Physical and chemical characteristics of water from the hydrographic basin of the Poxim River, Sergipe State, Brazil.
The Poxim River is one of Sergipe State's major waterways. It supplies water to the State capital, Aracaju, but is threatened by urban and agricultural developments that compromise both the quantity and the quality of the water. This has direct impacts on the daily lives of the region's population. In this work, a multivariate analytical approach was used to investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of the water in the river basin. Four sampling campaigns were undertaken, in November 2005, and in February, May, and September 2006, at 15 sites distributed along the Poxim. The parameters analyzed were conductivity, turbidity, color, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, hardness, chlorophyll-a, and nutrients (total phosphorus, dissolved orthophosphate, nitrite, nitrate, ammoniacal nitrogen, and total nitrogen). Dissolved oxygen contents were very low in the Poxim-Açu River (1.0-2.8), the Poxim River (1.6-4.6), and the estuarine region (1.7-5.1), due to the dumping of wastes and discharges of domestic and industrial effluents containing organic matter into fluvial and estuarine regions of the Poxim. Factor analysis identified five components that were indicative of the quality of the water, and that explained 81.73 % of the total variance.
Departamento de Engenharia Agronômica, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, 49.100-000 São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil. antenor.ufs@gmail.com
Antenor Oliveira
AO
de Aguiar Netto
Carlos Alexandre Borges
CA
Garcia
José do Patrocínio
Jdo P
Hora Alves
Robério Anastácio
RA
Ferreira
Marinoé
M
Gonzaga da Silva
D000383:Agriculture; D001938:Brazil; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002734:Chlorophyll; D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen; D000077194:Chlorophyll A