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This paper interrogates the extent to which imaginaries of climate and ecological breakdown attend to the memories, knowledges, and experiences of communities already impacted by histories of racism, colonialism, and poverty. Drawing on insights from Black studies and decolonial thinking, the article reflects on how the causes and effects of anthropogenic climate change can be mapped onto geographies of racialised violence and social dispossession. Specific emphasis is given to Rio de Janeiro, notably its port area, a geographical space where future-oriented narratives remain oblivious to the city's history of anti-Black violence and Indigenous genocide. In parallel, the paper looks at the recently built Museum of Tomorrow and its public representations of the Anthropocene. Overall, the article contends that pluralising accounts of the Anthropocene might offer alternative epistemic entry points for understanding and interrupting the mounting ecological catastrophe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lagoa Salgada is located in the Paraíba do Sul river delta plain on the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and is one of the few lagoons in the world that have well-developed recent stromatolites. Lagoa Salgada is a hypersaline lagoon formed in a very complex environmental system subjected to terrestrial and oceanic influences under different sea level regimes and climate variations. In addition, sediment and stromatolites are characterized by unusually positive inorganic δ13C VPDB values. For this reason, it has been the target of several geological and paleoenvironmental studies, which, in their great majority, require a geochronological technique in order to determine the changes in the environment over time. When radiocarbon (14C) dating is used, it is necessary to consider some details as the source of 14C in the environment and perform 14C ages calibration accordingly. In the present paper, a bibliographic survey was carried out in order to review the data treatment and improve the environmental evolution discussion based on accurate calibration. Using the Marine20 curve and an undetermined ΔR, we generated growth and depositional models to establish an overview of the formation of this lagoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Andrade, H.A.A.; Rodrigues, F.C.G.; Fletcher, C.H.; Casey, G., and Giannini, P.C.F., 2024. Winter sedimentology and morphology of the Maçambaba beach–foredune system, SE Brazil. Journal of Coastal Research, 40(2), 338–352. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. The Maçambaba Holocene coastal barrier and dune system in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, is located immediately west of an abrupt orientation change from SW-NE to W-E on the SE Brazilian coastline. The eolian deposits are formed by winds from the SW, associated with polar air masses advancing in austral winter, and winds from the NE, associated with summer monsoon and upwelling intensification. The active beach–foredune system consists of intermediate reflective beaches and ramp incipient foredunes in the western (km 0–km 14) and central (km 15–km 35) sectors of the barrier and intermediate to dissipative beaches with more common ridge incipient foredunes in the eastern sector (km 36–km 48). This pattern from W to E indicates a change in the beach–foredune system from a more erosional regime with lower sand supply in the west to a more depositional setting in the east. Measured at the swash line, winter mean grain size fines and granulometric sorting increases from W to E, evidence of a net longshore drift in this direction. The increase in eolian sand supply toward the east favors sand reworking by SW (onshore) winds in the winter; consequently, coastal dunes are well developed in this sector. Overwash processes frequently develop where eolian deflation favors marine inundation during winter swell events. After their formation, washover fans are typically reworked by reverse winds from the NE (offshore) in austral summer. Throughout the entire barrier system, seasonal shifts in both swell orientation and wind direction are dominant climatic factors determining the development of washover fans, blowouts, and parabolic dunes with opposing migration directions. Investigating the effect of this climatic seasonality on the beach–foredune system is critical to understanding coastal response to storm events and climatic variations on longer timescales. A barreira costeira holocênica de Maçambaba localiza-se no estado do Rio de Janeiro, Sudeste do Brasil, imediatamente a oeste de uma mudança abrupta de orientação na costa, de sudoeste-nordeste para oeste-leste. Os depósitos eólicos são formados pelos ventos de sudoeste, associados às massas de ar polar que avançam no inverno austral, e pelos ventos de nordeste, associados à monção de verão e à intensificação da ressurgência. Nos setores central e oeste da barreira, o sistema praia-duna ativo consiste em praias intermediárias refletivas e dunas frontais incipientes em rampa. No setor leste, ele é composto por praias intermediárias dissipativas e dunas frontais incipientes em cordão. A passagem de dunas frontais em rampa, na parte oeste da barreira, para dunas frontais dominantemente em cordão, na parte leste, indicam que o aporte de areia eólica é maior a leste que a oeste. Nas amostras coletadas no espraiamento, a seleção granulométrica melhora e o tamanho médio de grão diminui de oeste para leste, o que é sugestivo de transporte longitudinal de sedimentos nesse rumo. O crescimento do aporte sedimentar para leste aumenta o retrabalhamento eólico pelos ventos de sudoeste (onshore) no inverno, e consequentemente as dunas costeiras são melhor desenvolvidas no setor leste, incluindo a formação de rupturas de deflação (blowouts). Neste setor, processos de sobrelavagem costeira frequentemente se desenvolvem onde a deflação eólica favorece a inundação marinha durante eventos de swell no inverno. Após sua formação, os leques de sobrelavagem são geralmente retrabalhados pelos ventos reversos de nordeste (offshore) no verão austral. Na barreira como todo, mudanças sazonais na orientação do swell e na direção do vento são fatores climáticos dominantes que determinam o desenvolvimento e deposição de leques de sobrelavagem, blowouts e dunas parabólicas com direções de migração opostas. Investigar o efeito dessa sazonalidade climática no sistema praia-duna ativo é fundamental para entender a resposta costeira a eventos de tempestade e variações climáticas em escalas de tempo mais longas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2014, Brazil has experienced an unprecedented epidemic caused by chikungunya virus (CHIKV), with several waves of East-Central-South-African (ECSA) lineage transmission reported across the country. In 2018, Rio de Janeiro state, the third most populous state in Brazil, reported 41% of all chikungunya cases in the country. Here we use evolutionary and epidemiological analysis to estimate the timescale of CHIKV-ECSA-American lineage and its epidemiological patterns in Rio de Janeiro. We show that the CHIKV-ECSA outbreak in Rio de Janeiro derived from two distinct clades introduced from the Northeast region in mid-2015 (clade RJ1, n = 63/67 genomes from Rio de Janeiro) and mid-2017 (clade RJ2, n = 4/67). We detected evidence for positive selection in non-structural proteins linked with viral replication in the RJ1 clade (clade-defining: nsP4-A481D) and the RJ2 clade (nsP1-D531G). Finally, we estimate the CHIKV-ECSA's basic reproduction number (R0) to be between 1.2 to 1.6 and show that its instantaneous reproduction number (Rt) displays a strong seasonal pattern with peaks in transmission coinciding with periods of high Aedes aegypti transmission potential. Our results highlight the need for continued genomic and epidemiological surveillance of CHIKV in Brazil, particularly during periods of high ecological suitability, and show that selective pressures underline the emergence and evolution of the large urban CHIKV-ECSA outbreak in Rio de Janeiro. Author summary: Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease that has emerged as a significant public health concern in many regions worldwide. The state of Rio de Janeiro, a key economic and tourism hub in Brazil, has experienced multiple outbreaks of chikungunya in recent years, resulting in significant morbidity and economic burden. However, our understanding of the establishment and epidemiology of chikungunya in Rio de Janeiro remains limited. We conducted an analysis of chikungunya epidemiology in Rio de Janeiro, focusing on the first four years of virus circulation in the state. We estimated the magnitude of chikungunya transmission during this period, providing evidence that the trends of incidence and transmissibility can be influenced by climatic fluctuations, which impact vector abundance. Through analysis of novel genetic data, we inferred the evolutionary history of the virus, providing evidence of molecular adaptation in the lineage circulating in Rio de Janeiro. These findings highlight the need for designing effective vector control strategies to prevent and mitigate chikungunya in Rio de Janeiro and similar settings. Further research is needed to continue monitoring viral epidemiological trends and to better understand the complex interactions between climatic factors, vector dynamics, and viral evolution in shaping the transmission of this emerging disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social housing sector is playing an important role in Brazil, due to the necessity of its expansion. Currently, many residential projects perform poorly in terms of energy efficiency and thermal comfort. In addition, the impact of climate change on energy consumption may aggravate the energy scenario, increasing the dependence on the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. In parallel to this, there is a growing adoption of the Structural Concrete Insulated Panels (SCIP) and insulated concrete form (ICF) in the Brazilian construction industry, due to their advantages in reducing construction time, and cost. Therefore, this study provides a discussion on thermal-energy performance focusing on parametric analysis of the SCIP and ICF wall systems adoption for social housing in Brazil. Due to the fact that building performance is heavily affected by weather conditions, this study evaluated the computer simulation of the thermal-energy performance of SCIP and ICF wall systems for hot climates while addressing the impacts of climate change. The city of Rio de Janeiro, characterized by the tropical climate was selected, and the Climate Change World Weather File Generator (CCWorldWeatherGen) tool was used to produce weather data for future climate scenarios, such as 2020, 2050 and 2080. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Current climate changes have several consequences, such as rising sea levels. Today, the identification of coastal vulnerabilities worldwide is necessary to prevent impacts and drive action. The aim of the work was to estimate the vulnerable areas from a total rate of increase in sea level of 2.8 m and to identify the impacts of greater magnitude through the use of hierarchical analysis. The analytic hierarchy process method was used to list the most serious impacts. In addition, the simulation of the most vulnerable sites was carried out in a GIS environment using geoprocessing and a digital terrain model for the area of study. The Ilha Grande Bay region (southeastern Brazil) was chosen as a test area due to its economic, tourist and environmental importance. The main impacts are floods, coastal erosion and loss of coastal ecosystems. The most vulnerable areas are characterized as flat with low slopes, usually coastal plains occupied by environmental protection areas, urban centers and historical centers. The methodology proved to be effective in assessing and forecasting vulnerable areas and can be applied to several types of coastal areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]