Julio Manoel França da Silva

Morphostructural Mapping of Paraná State, Brazil

Abstract Please click here to download the map associated with this article. The methods used to prepare the morphostructural map of Paraná were based upon morphostructure and morphosculpture concepts to classify the landforms. Information from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission was used to prepare a Digital Elevation Model from which boundaries between different textural units were mapped and geomorphological units identified. The 1:250,000 scale adopted allowed the use of a three level classification of Morphostructural Units, Morphosculptural Units and Morphosculptural Sub-Units. At the 1st level the following morphostructural units were identified: the Atlantic Orogenic Belt, the Sedimentary Basin of Paraná and the Cenozoic Sedimentary Basins and Tectonic Depressions. At the 2nd level the following morphosculptural units were identified: the Serra do Mar (Sea Mountain Range), Isolated Hills and the First Plateau of Paraná, the Second and Third Plateaus, and the Coastal, Fluviomarine and Fluvial Plains. At the 3rd level fifty morphosculptural sub-units were mapped. This work meet the demand that exists for a systematic geomorphological base that will supply information for the States planning system, as well as for geological, ecological-economic and hydrological resources studies, among others.

Geomorfometria: uma Análise de Conceitos, Métodos e Aplicações em Geografia Física (Geomorphometry: an analysis of concepts, methods and applications in physical geography)

A Geomorfometria e uma ciencia interdisciplinar atribuida de importantes bases conceituais e metodologicas para estudos voltados a quantificacao da superficie terrestre, podendo oferecer um conjunto de recursos para mapeamento e predicao do meio fisico, diagnostico/prognostico ambiental e modelagem das formas e processos que possuem relacao direta com a variabilidade topografica de determinada paisagem. Buscando analisar bases teoricas, metodologicas e epistemologicas desta area do conhecimento, bem como indicar exemplos de aplicacoes em Geografia Fisica, o presente trabalho vislumbra caracterizar-se como uma contribuicao inicial para pesquisas que necessitam entender as formas, processos e dinâmica do meio fisico no contexto de abordagens quantitativas; analisando suas potencialidades e limitacoes. A B S T R A C T The Geomorphometry is an interdisciplinary science assigned to of important concepts and methodologies for studies aimed at quantifying the earth’s surface offering an array of resources for mapping and prediction of the physical medium, diagnosis/prognosis assessment and modeling of forms and processes we have a direct relationship with the topographic variability of a given landscape. Seeking to analyze theoretical, methodological and epistemological this science, as well as indicate examples of applications in Physical Geography, the present study envisions characterized as an initial contribution for searches that need to understand the forms, processes and dynamics of the physical medium in the context of quantitative approaches; by analyzing its potential and limitations . Keywords: epistemology of geomorphometry, landscape quantification, digital elevation model, environmental modeling.