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The use of geoprocessing to assess vulnerability on the east coast aquifers of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

The east coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, shows a worrying overlap between areas with intrinsic groundwater vulnerability and the most significant urban expansion zones. It experienced a rapid population growth in recent years, mainly due to the tourism industry, resulting in a significant pressure on drinking groundwater resources. In this regard, development and use of techniques to control and protect areas susceptible to contamination is crucial. The elaboration of aquifer vulnerability maps is thus extremely helpful to support water resources management. The aim of the work is to present the methodological approach in the use of Geoprocessing techniques to obtain a suitable groundwater vulnerability model in Rio de Janeiro east coast. Considering the existing problems and the current land use and characteristics of the study region, it is clear that the most vulnerable areas (that is, “extreme” and “very high” vulnerability areas), coincide with the most significant zones of urban occupation, corresponding to 11% of the total study area, demanding adoption of urgent measures in the near future. Geoprocessing tools and remote sensing for characterization of Rio de Janeiro’s east coast aquifer vulnerability gave good results, representing a satisfactory method for management actions at low cost.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior for the scholarship of the first author and research support from Brazilian CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) agency for the project. They also wish to thank Mrs. Giovanna Zanoni for the manuscript review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, CEP 21941-916, Brazil

    Vinicius Silva Seabra & Gerson Cardoso da Silva Jr

  2. Departamento de Geografia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, CEP 21945-970, Brazil

    Carla Bernadete Madureira Cruz

Authors
  1. Vinicius Silva Seabra
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  2. Gerson Cardoso da Silva Jr
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  3. Carla Bernadete Madureira Cruz
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Correspondence to Gerson Cardoso da Silva Jr.

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Seabra, V.S., Silva, G.C.d. & Cruz, C.B.M. The use of geoprocessing to assess vulnerability on the east coast aquifers of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Environ Geol 57, 665–674 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1345-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1345-6

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