CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND TREND IN THE BAIXADAS LITORÂNEAS REGION:
APPROACH IN THE HISTORIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF CABO FRIO AND
MACAÉ CITIES IN THE RIO DE JANEIRO/BRAZIL
1 Washington Drummond da Silva, graduate student in geography of UFRJ, RJ/Brazil, mr.slash2@yahoo.com.br
2 Ana Maria P. Macedo Brandão, adjunct professor, Geography Department UFRJ, RJ/Brasil, anabrandao@globo.com
ABSTRACT: It is looked so to aim at the analysis of possible alterations in the local climate of the
local authorities of Cabo Frio and Macaé when economical-partner is considering his past historical
ones, his series of climatic data and the influence caused by the principal activities of same. The
methodology consists specifically of bibliographical lifting, historical inquiry and of urbane and
economical evolution, lifting of climatic secondary data, use of images of satellite, preparation of
printers through statistical treatment of the data and use of systems of geographical informations for
preparation of mapeamentos. Preliminary results point to the increase of the temperature and
reduction of the relative moisture of the air in both. At Cabo Frio this increase was slower and
constant, on the contrary of Macaé, in whose alterations they took place in the quicker and intense
form, justifying the answer of the quickest process of intervention of the man in the geographical
space of this local authority. The same reasoning is applied for the parameters of pluviosidade,
whose reduction of his values they were brusquer in Macaé when compared with the checked ones
in Cabo Frio. Though these facts do not authorize us, still, to affirm that there was change in the
climate of two local. The future is falling to perspectives of the inquiry, to deepen in the context of
the urbane climate.
KEY WORDS: Climate Variability, Comfort Heat, Trend Climate, Environmental Education.
Introduction: The issue of climate change took center stage on the agenda of urgent debates of our
society. The media, literary production - science and teaching, the public and private initiatives and
people in a way usually are stunned before the announced environmental catastrophe that we are
submitting the planet through human actions harmful as dialogues Neto and Confalonieri
(2003). Since this is a global problem, not excluding, of course, medium and micro scales, could not
the region of Baixadas Litorâneas and, in particular, the Costa Verde region in the state of Rio de
Janeiro, being left out of thisconcern, being taken as an object of this study in particular the
municipalities of Macaé and Cabo Frio. Given the aforementioned approach, this study aims to
analyze and compare the behavior of the local climate of the cities of Cabo Frio and Macaé, in order
to identify possible climate changes, analyze the context of historical and cultural development of
cities and how this may have contributed to the configuration of the current climate and ultimately
assess the interrelation between climate and the main socio-economic activities in the cities
studied. The main justification is based initially on the huge spread that the issue has gained in
recent years especially after evidence of climate change and alert the scientific as in the case of the
IPCC report. These are two municipalities with an important historical character and socio-cultural
in their respective regions, recognized as areas of tourist attraction and economic as well as
expansion of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro and present geo-environmental
particularities that gives municipalities peculiar climates.
Materials and methods: The methodology consisted primarily of literature, historical data
collection and urban development and economic, survey of secondary climate data (maximum and
minimum air temperature absolute, average temperature compensated, average minimum
temperatures and maximum, relative humidity and precipitation rainfall), statistical treatment of
data and graphing the combined variation of climatological time series and the use of geographic
information system for the preparation of maps.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Description of location, geomorphology, historical and cultural contexts of Cabo Frio and
Macaé cities: The municipalities of Cabo Frio and Macaé are located respectively at 22 ° 52 'S
latitude, 42 ° 01' E longitude 22 ° 22 'S latitude, 41 ° 47' longitude O, both are part of the state of
Rio de Janeiro (Figure 1). Although only the city of Cabo Frio is located in the Baixadas Litorâneas
region, Macaé as part of the NorthFluminense (division adopted by the state government of Rio de
Janeiro), the choices of both serves the aims of the research as awhole municipality of Cabo Frio
and most of the city of Macaé physical characteristics have downloaded or physical characteristics
of coastal plains(Figure 2).
Figura 1 – Localization of the municipality of Macaé and Cabo Frio. Made by the author
Figura 2 – Relief map of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Source: IBGE
The Cabo Frio region was originated in 1503, since when the Portugueses built a fort, trading post
in order to explore Pau-Brazil abundant in the region and its significant settlement took place from
the XVII century, in order to make against the smuggling of Pau-Brazil. It is noteworthy that until
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the first decades of the XIX century, the region of Cabo Frio, as was well known, ranged from what
we now call the city of Macae, through de municipality of Silva Jardim, Cabo Frio to the city of
Marica (Figure 3). In the last decades of that century, the cities of Cabo Frio and Macaé already had
their territories closer to what we know today.
Figura 3 – Map of Cabo Frio region of the XV century until the early XIX century (the
bibliography according Approximate acquired), prepared by the author.
Social and economic activities: Economic activities of both in most of its history focused on the
primary sector. In the XV and XVI centuries the extraction of Pau-Brazil was predominant activity
in the region and in the XVII and XVIII centuries is mainly the production of salt and farm
products,especially arising from the sugar cane. In the XIX century various territories are broken,
including Macaé and Cabo Frio, and has since come to support their economies in the production of
coffee, extraction of fish and other livestock, now the landmark of their savings was based on two
main products, the salt in Cabo Frio (Fig. 4), where the industry reached its peak in the 60s of the
XX century with the construction of two large power plants, and the cultivation of sugar cane in
Macaé (Figure 5).
Figure 4 – Production of salt in Cabo Frio
Source: personnel file
Figure 5 – Cultivation of sugar cane in Macaé
According Kronemberger (2002), the 70s represents a watershed for the economy of both cities,
since the construction of the Rio-Niteroi bridge and paving of the BR 101 facilitated access to the
region and especially to Cabo Frio, starting the current phase of mass tourism and increasing
diversification of the services sector as stated Barbiere (1981); and the installation of Petrobras in
Macaé, which eventually resulted in the explosion of oil, causing the vast majority of economic
activities started todirectly or indirectly relate to extract oil and gas from the Campos basin,
culminating with the installation of the port of Petrobrás and use the same airport.
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Figure 7 – Port of Petrobrás in Macaé Source: www.macae.rj.gov.br
Changes in the geographical space of municipalities from the middle of the XX century:
Undoubtedly these activities led to changes in the geographic space of the municipalities, of which
stand out in Cabo Frio: landfills in lagoons, occupation in areas of environmental protection,
housing development in advance of Salinas and dunes (Figure 8), deforestation, disposal of sewage
in nature, lack of adequate infrastructure, the latter can be greatly exacerbated during periods of
summer, when the population reaches up to 10 times increase, among others. Already in Macaé, can
be highlighted: the occupation in areas of APP, slums, silting of rivers and degradation of
mangroves damaging fishing, sewage disposal, almost 80% in nature, mass migration from other
cities (figure 9), often fueled by the rural exodus by the mechanization of field, air pollution, most
companies in the oil without licensing, among others. It is noteworthy that there are still areas in
both municipalities that keep environmental preservation, as the district of Sana, mountainous
region of Macaé and Mico Leão Dourado Park in Cabo Frio.
Figure 8 – Advance and allotment of salt dunes
Source: KRONEMBERGER (2002)
Figure 9 - Swelling of the city by the mass migration
Source: www.macae.rj.gov.br
Demographic evolution: About the aspects demographics, the Baixadas Litorâneas region in
general have had a linear growth of their population densities from the 40's, however, when directly
comparing the cities of Cabo Frio and Macaé, though both show an increase circumstantial their
populations, the city of Cabo Frio has a more linear growth, while population growth in Macaé took
more sudden and abrupt, especially from the 80’s (Figure 10). It is noteworthy that population
density in the municipality of Cabo Frio since the 40’s has remained higher than the density of
Macaé, reaching today to nearly triple, a condition possible by the fact that the city of Cabo Frio
have lower territory.
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Figura 10 – Demographic evolution of the municipality of Cabo Frio and Macaé (1940 – 1990): Source: IBGE. Chart
made by the author.
Analysis of elements of climate variability in the municipalities of Macaé: The concept of
variability can be defined as the way in which climatic elements vary within a certain period of
record, a time series (Sartori, 2000; Araujo,2000). By analyzing the time series from 1931 to 1993
the temperature: absolute maximum, average maximum, average temperature compensated, average
minimum and absolute minimum of the municipality of Macaé, there was a significant increase in
five climatic elements, being more evident in the element absolute minimum temperature, where the
difference between the average of the first to the last year is up to 4.8 ° (Fig. 11). The average of
average temperature compensated is 22.9 °. As for the annual variability of the rainfall element in
the same period and even municipality, there is vast variation, highlighting the discrepancy in very
dry years and very wet years, coming to present the difference between the year 1265.1 mm drier
and wetter, the average rainfall is 1055.5 mm, as in the case of relative humidity, one sees a slight
and subtle decline throughout the series (figure12). It should be noted that the blank spaces in the
graphs were caused by a failure of the design and made it impossible to obtain the average or
absence of data at its source.
Figure 11 – Annual variability of temperatures Macaé (1931-1993). Source:INMET. Prepared by the author.
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Figure 12 - Annual variability of rainfall and relative humidity ofMacaé (1931-1993). Source: INMET. Prepared by the
author
Cabo frio: By analyzing the time series from 1927 to 1987 the temperature: absolute maximum,
average maximum, average temperature compensated, average minimum and absolute minimum of
the municipality of Cabo Frio, there is a significant variability with a subtle increase in their values,
evident is a greater consistency of these elements when compared to the city of Macaé. You getthe
biggest difference between two years of 3.3 ° in average minimum temperature throughout the
series and not between the first and last years, since the behavior of the temperature values in Cabo
Frio is less linear than in Macaé. While the value of the average of average temperature
compensated series of Cabo Frio is equal to that of Macaé, 22.9 °, it should be noted that in Macaé,
they behave much more linear in Cabo Frio (Fig. 13). About the variability annual of the element
rainfall, the average in Cabo Frio is 832.8 mm, at first observe an average lower than that of Macaé,
highlighting the character driest of Cabo Frio, justified by factors such as the upwelling that occurs
along the coast the city, forming clouds and a few clouds with generally low rainfall, leaving the
climate drier and coastal cut itself, where winds from cyclone seasonal half of the South Atlantic
with more strength in that area of the continent, carrying with a portion of the local humidity. In the
case of relative humidity, as like Macaé, also sees a slight and subtle decline throughout the series
(Figure 14).
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Figure 13 - annual variability of temperatures of Cabo Frio (1927-1987). Source: INMET. Prepared by the author
Figure 14 - Annual variability of rainfall and relative humidity ofCabo Frio (1927-1987). Source: INMET. Prepared by
the author
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Conclusion: In both it is clear the increase in temperature and decrease in relative humidity; about
the rainfall, this reduction is less pronounced and only occurs from 80 years. In Cabo Frio, the
temperature rise was slow and tenuous, but in Macaé this increase was faster and more intense
response justifying the accelerated process of human activity in the geographic space in this city,
the same reasoning applies to the parameters rainfall, which reduced their values were more abrupt
in Macaé compared with those seen in Cabo Frio (figures 15 and 16). Although these facts do not
allow us also say that there was a change in the climate of the two cities, leads us to research issues
on which the share of participation of man's actions on the likely trend observed climate change,
whilst the prospects for future research, conducting field work in order to set up climate monitoring
heat islands and on-site survey of economic conditions and socio-environmental impacts of cities,
thus developing in the context of urban climate.
Figure 15 - Change per decade in average temperature compensated. Source: INMET. Prepared by the author
Figure 16 - Change per decade in rainfall and relative humidity. Source: INMET. Prepared by the author.
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Paulo: Terra Livre, 2003.
SARTORI, M. Variabilidade do comportamento da temperatura na região de Santa Maria, RS. “VI
Simpósio Brasileiro de Climatologia Geográfica”. Rio de Janeiro, 2000.
ARAÚJO, R. Influências do uso do solo urbano no comportamento térmico no Município de São
Luís. “VI Simpósio Brasileiro de Climatologia Geográfica”. Rio de Janeiro, 2000.
KRONEMBERGER, D. Rio de Janeiro / Denise Maria Penna Kronemberger, Hamilton Bettes Jr.
“Coleção Espaço Geográfico”. Curitiba: Nova Didática, 2002.
www.cabofrio.rj.gov.br
www.macae.rj.gov.br