Neli Teresinha Galarce Machado

Charcoal remains from a tonstein layer in the Faxinal Coalfield, Lower Permian, southern Paraná Basin, Brazil

Fossil charcoal has been discovered in the Faxinal Coalfield, Early Permian, Rio Bonito Formation, in the southernmost portion of the Parana Basin, Brazil. Three types of pycnoxylic gymnosperm woods recovered from a single tonstein layer are described and confirm the occurrence of paleowildfire in this area. A decrease of the charcoal concentration from the base to the top within the tonstein layer indicates that the amount of fuel declined during the deposition probably due to the consumption of vegetation by the fire. The presence of inertinite in coals overlying and underlying the tonstein layer indicates that fire-events were not restricted to the ash fall interval. The integration of the new data presented in the current study with previously published data for the Faxinal Coalfield demonstrates that volcanic events that occurred in the surrounding areas can be identified as one potential source of ignition for the wildfires. The presence of charcoal in Permian sediments associated with coal levels at different localities demonstrates that wildfires have been relatively common events in the peat-forming environments in which the coal formation took place in the Parana Basin.

SOLAR-T : Terahertz Photometers to Observe Solar Flare Emission on Stratospheric Balloon Flights

A new solar flare spectral component has been found with intensities increasing for larger sub-THz frequencies, spectrally separated from the well known microwaves component, bringing challenging constraints for interpretation. Higher THz frequencies observations are needed to understand the nature of the mechanisms occurring in flares. A twofrequency THz photometer system was developed to observe outside the terrestrial atmosphere on stratospheric balloons or satellites, or at exceptionally transparent ground stations. 76 mm diameter telescopes were designed to observe the whole solar disk detecting small relative changes in input temperature caused by flares at localized positions at 3 and 7 THz. Golay cell detectors are preceded by low-pass filters to suppress visible and near IR radiation, band-pass filters, and choppers. It can detect temperature variations smaller than 1 K with time resolution of a fraction of a second, corresponding to small burst intensities. The telescopes are being assembled in a thermal controlled box to which a data conditioning and acquisition unit is coupled. While all observations are stored on board, a telemetry system will forward solar activity compact data to the ground station. The experiment is planned to fly on board of long-duration stratospheric balloon flights some time in 2013-2015. One will be coupled to the GRIPS gamma-ray experiment in cooperation with University of California, Berkeley, USA. One engineering flight will be flown in the USA, and a 2 weeks flight is planned over Antarctica in southern hemisphere summer. Another long duration stratospheric balloon flight over Russia (one week) is planned in cooperation with the Lebedev Physics Institute, Moscow, in northern hemisphere summer.

The performance of THz photometers for solar flare observations from space

The performance of the double THz photometers system is presented. It is the first detection device conceived to observed solar flare THz emissions on board of stratospheric balloons. The system, named SOLAR-T, has been built, integrated to data acquisition and telemetry modules developed for this application, and tested. It utilizes two Golay cell detectors preceded by low-pass filters, 3 and 7 THz band-pass filters, and choppers. SOLAR-T photometers can detect relative temperature variations smaller than 1 K with sub second time resolution. It is intended to determine the still unrevealed spectral shape of the mysterious THz solar flares emissions. The experiment is planned to fly on board of two long-duration stratospheric balloon flights over Antarctica and Russia in 2014-2016.

TL dating of pottery fragments from four archaeological sites in Taquari Valley, Brazil

Sixty-three pottery fragments from four archaeological sites, numbered RST110, RST101, RST114 and RST114, in the Taquari Valley, vicinity of the city of Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil, have been dated by the thermoluminescence method. Some of them from RST110 and RST101 are as old as 1400–1200 years, whereas those from RST114 and RST107 are younger than 800 years. This result indicates that RST101 and RST110 were peopled earlier than RST114 and RST107. The recent dates found are 302, 295 and 146 years and they are possible, since the first German immigrants who arrived in this region encountered Tupi–Guarani Indians still living there. One interesting result refers to the glow curves of quartz grains RST110, RST101 and RST114 that differ from the glow curves of RST107 quartz grains.

Educação Patrimonial: relações ambientais e culturais

A construcao de conceitos como de cidadania, sustentabilidade e preservacao cultural e natural ultrapassa o foco da ciencia disciplinar e una. Do ponto de vista educacional, somos capazes de instigar propostas visando a construcao destes conceitos e da preservacao patrimonial e ambiental. O objetivo deste artigo e revisitar analiticamente o projeto institucional “Arqueologo por um dia”, o qual preocupa-se com o enfoque da historia regional a partir do conhecimento arqueologico e tem como publico alvo estudantes da Educacao Basica. No presente texto, focaliza-se a relacao pouco percebida entre teoricos e pesquisadores sobre a tematica da educacao patrimonial e ambiental. A partir da correlacao de conhecimentos academicos e populares, o projeto procura construir a nocao de pertencimento ao ambiente natural e cultural e tem atingido resultados satisfatorios ate o presente momento.

Tempo e Espaço Guarani: um estudo acerca da ocupação, cronologia e dinâmica de movimentação pré-colonial na Bacia do Rio Taquari/Antas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Neste artigo foram analisadas as relacoes espaciais e temporais da ocupacao Guarani pre-colonial na Bacia do Rio Taquari/Antas a partir da delimitacao do perimetro da ocupacao e seu estabelecimento na paisagem, da cronologia intrasitio e regional e de discussoes referentes as movimentacoes espaciais. A partir dos resultados foram mapeados 121 sitios Guarani na porcao centro-sul da Bacia, em um perimetro de varzeas que circundou as terras altas do Planalto das Araucarias, demonstrando tratar-se de uma ocupacao regional longa, entre os seculos XIV e XVIII. O estabelecimento teria ocorrido a partir da conexao entre o Rio Jacui e o Rio Taquari/Antas, em uma expansao compulsoria do sul para o norte, observando-se assentamentos contemporâneos em todo o perimetro e sitios com fatores de alta permanencia. Tal dinâmica justificar-se-ia a partir de um controle consciente do ambiente, permitindo, por um lado, a manutencao das aldeias, e, por outro, o crescimento demografico e novas expansoes. Alem da motivacao demografica, inferiu-se a possibilidade de que os limites da ocupacao Guarani na regiao tenham sido estabelecidos de forma igualmente consciente a partir de um pulso de expansao inicial e posterior estabilidade, configurando-se a ocupacao compulsoria como uma estrategia de manutencao politica do territorio.

O cultivo da soja e a supressão da vegetação durante a década de 1970: um estudo sobre minifúndios do Vale do Taquari, Rio Grande do Sul

A soja foiintroduzida no Brasil no inicio do seculo XX por imigrantes japoneses. A partirde 1940 comecou a ser produzida em maior escala em propriedades entre 5 a 10 hectares.Durante a decada de 1970 houve um significativo acrescimo na producao, motivado,entre outros fatores, pelo alto preco no mercado internacional. O presenteestudo propoe verificar a relacao entre o desmatamento e o aumento da areaplantada de soja, ocorrido na decada 1970 nas localidades de Arroio da Seca,Corvo e Linha Schmidt, antigos distritos do atual municipio de Estrela/RS. Ametodologia utilizada para a execucao do estudo foi pesquisa bibliografica,analise imagetica e entrevista com sujeitos envolvidos com o plantio naquelaepoca. Como resultado, observou-se que as areas desmatadas nao foram provocadasexclusivamente pelo plantio da soja.

Arqueologia Histórica e a problemática do patrimônio: discussões acerca da preservação, turismo e educação patrimonial no Vale do Taquari - Rio Grande do Sul

The research in Historical Archaeology in the Vale do Taquari is recent and seeks a better understanding of the quotidian life of human groups derived from Portuguese colonization in the eighteenth century and from European immigration in the nineteenth century. Among the origins of these groups we can cite basically the Azoreans, Germans and Italians. Furthermore, Historical Archaeology is a fundamental field of knowledge to archaeological research and its dissemination. Historical Archaeology appeals to Historical-cultural Heritage preservation and from the acquisition of concrete information opens the possibility of producing knowledge that is able to correct historical distortions. These are some approaches presented in the article. Interconnection with the communicative capacity of education and tourism are some means considered potential toward the preservation of the Heritage of the Vale do Taquari. However with respect to Heritage Education some concrete data are shared, as research accomplished in this context has obtained satisfactory results.