Intervention in Forte do Guincho Sea heritage – Conservation and architecture project

Forte do Guincho is situated on a promontory in a protected landscape. It was built in the 17th century and was part of an extensive line of defensive forts on the Cascais coast which protected the entrance to the Barra do Tejo. The particular nature of the location and the heritage value of Forte do Guincho were fundamental factors used in designing the architectural solution. Conservation and preservation are underlying concepts of the proposal. The pre-established use and programme intended to qualify the monument implied the need for a new construction, linked to the already existing structures but tectonically separated, thus potentially reversible, from the fort. The decision to plaster the walls of the fort or leave them unplastered was one of the most sensitive issues during the development of the project, since it would influence the integration of the fort in the landscape and its conservation. The aim of the (yet unbuilt) project was to achieve, through an integrated transdisciplinary project, a unity of form and materials between the pre-existing structures and the contemporary additions, thus giving renewed life to the monument while preserving its authenticity

Assessment of the environmental impact of acid mine drainage on surface water, stream sediments, and macrophytes using a battery of chemical and ecotoxicological indicators

Mining activities at the Portuguese sector of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) have been responsible for the pollution of water, sediments, and biota, caused by the acid mine drainage (AMD) from the tailing deposits. The impact has been felt for years in the rivers and streams receiving AMD from the Aljustrel mine (SW sector of the IPB, Portugal), such as at the Água Forte stream, a tributary of the Roxo stream (Sado and Mira Hydrographic Region). To evaluate the extent of that environmental impact prior to the remediation actions, surface water, sediments, and the macrophyte Scirpus holoschoenus L. were sampled at the Água Forte and the Roxo streams, upstream and downstream from the confluence. The surface water and the sediments were extremely acidic at the Água Forte stream (pH ranges 2.22–2.92 for the water and 2.57–3.32 for the sediment), with high As, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations of 2.1, 120, 0.21, and 421 mg kg1, respectively, in the water, and 661, 1746, 539, and 1994 mg kg1, respectively, in the sediment, in the location closer to the mine. Two aquatic bioassays evidenced the high ecotoxicity of the Água Forte water at that site, with very low EC50 values for Vibrio fischeri luminescence inhibition (<3.1% v/v) and Daphnia magna 48-hour immobilization/mortality assays (<6.3% v/v). The impact of the AMD was also evident in the sediments of the Roxo stream, but not so marked in the water, with circa neutral pH and lower As, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations. Consistently, the ecotoxicological response was only felt in the sampling point closer to the confluence of the Água Forte with the Roxo stream, with an EC20 of 27.0% (v/v) towards the V. fischeri. One of the dominant and well adapted macrophytes, S. holoschoenus L., presented low bioaccumulation factors for Cu (0.04) and Zn (0.15) in their emerging parts, and very low concentrations for As and Pb, making this plant a potential candidate to be used in phytoremediation actions to treat and control AMD in the IPBinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Requalificação do habitar em contexto de áreas mínimas. Projecto para o Bairro Padre Cruz

Tese de Mestrado em Arquitectur

Irrigation water quality in Alentejo (Portugal) study of the irrigation perimeter of the reservoir of Roxo

Alentejo is a region of Portugal located in the south of the country and the main economic activity is agriculture. In Alentejo the precipitation is very irregular. The problem of droughts often occurs. The Alqueva reservoir is the biggest reservoir in Europe and provides water for more than 120,000 hectares for agriculture. Before the use of the reservoir, the main agricultural products were cereals. Now farmers grow vegetables and they make an intensive culture of olive trees and almond trees. The Roxo reservoir is one of those will receive water from Alqueva in 2016. The increase of water in quantitative and qualitative terms can provide very significant increases in the growth of the soil production that we must monetize in the best way. The aim of this study was evaluate the quality of water resulting from the monitoring carried out during 2014/2015 in the hydraulic system and in the drainage network of the irrigation perimeter of Roxo's reservoir to be made a more sustainable management of irrigated area. The main conclusions were as follows: i) the water of the irrigation channel and drainage network show a mil to moderate degree of salinity risk; ii) doesn t show characteristics to modify the soil infiltration conditions; iii) indicates degree of restriction slight to moderate due to the amounts of Na+ and Cl-; iv) the drainage network presents toxicity due the chlorides and boron; v) the ammonia nitrogen and nitrate values were low. The application of nitrogenous fertilizers seems to influence the results