Hidrodinâmica, transporte e proveniência sedimentar no baixo rio xingu e sua importância como “Tidal River” amazônico

Abstract

This research is based on the investigation of the processes (geological and hydrodynamic) that govern the recent evolution of a large tributary of the lower Amazon, the Xingu River. The aim was to investigate its aspects of sedimentary evolution and hydrological flows, from already consolidated data on the filling of its ria and how its patterns of transport and sediment trapping, its seasonal and tidal effects have been established, in addition to understanding the role of the Amazon River as a regulator in the dynamics of its tributary. Hydrodynamic measurements of flow, velocity and water level along with bottom sediment and MPS samples were collected at 3 annual seasons (February, June and November). The results provided support for the investigation of the Xingu-Amazonas interaction and the evolution of the bottom morphology of the lower Xingu. The results suggest a filling of the ria both by the Xingu River, forming a prominent headwater delta, and the Amazon River, where tidal variations transport sediments upstream in the Xingu River. On the other hand, large areas in the central part of the ria indicate muddy sedimentation. Elementar geochemistry allowed us to trace part of the history of sediments and source rocks, together with the analysis of immobile elements (Al, Ti, Zr, Hf, Th) and rare earth elements (REE) because they are poorly fractionated during weathering processes. and they are concentrated in the bottom sediments to the detriment of the dissolved fraction of the rivers. The deposits preserved in the lower Xingu River, despite draining cratonic regions in higher areas, confirm that the bottom material is derived from heterogeneous sources with predominantly intermediate igneous compositions and that they underwent important recycling during fluvial transport. The hydrodynamic modeling allowed to indicate the fluvial discharge as the most relevant forcing for the muddy deposition dynamics in the Xingu estuary. From a numerical model, it was possible to extrapolate the flow and transport dynamics beyond the open boundaries, that is, the central portion of the ria, elucidating the interaction mechanism between river and tidal discharge and the associated sedimentary dynamics. The determination of the amplitudes and phases of the tidal components, whether of purely astronomical origin or resulting from shallow waters, as well as the average level and the hourly discharge proved to be fundamental for the understanding of the governing processes.