GEOMORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES MINING AREA IN PORTUGAL: GEOMORPHOLOGICAL CARTOGRAPHIC FOR IMPACT ANALYSIS ON RELIEF

Abstract

The detailed geomorphological mapping provides information that allows one to make an detailed analysis of the elements which form the relief. These elements can be natural or derived from the anthropic action. The objective of this paper is to present a proposal of geomorphological cartographic detail applied to the relief analysis in an area affected by mining in Portuguese territory. The proposal presented here is based in the adaptation of the orientations of the french Geomorphology school wich underlie various geomorphologic mappings developed by the Center for the Study of Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT in portuguese) of the University of Coimbra, in Portugal, and also guides the geomorphologic mappings developed in the Geomorphology Laboratory (LAGEO in portuguese) of the Sao Paulo State University, Rio Claro Campus, Brasil. An area of study in Portuguese territory was selected due to it's impacts caused by external extrative calcary, sand and clay units for that. The general geomorphologic mappings of an 177 km(2) area situated south of Coimbra, in the 1: 25.000 scale, was made aiming to recognize the forms and processes that operate there. Based on this mapping, two affected sectors by mining were identified and mappings in the detail scale of 1: 10.000 for the 1958, 1995 and 2013 years were made. The modifications above the earth surface and bellow the earth surface by the human being in mining areas resulted in the change of dimensions of elements that can be measured. Comparison of these values allowed the identifi cation of the of anthropogenic changes at the places destined to mining. As a result, an evaluation of the application of this technique potential to obtain parameters allusive the forms, materials and geomorphological processes, identified by data quantification parameters was done.