Monitoring Water Siltation Caused by Small-Scale Gold Mining in Amazonian Rivers Using Multi-Satellite Images

The small-scale mining techniques applied all over the Amazon river basin use water from streams, including digging and riverbed suctioning, rarely preventing environmental impacts or recovery of the impacted areas. As a consequence, thousands of tons of inorganic sediment (which can contain mercury) have been discharged directly into the rivers creating sediment plumes that travel hundreds of kilometers downstream with unknown consequences to the water quality and aquatic biota. We hypothesize that because of intensification of mining activities in the Brazilian Amazon, clear water rivers such as the Tapajós and Xingu rivers and its tributaries are becoming permanently turbid waters (so-called white waters in the Amazonian context). To investigate this hypothesis, satellite images have been used to monitor the sediment plume caused by gold mining in Amazonian rivers. Given the threat of intense water siltation of the Amazonian rivers combined with the technological capacity of detecting it from satellite images, the objective of this chapter is to inform the main activities carried out to develop a monitoring system for quantifying water siltation caused by small-scale gold mining (SSGM) in the Amazon rivers using multi-satellite data

Remote sensing of large reservoir in the drought years: Implications on surface water change and turbidity variability of Sobradinho reservoir (Northeast Brazil)

Sobradinho reservoir has been suffering a severe water loss caused by multi-year drought in the Northeast Brazil. This reservoir contributes to the socio-economic development of the semi-arid region, and the monitoring of water shortage is crucial for people living in this climate-vulnerable region. In this study, we evaluate the surface water change and turbidity variability of Sobradinho reservoir during recent drought years (2013–2017). A time-series dataset was created using 109 Landsat-8 OLI images for mapping the water extent in the reservoir. A non-linear regression between measured turbidity and surface reflectance (red band) was developed and applied for turbidity retrievals. Additionally, we performed a long-term precipitation analysis (17-year) to assess the rainfall deficit over the catchment area. Our results show that the annual precipitation regimes are below the long-term average during 2012–2017 period, except 2013. We also found that negative anomalies occur during 26 out of 36 months between 2014 and 2016, mostly in the rainy season. Since the rainfall regimes and river discharges are the major drivers for water recharge, these drought years have a critical impact on the reservoir level. According to our results, the water surface receded about 2073 km2 (out of total 3303 km2) during September 2017; this represents a reduction of 62.8% in the total water extent. The surface water change is spatially distinct across the reservoir. For instance, the upper section of the reservoir was almost totally dried during September 2017, and the water coverage was ~8% (91.25 km2 out of 1128 km2). Although other sections had a relatively low water change (reduction of ~40%), the losses are significant in terms of area (~1035.5 km2). The receding of water extent affects the people living near to the reservoir, and local communities are more distant from water (up to 13 km). We also observed that the turbidity is seasonally dependent, and water clarity presents a strong variability between rainy and dry seasons. In general, the turbidity levels vary from clear water (0–20 NTU) during the dry season to turbid condition (\u3e50 NTU) during the rainy season. A lack of access to clean and safe drinking water in some periods might be harmful to humans, livestock and domestic animals. Finally, this research contributes to the assessment of drought-related impacts in the Sobradinho, the largest reservoir in the Northeast Brazil. The water shortage is a recurring concern in the semi-arid region, and the remote sensing techniques provide spatially explicit information to enhance the livelihood resilience during drought years

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in ZZ-tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a $Z$ boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 $< p_{\textrm{T}} < 100$ GeV and in the pseudorapidity range $2.5 < \eta < 4$. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb$^{-1}$. Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb public pages

Study of the B−→Λc+Λˉc−K−B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-} decay

The decay $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. In the $\Lambda_{c}^+ K^{-}$ system, the $\Xi_{c}(2930)^{0}$ state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is resolved into two narrower states, $\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}$ and $\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}$, whose masses and widths are measured to be $$m(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = 2924.5 \pm 0.4 \pm 1.1 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ m(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = 2938.5 \pm 0.9 \pm 2.3 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = \phantom{000}4.8 \pm 0.9 \pm 1.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},\\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = \phantom{00}11.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 7.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},$$ where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a prompt $\Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ sample. Evidence of a new $\Xi_{c}(2880)^{0}$ state is found with a local significance of $3.8\,\sigma$, whose mass and width are measured to be $2881.8 \pm 3.1 \pm 8.5\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $12.4 \pm 5.3 \pm 5.8 \,\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode $\Xi_{c}(2790)^{0} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ is found with a significance of $3.7\,\sigma$. The relative branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ with respect to the $B^{-} \to D^{+} D^{-} K^{-}$ decay is measured to be $2.36 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.25$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb public pages

Measurement of the ratios of branching fractions R(D∗)\mathcal{R}(D^{*}) and R(D0)\mathcal{R}(D^{0})

The ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})\equiv\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})\equiv\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0 fb${ }^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode $\tau^{-}\to\mu^{-}\nu_{\tau}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})=0.281\pm0.018\pm0.024$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})=0.441\pm0.060\pm0.066$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is $\rho=-0.43$. Results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-039.html (LHCb public pages

Cabbage and fermented vegetables : From death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT(1)R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance as well as lung and endothelial damage, two severe outcomes of COVID-19. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is the most potent antioxidant in humans and can block in particular the AT(1)R axis. Cabbage contains precursors of sulforaphane, the most active natural activator of Nrf2. Fermented vegetables contain many lactobacilli, which are also potent Nrf2 activators. Three examples are: kimchi in Korea, westernized foods, and the slum paradox. It is proposed that fermented cabbage is a proof-of-concept of dietary manipulations that may enhance Nrf2-associated antioxidant effects, helpful in mitigating COVID-19 severity.Peer reviewe

Nrf2-interacting nutrients and COVID-19 : time for research to develop adaptation strategies

There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) anti-oxidant transcription factor. There are many Nrf2-interacting nutrients (berberine, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane) that all act similarly to reduce insulin resistance, endothelial damage, lung injury and cytokine storm. They also act on the same mechanisms (mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin, PPAR gamma:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, NF kappa B: Nuclear factor kappa B, ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases and eIF2 alpha:Elongation initiation factor 2 alpha). They may as a result be important in mitigating the severity of COVID-19, acting through the endoplasmic reticulum stress or ACE-Angiotensin-II-AT(1)R axis (AT(1)R) pathway. Many Nrf2-interacting nutrients are also interacting with TRPA1 and/or TRPV1. Interestingly, geographical areas with very low COVID-19 mortality are those with the lowest prevalence of obesity (Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia). It is tempting to propose that Nrf2-interacting foods and nutrients can re-balance insulin resistance and have a significant effect on COVID-19 severity. It is therefore possible that the intake of these foods may restore an optimal natural balance for the Nrf2 pathway and may be of interest in the mitigation of COVID-19 severity

Mapping Mining Areas in the Brazilian Amazon Using MSI/Sentinel-2 Imagery (2017)

Although mining plays an important role for the economy of the Amazon, little is known about its attributes such as area, type, scale, and current status as well as socio/environmental impacts. Therefore, we first propose a low time-consuming and high detection accuracy method for mapping the current mining areas within 13 regions of the Brazilian Amazon using Sentinel-2 images. Then, integrating the maps in a GIS (Geography Information System) environment, mining attributes for each region were further assessed with the aid of the DNPM (National Department for Mineral Production) database. Detection of the mining area was conducted in five main steps. (a) MSI (MultiSpectral Instrument)/Sentinel-2A (S2A) image selection; (b) definition of land-use classes and training samples; (c) supervised classification; (d) vector editing for quality control; and (e) validation with high-resolution RapidEye images (Kappa = 0.70). Mining areas derived from validated S2A classification totals 1084.7 km2 in the regions analyzed. Small-scale mining comprises up to 64% of total mining area detected comprises mostly gold (617.8 km2), followed by tin mining (73.0 km2). The remaining 36% is comprised by industrial mining such as iron (47.8), copper (55.5) and manganese (8.9 km2) in Caraj&aacute;s, bauxite in Trombetas (78.4) and Rio Capim (48.5 km2). Given recent events of mining impacts, the large extension of mining areas detected raises a concern regarding its socio-environmental impacts for the Amazonian ecosystems and for local communities

Semi-automatização para criação de coleções de imagens para o aplicativo ALGAEMAP

Esse trabalho se enquadra, tendo como objetivo estudar e aplicar um método de semi-automatização para o carregamento de imagens para o servidor do GEE

Avanços e limitações da utilização de VANTS aplicados ao sensoriamento remoto aquático

O presente trabalho foi fundamentado através de pesquisa bibliográfica sistemática em artigos, livros e teses, e através deste método foi realizada uma ampla pesquisa sobre a utilização de Vants para o sensoriameto remoto aquático. Conforme foi sendo realizada a pesquisa, os dados mais relevantes foram selecionados e sintetizados