THE SPATIAL DYNAMICS OF THE ARARANGUÁ RIVER ESTUARY, SOUTH COAST OF SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL

Abstract

In Brazil, the lack of adequate coastal management projects and methodologies needs to be researched, to gather data and allow the diagnosis and monitoring of the coastalmarine zone. The study aims to analyze the spatial dynamics of the Araranguá River estuary that occurred over a period of seventy-two years, represented in six-time frames, corresponding to the years 1938, 1957, 1968, 1978, 2002 and 2010. Adopted the Morro dos Conventos lighthouse built in 1953 was used as a reference in the analysis of spatial dynamics. The images were analyzed in a geographic information system environment considering the encounter of the main channel with the Atlantic Ocean. The results showed that the cycles of spatial variation of the estuary are guided by a coastal drift with a resultant to the north. The spatial database and thematic maps portray the historical spatial dynamics of these channels in the estuary and can be used as a diagnosis for spatial modeling in the development of coastal management projects in the region.