Ercília Torres Steinke

Uso e ocupação do solo e a disseminação da hantavirose na região de São Sebastião, Distrito Federal: 2004 - 2008

INTRODUCTION Hantavirosis has worldwide distribution and is an important public health problem. The epidemiology of hantavirosis in Brazil shows that the number of cases notified and the number of variants discovered in several states and the Federal District have been increasing year by year. Within this context, the main objective of this study was to examine land use and occupation in relation to the spread of hantavirosis in the Federal District, between 2004 and 2008. METHODS To carry out this investigation, epidemiological and land use data were used to drafting tables and cartograms in order to detail the special spread of hantavirosis in this area. RESULTS Out of the 40 likely infection sites plotted on the coverage and land use map, 19 (47%) were in pasture areas, 10 (25%) in urban areas (periurban), 6 (15%) in areas used for agriculture and 5 (12%) in savanna areas. CONCLUSIONS It can thus be seen that agricultural activities and urban expansion towards the savanna areas have favored the spread of hantavirosis in the Federal District and especially in São Sebastião.

Comportamento Hidroclimatológico do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte e do Município de Caicó

The aim of this article is to analyze rainfall patterns in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte and the municipality of Caico with the objective of providing inputs to support local water resource management in view of the frequent water shortages in the state and the municipality. The data used for this purpose were annual accumulated precipitation data from all the municipalities in the state (1963-2013) from the SUDENE and EMPARN databases, and precipitation, evaporation, and evapotranspiration data on Caico (1996-2013) from the INMET database. For the hydroclimatological analysis, other research on the subject was consulted, the quartile coefficient of dispersion and redistribution coefficient were used in the statistical and geospatial analyses, and the aridity index was calculated. The results of the spatial analyses were plotted on maps using ArcGis 10.0. The data showed that there is a spatial pattern of rainfall in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, with the highest rainfall occurring along the east coast, followed by the west of the state, while the central part (including part of the north coast) is the driest. It was found that the spatial distribution of precipitation remained the same whether the year was dry or rainy, with the highest values always appearing along the east coast, followed by the west of the state and the mountainous areas of the sertao, and finally the central region. Caico was classified as semi-arid and highly susceptible to desertification. In this municipality, potential evaporation was found to be about five times higher than precipitation on average each year, indicating just how vulnerable it is to water shortage.

Um Índice para Avaliação da Variabilidade Espaço-Temporal das Chuvas no Brasil

Brazil shows a high spatial and temporal pluviometric variability. Therefore, it is crucial to systematically represent this phenomena in order to know the influence of precipitation for the hydrological cycle and several human activities. Thus, it is proposed a metrics called IPE (Index of Scale Proportion) to assess the relative contribution of the time and space on the rainfall variability, aiming to identify multi-scalar climatic patterns and to relate them to the main meteorological driver systems. We used data from 809 locations and identified five main patterns for IPE in distinct spatiotemporal configuration. The patterns called A, B and C describe a range of low IPE values (major importance of space relative to time) covering a large circular area with its limits near to the country edge. The patterns called D and E are located respectively on central and south area of country, showing high IPE values (time factor was relatively more important). It was possible to correlate the described IPE patterns to the well-know weather systems, gathering a preliminary characterization that help us to clarify the spatiotemporal rainfall variability.