paulatino da substituição de pastagens, enquanto que a supressão de vegetação nativa é relativamente pequena. Considerando o balanço entre a disponibilidade hídrica e a demanda de água da atividade canavieira, os indicadores demonstraram que as microrregiões em apreço possuem margem, em termos de atendimento da demanda hídrica, para que a cultura canavieira possa se desenvolver de forma sustentada independente do sistema de produção considerado.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar uma avaliação analítica do potencial de sustentabilidade hídrica para a cultura da cana-de-açúcar para quatro microrregiões do Estado de Goiás, Brasil: Sudoeste de Goiás, Vale do Rio dos Bois, Quirinópolis e Meia Ponte; a partir da utilização de índices derivados de dados secundários públicos ou dados extraídos de modelos simples através de técnicas de geoprocessamento em um sistema de informação geográfica (SIG). Esses índices compõem o Sistema de Indicadores de Avaliação do Potencial de Sustentabilidade Hídrica e Monitoramento da Atividade de Canavieira - SISH-Cana (FERRAZ, 2012). Os resultados mostram que as microrregiões do Sudoeste de Goiás e Quirinópolis constituem aquelas com a maior favorabilidade, do ponto de vista da sustentabilidade hídrica, pois, possuem áreas onde a cultura pode ser cultivada em sistema de sequeiro e ainda dispõem de volumes hídricos mais elevados e regulares para suprir a demanda do cultivo da cana-de-açúcar nas áreas de irrigação obrigatória.

Knowledge and studies on precipitation in the Amazon Basin (AB) are determinant for environmental aspects such as hydrology, ecology, as well as for social aspects like agriculture, food security, or health issues. Availability of rainfall data at high spatio-temporal resolution is thus crucial for these purposes. Remote sensing techniques provide extensive spatial coverage compared to ground-based rainfall data but it is imperative to assess the quality of the estimates. Previous studies underline at regional scale in the AB, and for some years, the efficiency of the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) 3B42 Version 7 (V7) (hereafter 3B42) daily product data, to provide a good view of the rainfall time variability which is important to understand the impacts of El Nino Southern Oscilation. Then our study aims to enhance the knowledge about the quality of this product on the entire AB and provide a useful understanding about his capacity to reproduce the annual rainfall regimes. For that purpose we compared 3B42 against 205 quality-controlled rain gauge measurements for the period from March 1998 to July 2013, with the aim to know whether 3B42 is reliable for climate studies. Analysis of quantitative (Bias, Relative RMSE) and categorical statistics (POD, FAR) for the whole period show a more accurate spatial distribution of mean daily rainfall estimations in the lowlands than in the Andean regions. In the latter, the location of a rain gauge and its exposure seem to be more relevant to explain mismatches with 3B42 rather than its elevation. In general, a good agreement is observed between rain gauge derived regimes and those from 3B42; however, performance is better in the rainy period. Finally, an original way to validate the estimations is by taking into account the interannual variability of rainfall regimes (i.e., the presence of sub-regimes): four sub-regimes in the northeast AB defined from rain gauges and 3B42 were found to be in good agreement. Furthermore, this work examined whether TRMM 3B42 V7 rainfall estimates for all the grid points in the AB, outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and water vapor flux patterns are consistent in the northeast of AB.

After publication of the paper [1] it was found that the Acknowledgments section did not mention the institutions that supported this research [...]

O diagnóstico das ilhas de calor urbanas tem se mostrado um instrumento importante para a gestão do espaço urbano, na medida em que a espacialização das diferenças das temperaturas intraurbanas e rurais próximas pode oferecer subsídios para que atitudes possam ser tomadas com o objetivo de amenizar a magnitude de tais ilhas de calor. Entretanto, as interpolações dos registros de temperaturas do ar que não levam em consideração as características dos alvos superficiais produzem resultados que dificultam intervenções mais localizadas. O objetivo deste artigo foi apresentar um conjunto de procedimentos para a modelagem das ilhas de calor urbanas, com o propósito de estimar a temperatura do ar considerando-se as características da superfície (uso da terra, vegetação, relevo). Para isso foram processadas relações entre as temperaturas do ar medidas por meio de transectos móveis; o uso da terra tendo como base as imagens do satélite Landsat 8; o NDVI (Índice de Vegetação por Diferença Normalizada); e a hipsometria. Com essas informações foram feitas relações estatísticas entre a intensidade da ilha de calor urbana nos locais onde as temperaturas foram registradas e os parâmetros geográficos, tais como porcentagem de vegetação, densidade de edificações e altitude. Os resultados mostraram que o modelo gerado estimou satisfatoriamente (r=0,81) a temperatura do ar no ambiente intraurbano e rural próximo sendo possível subsidiar intervenções mais localizadas que podem contribuir para amenizar a ilha de calor atmosférica que, no episódio estudado (30/06/2014), apresentou-se com forte magnitude e intensidade de 9ºC.

Following the national strategy of regional occupation, colonization projects initiated both by the Brazilian government and private companies played a major role in the process of deforestation and development of the State of Mato Grosso in the 1970’s, especially in the municipios of Tangará da Serra, Diamantino and Campo Novo do Parecis. The effective colonization of Tangará da Serra began in 1966 with the installation of the first pioneers of the SITA, Sociedade Imobiliária Tupã para Agricultura. At this time, 3-4 million coffee-plants were set over 3000 ha in 500 minifundios. But rapidly grasslands took the place of coffee trees. Since 1970-75, major private companies settled as well in the central western area of Mato Grosso : this process involved the expansion of crops such as soybean, maize and cotton in the cerrados of the Chapada dos Parecis and stock breeding in areas of forest and older settlements. Satellite images allow us to monitor and understand the evolution of rural landscapes through the various colonization phases.

Satellite-derived estimates of precipitation are essential to compensate for missing rainfall measurements in regions where the homogeneous and continuous monitoring of rainfall remains challenging due to low density rain gauge networks. The Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks—Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR) is a relatively new product (released in 2013) but that contains data since 1983, thus enabling long-term rainfall analysis. In this work, we used three decades (1983–2014) of PERSIANN-CDR daily rainfall data to characterize precipitation patterns in the southern part of the Amazon basin, which has been drastically impacted in recent decades by anthropogenic activities that exacerbate the spatio-temporal variability of rainfall regimes. We computed metrics for the rainy season (onset date, demise date and duration) on a pixel-to-pixel basis for each year in the time series. We identified significant trends toward a shortening of the rainy season in the southern Amazon, mainly linked to earlier demise dates. This work thus contributes to monitoring possible signs of climate change in the region and to assessing uncertainties in rainfall trends and their potential impacts on human activities and natural ecosystems.

O presente artigo objetivou apresentar os procedimentos metodológicos e as técnicas de geoprocessamento utilizadas para a extração de dados de modelos espacializados ou de bases cartográficas temáticas visando o cálculo de indicadores para a avaliação do processo de expansão da cultura canavieira em quatro Microrregiões do Estado de Goiás: Sudoeste de Goiás, Vale do Rio dos Bois, Quirinópolis e Meia Ponte. Os diversos dados espaciais em formato shape, adquiridos de fontes secundárias ou de modelos especificamente elaborados, foram introduzidos em um Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG), no qual, por meio de técnicas simples de geoprocessamento, foram realizados ajustes e a integração dos dados espaciais para a obtenção dos dados (grandezas físicas) requeridos para o cálculo de diversos índices propostos pelo Sistema de Indicadores para a Avaliação do Potencial de Sustentabilidade Hídrica da Atividade Canavieira - SISH-Cana (FERRAZ, 2012). Os resultados demonstram a pertinência das técnicas utilizadas. O nível de detalhamento dos modelos espaciais adotados foi adequado, considerando que os índices propostos se aplicam à caracterização de unidades territoriais de analise de grande abrangência geográfica (microrregiões) em subsídio a planejamentos setoriais (Recursos hídricos; Agricultura) de nível estratégico.

Les grandes sécheresses du passé (1959, 1976, 1989 ou 2003) ont entrainé des dommages importants sur des activités essentielles pour l’économie de la Bretagne, telles que l’agriculture. Dans un contexte de changement climatique, il apparait donc important d'analyser les évolutions possibles du risque de sécheresse à l’échelle de la région à partir de simulations climatiques du modèle Arpège-Climat pour trois scénarios du GIEC : A1B, A2 et B1. La méthodologie retenue est celle du bilan hydrique et le calcul du déficit d’évaporation. Les résultats montrent une augmentation de l’intensité des sécheresses au cours du 21ème siècle, principalement pour la moitié est de la Bretagne. Le littoral sud serait la région la plus sensible à une augmentation de la fréquence et de l’intensité des sécheresses. En termes d’intensité, on dépasserait ici les valeurs relevées lors de la sécheresse de 1976, toutes choses égales par ailleurs. Ce risque de voir des sécheresses exceptionnelles par le passé devenir communes à moyen terme, impacterait fortement l’agriculture, ainsi que le cycle de l’eau, sur une grande partie de l’année. Cela pourrait entrainer une diminution des écoulements de surface alimentant les nappes phréatiques bretonnes et contraindre les agriculteurs à adapter leurs cultures et leurs pratiques.

This paper aims to analyze and compare thermal characteristics of urban climate of two middle size cities: Rennes (France) and Presidente Prudente (Brazil), by registering air temperature (network pointes and mobile transect) and surface data obtained by using Landsat7 satellite thermal images. Results show that temperature grows faster in Rennes than Presidente Prudente and urban heat island generation (UHI) by different cities urbanization processes.

Com o intuito de contribuir com os estudos climato-hidrológicos no sitio Ramsar PARNA Pantanal, conforme as recomendações da Convenção de Ramsar, o presente trabalho analisou séries anuais de dados observados de chuva, temperatura e cotas no período de 1971 a 2011 de estações da sub-bacia do Alto Paraguai. Os dados foram analisados com os testes de Mann-Kendall e Regressão linear para identificação de tendências e Pettitt para verificação de rupturas. Foram constatadas diminuição pluviométrica anual na porção que se estende da Amazônia ao centro do Pantanal e aumento das temperaturas máxima e mínima nas estações de Cáceres (MT) e Cuiabá (MT). O nível d’ água dos rios localizados nas Ottobacias responsáveis pela manutenção do sistema hídrico do sítio Ramsar PARNA Pantanal variou no período estudado. O estudo demonstra o alto grau de vulnerabilidade do sítio Ramsar PARNA Pantanal à variabilidade do clima.

La production de soja a augmenté de manière considérable les dix dernières années au Mato Grosso, atteignant 17,9millions de tonnes en 2009 (contre 7,2 en 1998). Une telle expansion a eu de graves conséquences environnementales et socio-économiques, telles que la déforestation et l'urbanisation. L'objectif de cet article est de mettre en avant l'efficacité des techniques de télédétection et des indices qui en découlent, tels que le NDVI, pour analyser l'avancée des champs de soja au Mato Grosso ainsi que la transformation de l'agriculture dans cetÉtat. L'indice NDVI a été calculé à partir de séries mensuelles du capteur SPOT-Vegetation. Il a permis de trouver les zones cultivées et de surveiller la croissance des cultures. Il a aussi permis la détection des pratiques de gestion de double culture, qui se sont drastiquement accrues depuis quelques années. Les résultats ont montré une corrélation de 0,98 entre notre estimation des zones cultivées et les statistiques agricoles officielles de l'IBGE pour l'intégralité du Mato Grosso. Les séries temporelles de NDVI ont également confirmé l'augmentation des systèmes de double culture, représentant 30% des zones cultivées en 1999, 57% en 2006 et 67% en 2009. Cette évolution est un indicateur de la diversification de l'agriculture et de l'intensification des traitements dans cette région. En outre, la surveillance des grandes clairières récentes au niveau local (comté de Vera) a montré une réduction de l'écart entre trois états consécutifs conduisant à l'intensification des pratiques agricoles. En se fondant sur notre méthodologie, nous avons finalement proposé une classification des municipalités selon leurs modes d'usages du sol dominants.

Cet article présente les travaux que nous avons menés ces dernières années autour de l'analyse d'images Météosat Seconde Génération (MSG). Comparés à la première génération, les données MSG possèdent une résolution spatiale et temporelle plus élevée, autorisant l'accès à un certain nombre d'informations liées aux phénomènes climatiques observés. Cependant, l'étape consistant à remonter à cette information physique à partir des données images s'avère délicate car nous sommes confrontés à des structures soumises à de très fortes déformations, parfois observées en transparence et avec une durée de vie variable. Par conséquent, les outils classiques issus de l'analyse d'images se révèlent souvent limités et il est nécessaire de les adapter à cette spécificité. Nous nous focalisons ici sur trois applications particulières : l'estimation du mouvement, permettant de remonter aux vents atmosphériques, le suivi de masses nuageuses, autorisant par exemple l'analyse de phénomènes convectifs et la détection de fronts, appliquée ici aux brises de mer.

O presente artigo objetivou apresentar os procedimentos metodológicos e as técnicas de geoprocessamento utilizadas para a extração de dados de bases cartográficas temáticas e de modelos hídricos espacializados requeridos para o cálculo de indicadores de sustentabilidade hídrica da cultura canavieira em quatro Microrregiões do Estado de Goiás: Sudoeste de Goiás, Vale do Rio dos Bois, Quirinópolis e Meia Ponte. Os diversos dados espaciais em formato shape, adquiridos de fontes secundárias e de modelos especificamente elaborados para este fim foram introduzidos em um Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG), no qual, por meio de técnicas simples de geoprocessamento, foram ajustados e integrados para a obtenção dos dados (grandezas físicas) utilizados para a determinação de indicadores (índices) propostos pelo Sistema de Indicadores para a Avaliação do Potencial de Sustentabilidade Hídrica da Atividade Canavieira - SISH-Cana (FERRAZ, 2012). Os resultados demonstram a pertinência das técnicas utilizadas e do nível de precisão e detalhamento dos modelos espaciais adotados, considerando que os índices aplicam-se para a avaliação de unidades territoriais de analise em nível de microrregião com vistas a planejamentos territoriais e/ou setoriais em nível estratégico.

A análise do processo de sustentabilidade representa um grande desafio científico enquanto a Amazônia constitui um verdadeiro laboratório onde estão sendo testadas inúmeras concepções desse conceito. Haveria pontos ou mecanismos comuns entre estas? Esse é o ponto que pesquisou o programa DURAMAZ, que teve como objetivo de desvendar fatores chaves, ou “determinantes” do desenvolvimento sustentável (DS) na Amazônia brasileira através da identificação dos impactos geográficos, demográficos e socioeconômicos de 13 projetos de DS. Apresentamos os pontos-chaves da metodologia, assim como algumas visões de síntese sobre a aplicação do conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável. Entender as dinâmicas internas de cada uma dessas experiências foi a meta principal, assim como entender as razões de um bom desempenho. O resultado final do programa de pesquisa reside na construção de um sistema de indicadores a partir de bancos de dados sistematizados (socioeconômico, demográfico/biográfico e geográfico) e na análise de seus resultados.

Changes in land cover (deforestation, urbanization) in the Brazilian Amazon have a strong effect on the temperatures at local scale. This paper compares the temperatures of July 2007 between the urban area, the area deforested for pasture and forest in the region of Alta Floresta (Mato Grosso). The climatic changes are marked during the day but especially in the beginning and the end of the day (with significant differences between temperatures of 2 ° C to 4.3 ° C between the forest sector and the city center). The cleared area is generally warmer than the forest area. A second part of the paper concerns the study of the urban heat island for three cities of Mato Grosso: Rondonopolis, Sorriso and Sinop. Observations made by the mobile transect method in July 2009 show that temperatures are higher in dense urbanized areas than in residential areas. The effect of urban heat island is particularly well marked, especially at night and during the dry season but, locally, the role of topography and urban parks is also very sensitive (cool areas).

A utilização dos dados fornecidos pelos satélites meteorológicos renovoucompletamente os nossos conhecimentos e a nossa compreensão do sistemaTerra-Atmosfera. Graças à repetitividade de observação, a coberturaglobal do planeta que os satélites nos oferecem, eles tornaram-se instrumentosindispensáveis para os geógrafos climatólogos. No entanto, os dadosde satélites não dispensam observações in-situ, as informações adquiridasdiretamente comparáveis e a calibração, e a validação dos dados continuama ser indispensável. Este artigo mostra toda a importância da teledetecçãoem climatologia a partir de exemplos tomados na França do Oeste(estimativa das temperaturas e acompanhamento da seca à escala regional)e no Brasil (monitoramento das frentes da brisa do mar no Nordeste eestimativa das precipitações no Mato Grosso).

Este estudo coloca em evidência a análise da relação entre a termografia de superfície e a temperatura do ar no inverno de 2002 na Região Metropolitana de Curitiba PR. Para sua elaboração foram utilizados dados provenientes de imagem de satélite (Landsat TM Canal 6) e dados meteorológicos, bem como empregada a análise rítmica para a interpretação dos tipos de tempo na abordagem espaço-temporal. A imagem evidenciou a formação de uma ilha de calor na superfície e os dados meteorológicos uma ilha de frescor a 1,5 m, simultâneas, sobre a mancha urbana. Os resultados revelaram as diferenças teoricamente conhecidas entre os processos de aquecimento das superfícies naturais e das artificializadas (balanço de radiação). Surface thermography and air temperature on the RMC (Curitibas Metropolitan Region) Abstract This study shows the analysis of the relation between the surface thermography and the air temperature in Winter 2002 at Curitibas Metropolitan Region (Brazil). It was used data from the satellite image (Landsat TM Channel 6) and the meteorological data. Also it was applied the rhythmic analysis of the weather. The image shows the formation of a heated island on the urban surface and the meteorological data show the configuration of a cold island at 1,5 m, simultaneously, above urban agglomeration. The results show the theoretically known differences between the warming process of the natural and antropogenical surfaces (radiation balance).

This article proposes to use the Köppen classification to define « Annual Climate Types » (ACT) for a set of 208 stations, representative of the climatic diversity of Brazil. The average monthly temperature and precipitation data for the period 1961-2015 allow to established the frequency of ACTs for each station. The statistical and cartographic treatment of this information makes it possible to define the limits of the climates of Brazil: here we apply the concepts of « strong nuclei », defined as the regions where the ACT are systematically or mostly the same, and « transition areas », i.e. regions where there is a great diversity of ACT. This approach allows us to propose a detailed study of the transitions between the tropical climates types (mainly Aw, Am and Af) and those of the south, subtropical and temperate (Cwa and Cfa in particular) and discuss these climatic limits.

The Amazon has recently experienced a dramatic decline in deforestation coupled with economic development. However, this process is uneven. While large and medium-sized producers are intensifying and diversifying their production systems in the already cleared areas, thus apparently abandoning expansion strategies at the moment, family farming remains aloof from this decoupling between production and deforestation. In this article, the commitments of public authorities and sectors, their effects on deforestation and inequalities of adaptation are analyzed at the scale of the Legal Amazon and in a municipality considered as a model because involved in a Município Verde initiative: Paragominas, in the Eastern Amazon.

This article proposes to use the Köppen classification to define "Annual Climate Types" (ACT) for a set of 208 stations, representative of the climatic diversity of Brazil. The average monthly temperature and precipitation data for the period 1961-2015 allow to establish the frequency of ACTs for each station. The statistical and cartographic treatment of this information makes it possible to define the limits of the climates of Brazil: here we apply the concepts of "strong nuclei", defined as the regions where the ACT are systematically or mostly the same, and "transition areas ", i.e. regions where there is a great diversity of ACT. This approach allows us to propose a detailed study of the transitions between the tropical climates types (mainly Aw, Am and Af) and those of the south, subtropical and temperate (Cwa and Cfa in particular) and discuss these climatic limits.

After the pioneer phase that occurred during the 1970’s and 1980’s, the expansion of mechanized agriculture (especially soybean crops) in the Southern part of the Brazilian Amazon basin led to the emergence of new territories integrated in " the world economy". However, low prices, the "Asian rust" (soybean’s disease), the climatic variability and the environmental tensions pulled the agricultural sector in a deep crisis between 2004 and 2007. This crisis highlighted the limits of this model of development, well illustrated by the county of Sorriso (first soybean’s producing county in Brazil). The producers are now learning from past failures in order to adapt themselves to the new standards imposed by the civil society and the international markets (environmental certification, forest code application, to mention some). Numerous efforts for the intensification and diversification of productions, especially by corn and cotton crops, were done. Furthermore, local sustainability projects based on environmental education and incentives to replantation are being developed. They illustrate the desire of part of the local actors to change the regional way of development.