Environmental transformations in coastal plains of the State of Maranhão/Brazil resulting from holocene climatic pulsations and the use and occupation of land

Abstract

This project aims to understand the coastal dynamics of Maranhão State/Brazil in the various time scales, diagnosing and predicting possible transformations/impacts in coastal areas that are located mainly on marine terraces, caused by human interventions, as well as natural climate pulsations, which can generate fluctuations in the Relative Level of the Seas (RLS), as well as changes in river dynamics. To analyze these transformations, it is proposed the use of the systemic method, in order to correlate the socioeconomic aspects to the geomorphological/environmental variables, agglutinating several elements of the coastal landscapes, generating predictive models for the eastern coast (Lençóis Maranhenses) and the western coast (Reentrâncias Maranhenses) of Maranhão/Brazil. Therefore, methodological resources will be used, with regard to the anthropic variables (socioeconomic parameters) obtained from the database of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), as well as the classification of land use and occupation that currently generate pressure in this system. Other methodological resources related to physical/natural characteristics consist of: Interpolation of several digital Elevation Models; Predictive data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and fieldwork to collect samples of surface and material coverage for dating through OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) and GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar), for analysis of the impact of climate pulsations will be used the technique of fractal analysis of the shoreline, to project future environmental changes, through the interpolation of variables by multivariate analysis of these data, which will be treated in the Geographic Information System (GIS) environment, ArcGIS 10.7 and QGIS 3.20.2 software. It is proposed to carry out a BEPE aiming at the use of new technologies and exchange of scientific knowledge from the agreement already signed between the Department of Geography of Unicamp and the Federico II University - Naples/Italy. Based on the results achieved, it can be considered, in this way, what are the main agents of transformation of coastal landscapes today and in the near future through applied analysis, safeguarding the current conditions of dynamic balance, aiming to contribute to strategic and planning issues correlating physical and socioeconomic data. (AU)