geology class

1. Mata atlantica- serra da
mantiqueira
A Geological Study
LTCC Geology 103
Field Assignment
By Mauricio Torrealba

2. Index:
Introduction: Serra da Mantiqueira
Panthera onca
Tibouchina mutabilis
Mountains: The Serra da Mantiqueira and region
Climate: Serra da Mantiqueira
Rock / Limestone cave
Rock Granitic
Rock Basalt
Rock Gneiss
Rock Quartzite
Biodiversity
Curiosities: the Serra da Mantiqueira

3. Introduction: Mata atlantica-
serra da mantiqueira
The origin of the Atlantic is associated with the
separation of the African and South American
continents, which occurred at approximately 80
million years ago, marking a period of geological
unrest that shook the earth. Volcanoes and great
accommodations in the crust raised numerous
blocks of mountains, such as the Serra da
Mantiqueira, which occupied the coastal strip
from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro and became
the ideal scenario for the Atlantic Forest.
Thus it presents a variety of backgrounds, encompassing a
diverse range of forest ecosystems with very different
structures and floristic composition, following the climatic
characteristics of the regions where it occurs, and the
common element exposure to humid winds that blow from
the ocean.

4. Panthera onca
The jaguar is a sturdy and muscular animal. Size and
weight vary considerably: the weight is usually between
56-96 kg. The highest recorded males weighing up to 160
kg (with the weight of a tigress or lioness), and smaller
females came to have 36 kg. This animal is currently
under threat of extinction in the Atlantic forest.
Ancestor: The ancestor of the jaguar lived between six
and ten million years ago despite the fossil record point to
the emergence of the genus Panthera between 2 million
and 3.8 million years ago Early Pleistocene, the
forerunners of the current Oz crossed the Beringia and
arrived in North America: from there reached Central
America and South America until crowding in the Atlantic
Forest region.

5. Risk of extinction
Currently: The jaguar, cat species found mainly in the
Atlantic Forest, has many chances to enter fully into
extinction .. The document points out that only 250
specimens jaguar exist throughout that territory, being
distributed in eight isolated populations. The causes for
the advancement of the disappearance of jaguars are
related to habitat loss due to deforestation, hunting and
fragmentation of vegetation for the development of
activities of hunters.

6. Tibouchina mutabilis
The manacá-da-serra (Tibouchina mutabilis) is a pioneer tree of the Brazilian
the Atlantic Forest (specifically the Serra da Mantiqueira), the dense rain
forest of the Atlantic slope of the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
Occurs almost exclusively in secondary forests, which gets to be the
dominant species. It is also found in salt marshes around the coast of São
Paulo, and in the rain forest of southeastern same state.
Ecology of plant: heliophile is a pioneer species, occurs mainly in the
Atlantic rain forest; seed dispersal by wind occurs (anemochory); like
hot and humid climate. Species common in secondary forests, mainly
in the mountains of the Atlantic Forest.
Phenology: Flowers in the months from November to February, the
fruits ripen from February to March.

7. Mountains: The Serra da Mantiqueira
and region
Advantage: The block mountains formed a barrier to moisture-laden winds coming from the
ocean. In the form of fog or rain, the moisture helped to create the necessary conditions for the
Atlantic formations, giving rise to the the Atlantic Forest itself, if instalassem and evolve rapidly.
Origin: The origin of mountains is also associated with the
separation of the African and South American continents,
which occurred at approximately 80 million years ago,
marking a period of geological unrest that shook the earth.
Volcanoes and great accommodations in the crust raised
numerous blocks of mountains.

8. Climate
The climate in the region comprised by the Atlantic
rain forest, has two seasons, mainly defined by
rainfall, although quite variable latitudinally.
In the Southeast region the annual averages are
lower and the temperature may occasionally reach
-6 ° C
Climate variations caused by the succession of
periods of glaciation, when it formed the large
glaciers (cold and dry climate) and periods between
glaciations (when the weather was warmer and
more rain), contributed to the expansion of the the
Atlantic Forest who arrived pushing the boundaries
of the Amazon Forest

9. Rock / Limestone cave
Originate from a number of geological processes
that may involve a combination of chemical,
tectonic, biological and atmospheric changes.
Limestone, for the most part, are formed by the
accumulation of lower organisms (for example,
cyanobacteria) or precipitation of calcium
carbonate in the form of bicarbonates, especially in
the marine environment
● Travertine: dense limestones are found in
caves and caverns composed of calcite,
aragonite and limonite

10. Granitic rocks
Granite is a common type of igneous rock of fine, medium or coarse
grain mainly composed of quartz, mica efeldspato, and accessory
minerals such as mica (almost always present), hornblende, zircon and
other minerals. It is usually found in the continental plates of the Earth's
crust. Are found in some regions of the the Serra da Mantiqueira.
The mineralogical composition of granite is defined by very different
associations of quartz, feldspar, mica (biotite and / or muscovite),
amphibole (mainly hornblende), pyroxenes (augite and hiperstena) and
olivine. Some of these components may be absent in certain
mineralogical associations, by noting several other accessory minerals
in much more modest proportions. Quartz, feldspar, mica and amphibole
are the dominant minerals in granite and related rocks ..

11. Basalt rock
Until the late nineteenth and twentieth century it was common in
São Paulo towards West from the city of Valinhos the presence of
an Atlantic Rainforest Semidecidual (a forest that loses some of the
leaves in the dry season) which featured gigantic trees up to 50 feet
tall and a few feet in diameter, fed by the fertile soil purple derived
from basalt rock
Basalt is an eruptive igneous rock, fine-grained, aphanitic, ie the
crystals are not seen with the naked eye, and may also contain
large quantities or consist entirely of glass (amorphous material).
This rock consists mainly deplagioclásio and pyroxene, and in
many cases olivine. As accessory minerals are mainly iron oxides
and titanium.

12. Gneiss rock
Some of the oldest rocks in the world are gneisses. An example of
gneiss rock formation is the Sugarloaf, located in the city of Rio de
Janeiro, connected with the the Serra da Mantiqueira, Brazil.
Gneiss is a rock of metamorphic origin, resulting from the deformation
of sediments arcósicos or granite. Its composition is different
minerals, over 20% of K-feldspar, plagioclase, quartz and biotite and
yet, so it is considered essentially quartzofeldspática.
Granulation often lies between medium and coarse; the structure is
very variable, ranging from massive, foliated granitoid and (given by
the flattening of grains) until banded, usually with centimeter
millimeter bands alternating with other maismáficas derived from
metamorphic segregation processes that culminate in magmatic
rocks.

13. Quartzite rock
The quartzite is a metamorphic rock whose major component is quartz
(more than 75% as an order of magnitude).
The quartzites are the most common rocks in the upper part hacksaw.
Are metasediments that relate to marine environments sedimentation,
and the current geological knowledge of the region assigned to them
equivalent to 1.8 billion years approximate age.
In the lower part of the mountain, around 1,000 meters, quartzite loses
its hegemony. Share this predominant limestone, marble and
limestone belonging to Bamburgh group, aged approximately 900
million years ago and originated from the chemical deposition of
calcium carbonate in the Precambrian marine sedimentation
environment.

14. Biodiversity
One of the biggest reasons to preserve what remains
of the Atlantic forest is rich in biodiversity, or the
variety of animals and plants. It is estimated that in it
there are ten thousand species of plants, 76 palm
trees; 131 species of mammals, among these 21
species of primates, opossums 23, 57 rodents; 214
species of birds, among them there is the bellbird,
known as "the voice of the Atlantic forest" and critically
endangered; 183 amphibians and 143 of répteis.O
golden lion tamarin is one of the most endangered
species in the world. It is found only in a small area of ​​
Atlantic forest that corresponds to the state of Sao
paulo.
Due to the great devastation that kills almost 200
species are threatened with extinction, outside those
that have become extinct. It is estimated that half of
the species alive today may be extinct by the end of
the century if no action is taken to control
deforestation and fires, which are the main forms of
destruction of this important biome.

15. Curiosities: the Serra da Mantiqueira
The saw has a dated geological formation of the
Archean era that comprises a solid rock that has
large upland area, from one thousand to nearly
three thousand meters, along the boundaries of
the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro.
The region of Serra da Mantiqueira has medium
altitudes 1200-2800 meters. The saw and popular
for mountaineering practice by having high peaks,
and the rally, and during the winter because it is
the dry season increases demand for that sport in
the hills.
The Serra da Mantiqueira integrates the ecosystem
of the rainforest
Presenting these spots remaining forests and fields
in altitude at its highest peaks. Allied to this, a large
native wildlife can still be found in it

16. Stephen,J.(08/2007). A Evolução dos Gatos. Scientific American Braasil.edition 63.Retrieved from http:
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Onça-pintada.(n.d.). In pt.wikipedia.org.Retrieved July 25, 2014 from http://pt.wikipedia. org/wiki/On % C3%
A 7a-pintada
Patro, R. (08/12/2013). Manacá-da-serra – Tibouchina mutabilis. Retrieved from http://www.jardineiro.
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caracterizacao-e-areas-de-ocorrencia/9243/
References

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