Anthropogenic influences in a lagoonal environment: a multiproxy approach at the valo grande mouth, Cananéia-Iguape system (SE Brazil)

Mahiques, Michel Michaelovitch de; Burone, Leticia; Figueira, Rubens Cesar Lopes; Lavenére-Wanderley, Ana Amélia de Oliveira; Capellari, Benjamim; Rogacheski, Carlos Eduardo; Barroso, Cassia Pianca; Samaritano dos Santos, Leonardo Augusto; Cordero, Luisa Mariutti; Cussioli, Mariana Coppede

Abstracts

The Cananéia-Iguape system, SE Brazil, consists of a complex of lagoonal channels, located in a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserve. Nevertheless, important environmental changes have occurred in approximately the last 150 yrs due to the opening of an artificial channel, the Valo Grande, connecting the Ribeira de Iguape River to the lagoonal system. Our objective is to assess the historical record of the uppermost layers of the sedimentary column of the lagoonal system in order to determine the history of environmental changes caused by the opening of the artificial channel. In this sense, an integrated geochemical-faunal approach is used. The environmental changes led significant modifications in salinity, in changes of the depositional patterns of sediments and foraminiferal assemblages (including periods of defaunation), and, more drastically, in the input of heavy metals to the coastal environment. The concentrations Pb in the core analyzed here were up to two times higher than the values measured in contaminated sediments from the Santos estuary, the most industrialized coastal zone in Brazil.

Anthropogenic influence; Lagoon; Sedimentation; SE Brazil

O sistema Cananéia-Iguape (Sudeste do Brasil), consiste em um complexo de canais lagunares localizados no interior de uma Reserva da Biosfera (assim definida pela UNESCO). Não obstante, variações ambientais importantes ocorreram nos últimos 150 anos, devido à abertura de um canal artificial, o Valo Grande, conectando o Rio Ribeira de Iguape ao sistema lagunar. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a história das variações ambientais no sistema lagunar, causadas pela abertura do canal artificial, através da análise das camadas superiores da coluna sedimentar de um testemunho coletado no sistema. Neste sentido, uma abordagem integrada, envolvendo variações geoquímicas e faunísticas foi utilizada. As variações ambientais ocorridas apontam para mudanças drásticas na salinidade, nos padrões de sedimentação, nas associações de foraminíferos (incluindo períodos azóicos) e, mais drasticamente, no aporte de metais para o sistema costeiro. As concentrações de Pb no testemunho coletado indicam valores duas vezes maiores do que os medidos em sedimentos contaminados do estuário de Santos, situado na zona costeira mais industrializada do Brasil.

Influência antrópica; Laguna; Sedimentação; SE Brasil

ALVE, E. Benthic foraminífera in sediment cores reflecting heavy metal pollution in SØrfjord, western Norway. J. foram. Res., v. 21, p. 1-19, 1991.
ALVE, E. Benthic foraminiferal responses to estuarine pollution: a review. J. foram. Res, v. 25, p. 190-203, 1995.
ANDREWS, S.; SUTHERLAND, R. A. Cu, Pb and Zn contamination in Nuuanu watershed, Oahu, Hawaii. Sci. total Environment, v. 324, p. 173-182, 2004.
BESNARD, W. Considerações gerais em torno da Região Lagunar de Cananéia-Iguape. Bolm Inst.. paul. Oceanogr., v. 1, p. 9-26, 1950.
BIRCH, G.; TAYLOR. S. Source of heavy metals in sediments of the Port Jackson estuary, Australia. Sci. total Environment, v. 227, p. 123-138, 1999.
BYERS, S.; MILLS, E.; STEWART, P. Comparison of methods of determining organic carbon in marine sediments, with suggestions for a standard method. Hydrobiologia, v. 58, p. 43-47, 1978.
CEARRETA, A.; IRABIEN, M. J.; LEORRI, E.; YUSTA, I.; CROUDACE, I. W.; CUNDY, A. B. Recent anthropogenic impacts on the Bilbao Estuary, Northern Spain: Geochemical and Microfaunal Evidence. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci, v. 50, p. 571-592, 2000.
CEARRETA, A.; IRABIEN, M. J.; LEORRI, E.; YUSTA, I.; QUINTANULLA, A.; ZABALETA, A. Environmental transformation of the Bilbao estuary, N. Spain: microfaunal and geochemical proxies in the recent sedimentary record. Mar. Pollut. Bull, v. 44, p. 487- 503, 2002.
CHAN, L. S.; NG, S. L.; DAVIS, A. M., YIM, W.W.S.; YEUNG, C. H. Magnetic properties and heavy-metal contents of contaminated seabed sediments of Penny's Bay, Hong Kong. Mar. Pollut. Bull, v. 42, p. 569-583, 2001.
CORREDEIRA, C.; ARAUJO, M. F.; JOUANNEAU, J. M. Copper, zinc and lead impact in SW Iberian shelf sediments: An assessment of recent historical changes in Guadiana river basin. Geochem. J, v. 42, p. 319-329, 2008.
CUNDY, A. B.; CROUDACE, I. W.; CEARRETA, A.; IRABIEN, M. J. Reconstructing historical trends in metal input in heavily-disturbed, contaminated estuaries: studies from Bilbao, Southampton Water and Sicily. l. Appl Geochem. , v. 18, p. 311-325, 2003.
DASSENAKIS, M.; A. DEGAITA; SCOULLOS, M. Trace metals in sediments of a Mediterranean estuary affected by human activities (Achellos river estuary, Greece). Sci total Environment, v. 168, p. 19-31, 1995.
DIAS-BRITO, D.; OLIVEIRA, D. Integrating Foraminifera, Thecamoebians and plant distribution data to understand the environmental succession in a hydrographic basin: an example from Itanhaém-SP, Southeastern coast of Brazil. In: Ecological and paleoenvironmental applications. Porto Seguro: Associação Brasileira de Estudos do Quaternário. CD-ROM:viiabequa_tmo010.pdf, 1999.
DONDERS, T. H.; GORISSEN, P.M.; SANGIORGI, F.; CREMER, H.; WAGNER-CREMER, F. Three-hundred-year hydrological changes in a subtropical estuary, Rookery Bay (Florida): Human impact versus natural variability. Geochem., Geophys. , Geosystems, v. 9, Q07V06, doi:10.1029/2008GC001980, 2008.
ELBERLING, B.; KNUDSEN, K.L.; KRISTENSEN, P.H.; ASMUND, G. Applying foraminiferal stratigraphy as a biomarker for heavy metal contamination and mining impact in a fiord in West Greenland. Mar. environ. Res, v. 55, p. 235-256, 2003.
FIGUEIRA, R.C.L.; TESSLER, M. G.; MAHIQUES, M. M.; FUKUMOTO, M. M. Is there a technique for the determination of sedimentation rates based on calcium carbonate content? A comparative study on the Southeastern Brazilian shelf. Soils Found, v. 47, p. 649-656, 2007.
FOX, W. M.; JOHSON, M. S.; JONES, S. R.; LEAH, R. T.; COPPLESTONE, D. The use of sediment cores from stable and developing salt marshes to reconstruct historical contamination profiles in the Mersey Estuary, UK. Mar. environ. Res, v. 47, p. 311-29, 1999.
GEOBRÁS. Complexo Valo Grande, Mar Pequeno, Rio Ribeira de Iguape. Relatório para o serviço do Vale do Ribeira - São Paulo: DAEE, v. 1, 1966. 448 p.
HORNBERGER, M. I.; LUOMA, S. N.; VAN GEEN, A.; FULLER, C.; ANIMA, R. Historical trends of metals in the sediments of San Francisco Bay, California. Mar Chem, v. 64, p. 39-55, 1999.
JONES, B.; TURKI, A. Distribution and speciation of heavy metals in surficial sediments from the Tees Estuary, north-east England. Mar. Pollut. Bull, v. 34, p. 768-779, 1997.
LEORRI, E.; CEARRETA, A., IRABIEN, M. J., YUSTA, I. Geochemical and microfaunal proxies to assess environmental quality conditions during the recovery process of a heavily polluted estuary: The Bilbao estuary case (N. Spain). Sci. total Environment, v. 396, p. 1227, 2008.
LI, X.; O. W. H. WAI; LI, Y. S.; COLES B. J.; RAMSEY, H.; THORNTON, I. Heavy metal distribution in the sediment profiles of the Pearl River estuary, South China. Appl. Geochem, v. 15, p. 567-581, 2000.
LOEBLICH, A.R.; TAPPAN, H. Foraminiferal Genera and their classification New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1988, v. 1; 2. 270p + 212p, 847 pls.
MARTIN, L.; SUGUIO, K. Le Quaternaire Marin du littoral brésilien entre Cananéia et Barra de Guaratiba (RJ). In: INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON COASTAL EVOLUTION IN THE QUATERNARY. São Paulo, 1978. Proceedings... São Paulo, IGCP, p, 296-331, 1979.
MURRAY, J. W. Recent benthic foraminiferids of the Celtic Sea. J. foram. Res, v. 9, p. 193-209, 1979.
PASTERNACK, G. B.; BROWN, K. J. Natural and anthropogenic geochemical signatures of floodplain and deltaic sedimentary strata, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA. Environ. Pollut, v. 141, p. 295-309, 2006.
PETRI, S.; SUGUIO, K. Some aspects on the Neocenozoic sedimentation in the Cananéia-Iguape lagoonal region, São Paulo, Brazil Estudos Sedimentológicos, v. 1, 1971. p. 25-33.
PETRI, S.; SUGUIO, K. Stratigraphy of the Iguape-Cananeia lagoonal region sedimentary deposits, São Paulo, Brazil. Part II: Heavy minerals studies, micro-organisms inventories and strattigraphical interpretations. Bolm IG-USP, v. 4, p. 7-85, 1973.
PIELOU, E. C. Ecological diversity New York: John Wiley, 1975. 165 p.
PLATER, A. J.; APPLEBY, P. G. Tidal sedimentation in the Tees estuary during the 20th century: radionuclide and magnetic evidence of pollution and sedimentary response. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci, v. 60, p. 179-192, 2004.
PLATER, A. J.; RIDGWAY, J.; APPLEBY, P. G.; BERRY, A.; WRIGHT, M.R. Historical contaminant fluxes in the Tees estuary, UK: Geochemical, magnetic and radionuclide evidence. Mar. Pollut. Bull, v. 37, p. 343360, 1998.
RUIZ-FERNANDEZ, A. C.; HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C.; PAEZ-OSUNA, F.; GHALEB, B.; CABALLERO, M. Pb-210 chronology and trace metal geochemistry at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, as evidenced by a sedimentary record from the Lago Verde crater lake. Res Quat, v. 67, p.181-192, 2007.
SHANNON, C. E.; WEAVER, W.W. The mathematical theory of communication Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1963. 125 p.
SUGUIO, K.; L. MARTIN, L. Formações quaternárias marinhas do litoral paulista e sul-fluminense. In: INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON COASTAL EVOLUTION IN THE QUATERNARY. Special Publication São Paulo: Instituto de Geociências da Universidade de São Paulo - Sociedade Brasileira de Geologia, 1978. v. 1, p. 1-15.
TESSLER, M. G.; FIGUEIRA, R. C.; MAHIQUES, M. M.; FUKUMOTO, M. M.; CIAPINA, E. M. P. Sedimentation rates and contamination levels by heavy metals at the shallow sedimentary columns from Santos estuary and bay, SP, Brazil. J. coastal Res, v. SI39, p. 713-717, 2006.
USEPA. Method 3050B. of Acid digestion sediments, sludges, and soils. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2008. <http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/testmethods/sw846/pdfs/3050b.pdf >Last access on 06/03/2009.
WALTON, W. R; SLOAN, B. The genus Ammonia Brünnich 1972: its geographic distribution and morphological variability. J. foramin. Research, v. 20, p. 128-156, 1990.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
15 Jan 2010
Date of issue
Dec 2009

History

Accepted
07 July 2009
Reviewed
17 June 2009
Received
25 Mar 2009

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[1] ALVE, E. Benthic foraminífera in sediment cores reflecting heavy metal pollution in SØrfjord, western Norway. J. foram. Res., v. 21, p. 1-19, 1991.

[2] ALVE, E. Benthic foraminiferal responses to estuarine pollution: a review. J. foram. Res, v. 25, p. 190-203, 1995.

[3] ANDREWS, S.; SUTHERLAND, R. A. Cu, Pb and Zn contamination in Nuuanu watershed, Oahu, Hawaii. Sci. total Environment, v. 324, p. 173-182, 2004.

[4] BESNARD, W. Considerações gerais em torno da Região Lagunar de Cananéia-Iguape. Bolm Inst.. paul. Oceanogr., v. 1, p. 9-26, 1950.

[5] BIRCH, G.; TAYLOR. S. Source of heavy metals in sediments of the Port Jackson estuary, Australia. Sci. total Environment, v. 227, p. 123-138, 1999.

[6] BYERS, S.; MILLS, E.; STEWART, P. Comparison of methods of determining organic carbon in marine sediments, with suggestions for a standard method. Hydrobiologia, v. 58, p. 43-47, 1978.

[7] CEARRETA, A.; IRABIEN, M. J.; LEORRI, E.; YUSTA, I.; CROUDACE, I. W.; CUNDY, A. B. Recent anthropogenic impacts on the Bilbao Estuary, Northern Spain: Geochemical and Microfaunal Evidence. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci, v. 50, p. 571-592, 2000.

[8] CEARRETA, A.; IRABIEN, M. J.; LEORRI, E.; YUSTA, I.; QUINTANULLA, A.; ZABALETA, A. Environmental transformation of the Bilbao estuary, N. Spain: microfaunal and geochemical proxies in the recent sedimentary record. Mar. Pollut. Bull, v. 44, p. 487- 503, 2002.

[9] CHAN, L. S.; NG, S. L.; DAVIS, A. M., YIM, W.W.S.; YEUNG, C. H. Magnetic properties and heavy-metal contents of contaminated seabed sediments of Penny's Bay, Hong Kong. Mar. Pollut. Bull, v. 42, p. 569-583, 2001.

[10] CORREDEIRA, C.; ARAUJO, M. F.; JOUANNEAU, J. M. Copper, zinc and lead impact in SW Iberian shelf sediments: An assessment of recent historical changes in Guadiana river basin. Geochem. J, v. 42, p. 319-329, 2008.

[11] CUNDY, A. B.; CROUDACE, I. W.; CEARRETA, A.; IRABIEN, M. J. Reconstructing historical trends in metal input in heavily-disturbed, contaminated estuaries: studies from Bilbao, Southampton Water and Sicily. l. Appl Geochem. , v. 18, p. 311-325, 2003.

[12] DASSENAKIS, M.; A. DEGAITA; SCOULLOS, M. Trace metals in sediments of a Mediterranean estuary affected by human activities (Achellos river estuary, Greece). Sci total Environment, v. 168, p. 19-31, 1995.

[13] DIAS-BRITO, D.; OLIVEIRA, D. Integrating Foraminifera, Thecamoebians and plant distribution data to understand the environmental succession in a hydrographic basin: an example from Itanhaém-SP, Southeastern coast of Brazil. In: Ecological and paleoenvironmental applications. Porto Seguro: Associação Brasileira de Estudos do Quaternário. CD-ROM:viiabequa_tmo010.pdf, 1999.

[14] DONDERS, T. H.; GORISSEN, P.M.; SANGIORGI, F.; CREMER, H.; WAGNER-CREMER, F. Three-hundred-year hydrological changes in a subtropical estuary, Rookery Bay (Florida): Human impact versus natural variability. Geochem., Geophys. , Geosystems, v. 9, Q07V06, doi:10.1029/2008GC001980, 2008.

[15] ELBERLING, B.; KNUDSEN, K.L.; KRISTENSEN, P.H.; ASMUND, G. Applying foraminiferal stratigraphy as a biomarker for heavy metal contamination and mining impact in a fiord in West Greenland. Mar. environ. Res, v. 55, p. 235-256, 2003.

[16] FIGUEIRA, R.C.L.; TESSLER, M. G.; MAHIQUES, M. M.; FUKUMOTO, M. M. Is there a technique for the determination of sedimentation rates based on calcium carbonate content? A comparative study on the Southeastern Brazilian shelf. Soils Found, v. 47, p. 649-656, 2007.

[17] FOX, W. M.; JOHSON, M. S.; JONES, S. R.; LEAH, R. T.; COPPLESTONE, D. The use of sediment cores from stable and developing salt marshes to reconstruct historical contamination profiles in the Mersey Estuary, UK. Mar. environ. Res, v. 47, p. 311-29, 1999.

[18] GEOBRÁS. Complexo Valo Grande, Mar Pequeno, Rio Ribeira de Iguape. Relatório para o serviço do Vale do Ribeira - São Paulo: DAEE, v. 1, 1966. 448 p.

[19] HORNBERGER, M. I.; LUOMA, S. N.; VAN GEEN, A.; FULLER, C.; ANIMA, R. Historical trends of metals in the sediments of San Francisco Bay, California. Mar Chem, v. 64, p. 39-55, 1999.

[20] JONES, B.; TURKI, A. Distribution and speciation of heavy metals in surficial sediments from the Tees Estuary, north-east England. Mar. Pollut. Bull, v. 34, p. 768-779, 1997.

[21] LEORRI, E.; CEARRETA, A., IRABIEN, M. J., YUSTA, I. Geochemical and microfaunal proxies to assess environmental quality conditions during the recovery process of a heavily polluted estuary: The Bilbao estuary case (N. Spain). Sci. total Environment, v. 396, p. 1227, 2008.

[22] LI, X.; O. W. H. WAI; LI, Y. S.; COLES B. J.; RAMSEY, H.; THORNTON, I. Heavy metal distribution in the sediment profiles of the Pearl River estuary, South China. Appl. Geochem, v. 15, p. 567-581, 2000.

[23] LOEBLICH, A.R.; TAPPAN, H. Foraminiferal Genera and their classification New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1988, v. 1; 2. 270p + 212p, 847 pls.

[24] MARTIN, L.; SUGUIO, K. Le Quaternaire Marin du littoral brésilien entre Cananéia et Barra de Guaratiba (RJ). In: INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON COASTAL EVOLUTION IN THE QUATERNARY. São Paulo, 1978. Proceedings... São Paulo, IGCP, p, 296-331, 1979.

[25] MURRAY, J. W. Recent benthic foraminiferids of the Celtic Sea. J. foram. Res, v. 9, p. 193-209, 1979.

[26] PASTERNACK, G. B.; BROWN, K. J. Natural and anthropogenic geochemical signatures of floodplain and deltaic sedimentary strata, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA. Environ. Pollut, v. 141, p. 295-309, 2006.

[27] PETRI, S.; SUGUIO, K. Some aspects on the Neocenozoic sedimentation in the Cananéia-Iguape lagoonal region, São Paulo, Brazil Estudos Sedimentológicos, v. 1, 1971. p. 25-33.

[28] PETRI, S.; SUGUIO, K. Stratigraphy of the Iguape-Cananeia lagoonal region sedimentary deposits, São Paulo, Brazil. Part II: Heavy minerals studies, micro-organisms inventories and strattigraphical interpretations. Bolm IG-USP, v. 4, p. 7-85, 1973.

[29] PIELOU, E. C. Ecological diversity New York: John Wiley, 1975. 165 p.

[30] PLATER, A. J.; APPLEBY, P. G. Tidal sedimentation in the Tees estuary during the 20th century: radionuclide and magnetic evidence of pollution and sedimentary response. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci, v. 60, p. 179-192, 2004.

[31] PLATER, A. J.; RIDGWAY, J.; APPLEBY, P. G.; BERRY, A.; WRIGHT, M.R. Historical contaminant fluxes in the Tees estuary, UK: Geochemical, magnetic and radionuclide evidence. Mar. Pollut. Bull, v. 37, p. 343360, 1998.

[32] RUIZ-FERNANDEZ, A. C.; HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C.; PAEZ-OSUNA, F.; GHALEB, B.; CABALLERO, M. Pb-210 chronology and trace metal geochemistry at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, as evidenced by a sedimentary record from the Lago Verde crater lake. Res Quat, v. 67, p.181-192, 2007.

[33] SHANNON, C. E.; WEAVER, W.W. The mathematical theory of communication Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1963. 125 p.

[34] SUGUIO, K.; L. MARTIN, L. Formações quaternárias marinhas do litoral paulista e sul-fluminense. In: INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON COASTAL EVOLUTION IN THE QUATERNARY. Special Publication São Paulo: Instituto de Geociências da Universidade de São Paulo - Sociedade Brasileira de Geologia, 1978. v. 1, p. 1-15.

[35] TESSLER, M. G.; FIGUEIRA, R. C.; MAHIQUES, M. M.; FUKUMOTO, M. M.; CIAPINA, E. M. P. Sedimentation rates and contamination levels by heavy metals at the shallow sedimentary columns from Santos estuary and bay, SP, Brazil. J. coastal Res, v. SI39, p. 713-717, 2006.

[36] USEPA. Method 3050B. of Acid digestion sediments, sludges, and soils. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2008. <http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/testmethods/sw846/pdfs/3050b.pdf >Last access on 06/03/2009.

[37] WALTON, W. R; SLOAN, B. The genus Ammonia Brünnich 1972: its geographic distribution and morphological variability. J. foramin. Research, v. 20, p. 128-156, 1990.