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The oil spill environmental sensitivity index is a key tool for preventing and dealing with environmental disasters caused by oil spills. This study aims to review the available literature on the subject and highlight the importance of methodological advances to improve how the index is applied in continental areas, especially in regions crossed by pipelines. Most current mapping techniques focus on coastal areas and fail to consider the stretches of land that are vulnerable to geodynamic natural disasters. In this context, the need to implement environmental sensitivity indices specific for pipelines has become urgent. This study also presents an overview of the main accidents around the world and a detailed analysis of the history of Brazilian disasters related to oil spills along continental stretches, with a focus on pipelines and natural disasters. In addition, this work highlights the importance of carrying out new research in mountainous areas of Brazil and is aimed at preventing Natechs (natural hazard triggering technological disasters) and improving contingency plans. As a result, several pathways have been identified, which involves the necessity of resolving gaps in terrestrial environmental sensitivity mapping methodologies, particularly as applied to pipelines. Furthermore, solutions must be capable of integrating terrestrial, fluvial, coastal, and maritime environmental sensitivity mapping techniques. Moreover, the need to implement dynamic risk monitoring systems in real time is critical to help manage such a complex problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ravines and gullies are advanced stages of linear erosion that occur in many countries, causing economic, social, and environmental impacts. This research aims at analyzing the official record of disasters caused by ravines and gullies in Brazil, with a focus on analyzing the economic impacts. The Brazilian Civil Defense Integrated Information System (S2ID) database was applied in the analysis, combined with a bibliographic review made in the Scopus database. The results obtained from the civil defense database show a growing trend in the number of disasters related to ravines and gullies in the last decade (2011–2020), with 76 cases recorded between January 2013 and May 2019. From these 76 cases, 24 of them were further analyzed to provide information about the socioeconomic impacts. In total, an estimated loss of US$ 54 million was recorded in the considered period. The greatest economic impacts were related to damage to public infrastructure, such as sanitary and sewage water system, buildings and, especially, residential areas in urban perimeters. The spatial distribution of disasters related to linear erosion in Brazil suggests a connection between the development of ravines and gullies and the agricultural frontier of the country, especially in the North and Midwest regions, including the biomes of Cerrado (Brazilian Savanna) and Amazon Rainforest, where the greatest changes in land use occurred between the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century. Although the S2ID is an important data base for analyzing the impacts caused by ravines and gullies, the results suggest that the system's records do not account for medium- and long-term impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debris flows represent great hazard to humans due to their high destructive power. Understanding their hydrogeomorphic dynamics is fundamental in hazard assessment studies, especially in subtropical and tropical regions where debris flows have scarcely been studied when compared to other mass-wasting processes. Thus, this study aims at systematically analyzing the meteorological and geomorphological factors that characterize a landslide-triggered debris flow at the Pedra Branca catchment (Serra do Mar, Brazil), to quantify the debris flow's magnitude, peak discharge and velocity. A magnitude comparison with empirical equations (Italian Alps, Taiwan, Serra do Mar) is also conducted. The meteorological analysis is based on satellite data and rain gauge measurements, while the geomorphological characterization is based on terrestrial and aerial investigations, with high spatial resolution. The results indicate that it was a large-sized stony debris flow, with a total magnitude of 120,195 m3, a peak discharge of 2146.7 m3 s−1 and a peak velocity of 26.5 m s−1. The debris flow was triggered by a 188-mm rainfall in 3 h (maximum intensity of 128 mm h−1), with an estimated return period of 15 to 20 years, which, combined with the intense accumulation of on-channel debris (ca. 37,000 m3), indicates that new high-magnitude debris flows in the catchment and the region are likely to occur within the next two decades. The knowledge of the potential frequency and magnitude (F–M) can support the creation of F–M relationships for Serra do Mar, a prerequisite for reliable hazard management and monitoring programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Coração de Jesus region, northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil, is highly relevant in the Sanfranciscana Basin context due to the presence of titanosaurs, abelisaurids, and noasaurids. However, there is a poor stratigraphic constrain of the occurrences and few paleoenvironmental investigations in the area. Herein, a detailed sedimentologic and stratigraphic investigation of the fossiliferous succession is conducted to position the vertebrate assemblage in the stratigraphy. The sedimentary rocks are interpreted as part of the Quiricó Formation (Areado Group), representing the thickest occurrence of the unit (ca. 56 m) to the north of the Abaeté sub-basin. There, two main sedimentary successions are recognized, with the lower succession dominated by mudstone facies, and the upper succession dominated by sandstone facies. Vertebrate fossils and trace fossils of the species Taenidium barretti , Skolithos isp. and Arenicolites isp. are recorded uniquely within the lower succession, where wetter environmental conditions prevailed. The sedimentary succession is interpreted as a lacustrine system with increasing influence of eolian processes, which suggests an intensification of the aridity in the region during Lower Cretaceous. • Vertebrate fossils are positioned in sedimentary rocks of the Quiricó Formation. • The depositional environment is interpreted as a shallow lacustrine system with increasing influence of eolian processes. • The ichnofacies Skolithos and Scoyenia support the interpretation of a shallow lake as the depositional environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]