Mapeamento de geounidades do meio físico e biótico em área da Antártica Marítima / Mapping geounits of the physical and biotic environment in area of Maritime Antarctica

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2006

RESUMO

The objective of this work was to carry out a detailed survey of the physical and biotic environment of the area between the Ecology Glacier and the Italy Valley, part of the Antarctic Specially Managed Area of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica, at cartographic scale suitable for assisting studies of environmental monitoring. The non-conventional aerial photographs produced by the Cryosols Project in 2003 allowed the photointerpretation of the semi-controlled mosaic, generating the themes geology, geomorphology, soils and vegetation cover for the study area, being the three last ones at unpublished scale. The drawing of solar radiation maps for the study area allowed the analysis of interactions of these variables, still little used in spatial analyses, with the spatialisation of plant communities and presence of avifauna (penguins). The restitution of the aerial photographs facilitated orthorectification for part of the study area, whose orthorectificated mosaic photointerpretation resulted in maps of geology, geomorphology, soils, vegetation cover and geoenvironments of better cartographic quality compared to maps produced without this technique. The use of GIS map algebra allowed the analysis of the existing relationships among the themes soils, geology, geomorphology and vegetation cover. The study area has great environmental diversity, showing scattered plant colonization, with an abundance of birds and marine animals that use the area for refuge and reproduction. The area geomorphology shows highly rough relief divided between erosional and depositional features. The creeping slopes, of erosional nature, represent the largest geomorphological unit in the area, with 42% of the total. Turbic cryosols prevail as the largest mapped soil unit, occupying 44% of the area. Ornithogenic soils are also found in the region. They develop in both old penguin rookeries and in new terraces with active penguin rookeries, as well as in uplifted holocenic terraces abandoned by the avifauna. Greater nutrient availability in these soils contributes to the establishment of plant communities. Geoenvironmental mapping allowed the ranking of each geounit in terms of its valorization and environmental fragility, assisting environmental planning in the area.

ASSUNTO(S)

geoambientes antarctica geotecnica orthorectification ortorretificação antártica geoprocessamento solar radiation radiação solar geoenvironments geoprocessing

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