Coastal erosion in the Paraíba do Sul River basin: a preliminary analysis of land use and sedimentary dynamics

Authors

  • Felipe Augusto Santos Master’s Degree in Natural Disaster, Researcher, National Centre for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9905-234X
  • Javier Tomasella PhD in Civil Engineering, Researcher, National Institute for Space Research, Earth System Science Centre, Cachoeira Paulista, SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2597-8833

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v16n3.2025.58101

Keywords:

Trend analysis, Pluviometry, Fluviometry, Land use, Sediment transport

Abstract

The Paraíba do Sul River basin supplies major urban centres, such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and has been significantly impacted by urbanisation and multiple water uses. Over time, water demand has increased for the construction of hydropower dams and water-transfer systems. This research preliminarily examines how land-use changes and hydrometeorological trends have influenced sediment transport. We conducted an integrated analysis using sediment data from the National Water Agency (ANA) and land use data (1985–2021) from MapBiomas. Results show significant declines in river discharge and sediment load, likely due to reduced soil erosion from land-use changes, increased water demand, and reservoir flow regulation. Although coastal erosion at the river mouth is worsening, its causes cannot be attributed to basin disturbances, as coastal processes and climate change may also influence it. Given data limitations, the findings remain preliminary and require further observational and modelling studies.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Felipe Augusto Santos, Master’s Degree in Natural Disaster, Researcher, National Centre for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

Holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Mogi das Cruzes (2015), a degree in Environment and Water Resources from the Faculty of Technology of Jacareí (2018), an MBA in Environmental Management from Anhanguera-Uniderp University (2021), a specialization in Environmental Engineering and Basic Sanitation from Anhanguera-Uniderp University (2022), a specialization in Socio-environmental Education and Sustainability from the Federal University of São Paulo (2024), and a master's degree in Natural Disasters from the São Paulo State University/National Center for Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters (2024). Currently a researcher at the National Center for Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters. Member of the Brazilian Forum on Climate Change.

Javier Tomasella, PhD in Civil Engineering, Researcher, National Institute for Space Research, Earth System Science Centre, Cachoeira Paulista, SP, Brazil

Holds a degree in Water Resources Engineering from the National University of the Littoral (1988) and a doctorate in Civil Engineering from the Institute of Hydrological Research (1995). Currently, he is a senior technologist at the National Institute for Space Research. His main areas of expertise include: hydrological modeling, the impact of land use and climate change on water resources, detection and modeling of extreme hydrological events, manipulation and desertification, and multidisciplinary research in water resources, with a focus on conflicts over water use. He is the first alternate member of the National Water Resources Council, representing the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI), and a full member of the Scientific Evaluation Chamber of the Interministerial Committee on Climate Change (CAC-CIM).

References

AGÊNCIA NACIONAL DE ÁGUAS E SANEAMENTO BÁSICO (ANA). HidroWeb: sistema de informações hidrológicas. Brasília: ANA, 2022. Available in: https://www.snirh.gov.br/hidroweb/

BERNAL, G.; VELÁQUEZ, A.; VARGAS, I.; AGUDELO, A. C.; ANDRADE, C. A.; DOMÍNGUEZ, J. G.; RICAURTE, C.; MAYO, G. Variabilidad de los aportes a los sedimentos superficiales durante un ciclo anual en los bancos de Salmedina. Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras - Invemar, v. 35, n. 1, p. 59–75, 2006. DOI: 10.25268/ bimc.invemar.2006.35.0.216

BRASILIENSE, C. S.; DERECZYNKI, C. P.; SATYAMURTY, P.; CHOU, S. C.; CALADO, R. N. Climatologias da temperatura do ar e da precipitação na bacia do rio Paraíba do Sul, Região Sudeste do Brasil. Anuário do Instituto de Geociências - UFRJ, v. 43, n. 1, p. 355–365, 2020. Available in: http://dx.doi.org/10.11137/2020_1_355_365

CEIVAP. Plano de Recursos Hídricos da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul – Diagnóstico dos Recursos Hídricos – Relatório Final. 2021.

CHU, Z. The dramatic changes and anthropogenic causes of erosion and deposition in the lower Yellow (Huanghe) River since 1952. Geomorphology, v. 216, p. 171–179, 2014. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1016/j. geomorph.2014.04.009

DA SILVA, R. C.; MARENGO, J. A.; RUV LEMES, M. Analysis of extreme rainfall and landslides in the metropolitan region of the Paraiba do Sul River Valley and North Coast of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, v. 155, p. 3927–3949, 2024. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-024-04857-2.

DEMANBORO, A. C. Gestão ambiental e sustentabilidade na macrometrópole paulista - Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul. Sociedade & Natureza, v. 27, n. 3, p. 515–529, 2015. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-451320150311

FAGUNDES, H. de O.; FLEISCHMANN, A. S.; FAN, F. M.; DE PAIVA, R. C. D.; BUARQUE, D. C.; SIQUEIRA, V. A.; COLLISCHONN, W.; BORRELLI, P. Human-Induced Changes in South American River Sediment Fluxes From 1984 to 2019. Water Resources Research, v. 59, 2023. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR034519

FERREIRA, M. I. P.; SILVA, J. A. F. da; PINHEIRO, M. R. de C. Recursos hídricos: água no mundo, no Brasil e no estado do Rio de Janeiro. Boletim do Observatório Ambiental Alberto Ribeiro Lamego, v. 2, n. 2, p. 29–36, 2008. Available in: 10.5935/2177-4560.20080008

FORMIGA-JOHNSSON, R. M.; BRITTO, A. L. Segurança hídrica, abastecimento metropolitano e mudanças climáticas: considerações sobre o caso do Rio de Janeiro. Ambiente & Sociedade, v. 23, p. 1–22, 2020. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-4422asoc20190207r1vu2020L6TD.

GORELICK, N.; HANCHER, M.; DIXON, M.; ILYUSHCHENKO, S.; THAU, D.; MOORE, R. Google Earth Engine: planetary scale geospatial analysis for everyone. Remote Sensing of Environment, v. 202, p. 18–27, 2017. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.06.031

GRIPBSUL. Plataforma GRIPB Sul. 2022. Available in: http://gripbsul.ana.gov.br/Default.html.

GUO, Z.; MA, M.; CAI, C.; WU, Y. Combined effects of simulated rainfall and overland flow on sediment and solute transport in hillslope erosion. Faculty Publications, n. 8801, 2018. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368 017-1868-0

HAMED, K. H. Exact distribution of the Mann–Kendall trend test statistic for persistent data. Journal of Hydrology, v. 365, n. 1–2, p. 86–94, 2009. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.11.024

JORDÃO, M. D. L.; VINZON, S. B. Influência da transposição de bacias do Paraíba do Sul-Piraí-Guandu na descarga de sólidos suspensos para a Baía de Sepetiba. Rio de Janeiro: UFRJ/Coppe, 2017.

LÄMMLE, L.; PEREZ FILHO, A.; DONADIO, C.; ARIENZO, M.; FERRARA, L.; SANTOS, C. J.; SOUZA, A. O. Anthropogenic pressure on hydrographic basin and coastal erosion in the delta of Paraíba do Sul River, Southeast Brazil. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, v. 10, n. 1585, 2022. Available in: https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10111585.

LEITE, I. R.; FINCK, L. F.; ALMEIDA, A. K.; CORREA, J. M.; COSTA, C. M. S. B.; ALMEIDA, I. K. Spatial distribution and temporal trends in rainfall in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Mix Sustentável, Florianópolis, v. 9, n. 5, p. 165–181, out. 2023. Available in: https://doi.org/10.29183/2447-3073.MIX2023.v9.n5.165-181.

LÓPEZ, J. C. R. et al. Transporte de sedimentos en suspensión en los principales ríos del Caribe colombiano: magnitude, tendencias y variabilidad. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, v. 39, n. 139, Bogotá, 2015. Available in: http://dx.doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.209

MALLICK, J. et al. Analysing the trend of rainfall in Asir region of Saudi Arabia using the family of Mann-Kendall tests, innovative trend analysis, and detrended fluctuation analysis. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, v. 143, p. 823–841, 2021. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-020-03448-1

MAPA de solos do Brasil. 2023. Available in: http://geoinfo.cnps.embrapa.br/layers/geonode%3Abrasil_ solos_5m_20201104. Accessed in: 17 de jun. 2023.

MAPBIOMAS. Coleção 7: série anual de mapas de cobertura e uso da terra do Brasil. Projeto MapBiomas – Coleção 7. Available in: https://mapbiomas.org/

MARENGO, J.; ALVES, L. Tendências hidrológicas da bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul. 2004. Available in: http://mtc m16b.sid.inpe.br/col/cptec.inpe.br/walmeida/2004/04.08.12.39/doc/marengo_tendencias.pdf. Accessed in: 16 set. 2023.

MOLISANI, M. et al. Water discharge and sediment load to Sepetiba Bay from an anthropogenically-altered drainage basin, SE Brazil. Journal of Hydrology, v. 331, n. 3, p. 425–433, 2006. Available in: https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.05.038

NEVES, A. de O.; VILANOVA, M. R. N. Caracterização da seca histórica da década de 2010 na Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental, v. 26, n. 2, mar./abr. 2021. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-415220190023.

NEVES, M. P.; SANTOS, F. M.; DI LOLLO, J. A. Processos erosivos e produção de sedimentos: suas relações com a cobertura vegetal na Bacia do Ribeirão do Roque. Revista de Gestão de Água da América Latina, v. 18, e17, 2021. Available in: https://doi.org/10.21168/rega.v18e17.

OLIVEIRA, E. C. Mudanças na sedimentação do delta do Rio Paraíba do Sul nos últimos 40 anos: resultados do manejo excessivo. In: O Homem e as Zonas Costeiras. Cap. X, p. 174–178, 2015.

OLIVEIRA, A. V. de; SERRANO, R. O. P.; MESQUITA, A. A.; MOREIRA, J. G. V. Temporal trend and estimation of the hydrological risk of maximum rainfall and flow extremes in the city of Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Meteorologia, v. 36, n. 4, p. 749–758, 2021. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-7786360050

OLIVEIRA, A. M.; REIS, A. S.; MATOS, A. E.; NUNES, A. G.; HERNANDEZ, A. O.; SOUZA, C. S.; SEGUNDO, G. H. C.; VITAL, H.; GONÇALVES, M. V. C.; JÚNIOR, N. A. F.; OLIVEIRA, O. C.; JÚNIOR, P. O. M.; JÚNIOR, R. C. S.; TABASA, W. F.; HERNANDEZ, Y. O. Estudo hidrodinâmico-sedimentológico do baixo São Francisco, estuário e zona costeira adjacente – AL/SE. 2003.

OLIVEIRA, D. M.; CARVALHO, V. S. B.; DA SILVA, B. C.; REBOITA, M. S.; DE CAMPOS, B. Hydrological and precipitation extremes and trends over the Paraíba do Sul River Basin, Brazil. Climate, v. 11, n. 7, 138, 2023. Available in: https://doi.org/10.3390/cli11070138.

RIBEIRO, G.; BARTEL, B. F.; OLIVEIRA, C. S. Mapeamento digital da área urbana na frente erosiva em Atafona e progradacional em Grussaí, São João da Barra (RJ): impactos urbanos e ambientais. 2006. Available in: https:// www.aedb.br/seget/arquivos/artigos06/413_ModeloSeget_Gilberto.pdf.

SANTANA, G. R. de A.; SANTOS, E. B.; SILVA, M. G. A. J. da. Caracterização espaço-temporal das secas na Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul. Anuário do Instituto de Geociências, v. 43, n. 4, 2020. Available in: https://doi. org/10.11137/2020_4_364_375

SANTOS, T. S. dos; SANTOS NETO, J. E. dos; SOUZA, E. M. de; JOSÉ, J. V.; LEITE, K. N.; VALADÃO, M. B. X. Transformações do uso e cobertura do solo na Bacia Hidrográfica do Alto Juruá – Acre por meio da plataforma MapBiomas. Research, Society and Development, v. 14, n. 2, e0514248115, 2025. Available in: http://dx.doi. org/10.33448/rsd-v14i2.48115.

VASCONCELOS, N. A.; FORMIGA-JOHNSSON, R. M.; RIBEIRO, N. B. Impactos da crise hídrica 2014–2016 sobre os usuários dos rios Paraíba do Sul e Guandu. REGA – Revista de Gestão de Água da América Latina, v. 16, e14, 2019.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-28

How to Cite

Santos, F. A., & Tomasella, J. (2025). Coastal erosion in the Paraíba do Sul River basin: a preliminary analysis of land use and sedimentary dynamics. Sustainability in Debate, 16(3), 261–274. https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v16n3.2025.58101

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 3 (2025): Sustainability in Debate

Section

Articles - Varia

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Sustainability in Debate

Creative Commons License

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

SUSTAINABILITY IN DEBATE – Copyright Statement

The submission of original scientific work(s) by the authors, as the copyright holders of the text(s) sent to the journal, under the terms of Law 9.610/98, implies in the concession of copyrights of printed and/or digital publication to the Sustainability in Debate Journal of the article(s) approved for publication purposes, in a single issue of the journal. Furthermore, approved scientific work(s) will be released without any charge, or any kind of copyright reimbursement, through the journal’s website, for reading, printing and/or downloading of the text file, from the date of acceptance for publication purposes. Therefore, the authors, when submitting the article (s) to the journal, and gratuitous assignment of copyrights related to the submitted scientific work, are fully aware that they will not be remunerated for the publication of the article(s) in the journal.
The Sustainability in Debate Journal is licensed under Creative Commons License – Non-Commercial-No-Derivation Attribution (Derivative Work Ban) 3.0 Brazil, aiming at dissemination of scientific knowledge, as indicated on the journal's website, which allows the text to be shared, and be recognized in regards to its authorship and original publication in this journal.
Authors are allowed to sign additional contracts separately, for non-exclusive distribution of the works published in the Sustainability in Debate Journal (for example, in a book chapter), provided that it is expressed the texts were originally published in this journal. Authors are allowed and encouraged to publish and distribute their text online, following publication in Sustainability in Debate (e.g. in institutional repositories or their personal pages). The authors expressly agree to the terms of this Copyright Statement, which will be applied following the submission and publishing by this journal.

 

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.