Coastal erosion affects several beaches worldwide in association with natural and human pressures. In recent decades, the coastland located on the Paraíba do Sul River mouth has been recognized as one of the main areas that suffer from this geomorphological dynamic. Furthermore, the scientific literature, even if scarce, has pointed out that these dynamics are causing negative socio-environmental responses and making the area less resilient. In the last few decades, hundreds of homes and other urban structures have become debris due to erosion caused by sea ingression, triggered by the coupling of environmental processes and dynamics occurring at different spatial and temporal scales. Thus, the present research aimed to analyze how the anthropic changes carried out in the Paraíba do Sul hydrographic basin are related to the intense coastal erosion at the mouth. Variations in fluvial–marine hydrosedimentary dynamics triggered this due to the construction of dams to supply large cities and for agricultural purposes. Water and sediment samples were collected and analyzed in different sectors of the main channel and on the adjacent coast, mapping land use in the basin area and surveying socioeconomic data. The results suggest that human pressures on the hydrographic basin during the last century are directly associated with the imbalance of the environmental system and, consequently, the progression of coastal erosion on the Paraíba do Sul delta shoreline.

Cities all over the world have developed on different geological-geomorphological substrates. Different kinds of human activities have operated for millennia as geomorphic agents, generating numerous and various erosion landforms and huge anthropogenic deposits. Considering the increasing demand for land and the expansion of the built-up areas involving and disturbing any kind of natural system inside and surrounding the actual urban areas, it is not negligible how important the dynamics of the urban environment and its physical evolution are. In this context, this manuscript addresses insights into eight case studies of urban geomorphological analyses of cities in Italy, Greece, and Brazil. The studies are based on surveying and mapping geomorphological processes and landforms in urban areas, supporting both geo-hazard assessment, historical evolution, and paleomorphologies, as well as disseminating knowledge of urban geoheritage and educating about the anthropogenic impact on urban sustainability. We hypothesize that urban geomorphological analysis of several case studies addresses the physical environment of modern cities in a multi-temporal, multidisciplinary, and critical way concerning global changes. Thus, this study aims to illustrate and propose a novel approach to urban geomorphological investigation as a model for the understanding and planning of the physical urban environment on a European and global scale.

Low fluvial terraces present azonal spatialization, encompassing several geomorphological compartments and climate zones in Brazil. Their genesis is directly related to river dynamics. When influenced by allogenic forces, such as Holocene climate pulses, it results in channel incision and posterior abandonment of the floodplain. Relatively plain landforms at different altimetric levels identified between the current floodplain and hillslope (low river terraces) are a result of these processes. Previous works using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) in low terraces of several rivers in Brazil have indicated morpho-chronologic similarities between depositional events, raising the hypothesis of feedbacks and fluvial adjustments relatively simultaneous to Holocene climate events. Considering these dynamics, this study employed OSL to obtain absolute dating information for 114 samples taken from distinct levels of the low river terraces of 30 rivers in Brazil, integrating the database of the IG-UNICAMP laboratory of Geomorphology and Environmental Analysis. Based on the data and statistical analysis (cluster and correlation analysis), this study aimed to identify relationships between different variables which might have controlled spatial homogenous and heterogeneous feedbacks during distinct paleoenvironmental contexts. The proposed methodology tested a fundamental hypothesis of the regional climatic geomorphology, and the results obtained may contribute to future discussions on the relationship between low river terraces and anthropic occupation.

Áreas costeiras constituem-se como importantes para a análise geomorfológica, uma vez que as formas de relevo resultantes de processos complexos podem ser encontradas e fornecem informações sobre a dinâmica da paisagem em diferentes escalas têmporo-espacial. Diversos estudos oferecem uma visão geral sobre os atributos que influenciam a evolução da planície costeira do rio Paraíba do Sul, estado do Rio de Janeiro, mas a identificação e caracterização dos baixos terraços marinhos permanece pouco explorada. No entanto, diferentes níveis de terraços foram mencionados superficialmente, pelo menos desde o século 20, como registros de antigas posições da linha de costa e despertando muitas discussões. Sendo assim, o presente trabalho identificou e caracterizou diferentes níveis de baixos terraços marinhos e as coberturas superficiais associadas. Para tal, foram utilizadas imagens orbitais e não orbitais, análise granulométrica e Radar de Penetração no Solo (Georradar). A hipótese é que os diferentes níveis destes terraços marinhos podem fornecer insights e contribuir com o avanço do conhecimento sobre a evolução da área durante o Holoceno. Os resultados indicaram a ocorrência de dois níveis destes baixos terraços marinhos (N1 e N2), cujos aspectos morfossedimentares das coberturas superficiais sugerem morfogênese e relações morfodinâmicas associadas às transgressões e regressões marinhas no Holoceno superior. Por fim, espera-se que os resultados possam contribuir com o avanço dos estudos sobre a dinâmica costeira na região e, principalmente, suscitar discussões sobre as influências das pulsações climáticas holocênicas na dinâmica geomorfológica de áreas costeiras.