Browsing by Subject "environmental baseline"

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1998 Annual Report - Year One: Geo-Environmental Characterization of the Delta del Orinoco, Venezuela
(1999) Raney, J. A.
The 1998 Annual Report for the project "Geo-Environmental Characterization of the Delta del Orinoco" describes the first year of work by the Bureau of Economic Geology (Bureau) at The University of Texas at Austin. The five-year project is funded by the Coordinación Desarrollo Económico de Oriente (DAO) of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). PDVSA/DAO is supporting this work in the Orinoco Delta so that development of hydrocarbon resources and other projects for the benefit of the people of Venezuela can proceed with a minimum of adverse impacts in this ecologically diverse and sensitive area. Key to this effort is establishing an accessible baseline of environmental data and developing an understanding of the physical and biological dynamics of the delta system. This information is essential for anticipating the consequences of natural and human-induced changes in the environment of the Delta. The Bureau's role is to conduct technical studies, support collateral investigations by Venezuelan participants, assist DAO with technical coordination and program development, integrate the results of the various studies for public dissemination, and facilitate other technology transfer and institutional strengthening activities. Much was accomplished during 1998. Working concert with DAO, Bureau personnel assisted in the definition of related environmental studies, met with Venezuelan project participants to share initial results and coordinate planned activities, conducted joint field studies to collect data and observations, and helped DAO obtain international support for the investigations. Many of the issues encountered during 1998, such as many aspects of field logistics, were successfully resolved so that studies in subsequent phases of the project can proceed efficiently.
Year Two: Geo-Environmental Characterization of the Delta del Orinoco, Venezuela
(1999) Warne, Andrew. G.; Aslan, Andres; White, William Allen, 1939-; Gibeaut, James; Tremblay, Thomas A.; Smyth, Rebecca C.; Guevara, Edgar H.; Gutiérrez, Roberto, 1951-
This report summarizes the results of research conducted at The University of Texas at Austin (UT), Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG), for the project titled "Geo-Environmental Characteristics of the Delta del Orinoco, Venezuela-Integrated Studies of the Environmental Characteristics, Active Processes, and Depositional Systems of the Delta del Orinoco Region, Northeastern Venezuela." It contains results of BEG activities, analyses, and interpretations for the period December 1997 through November 1999. In this study, we integrated information generated by satellite image processing and analysis, four field expeditions to the delta, and an extensive literature review. The main objectives of our investigations are to (1) characterize the physical setting of the Orinoco Delta; (2) identify, evaluate, and describe the physical processes active in the delta; and (3) define and evaluate the relationships between active physical processes and delta-ecosystem composition and long-term stability. Our efforts in 1999 focused on analyses of (1) remote-sensing data and historical aerial photomosaics available to the project; (2) field data acquired in four field expeditions conducted in 1998 and early 1999; (3) environmental reports by petroleum companies operating in the delta area; and (4) publications and reports describing the Holocene and Recent physical setting of northeastern South America, including climatology, ecology, river and coastal hydrology, oceanography, and geology.