VARIABILIDADE TEMPORAL DO FLUXO DE ELEMENTOS-TRAÇO BIOLOGICAMENTE ESSENCIAIS NA BACIA DO RIO NEGRO – AM

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study conducted in the Rio Negro watershed, which has a drainage area of approximately 719,000 km². It is considered the sixth largest river in the world by water volume and the second largest tributary of the Amazon River, contributing about 15% of the water that the Amazon discharges into the Atlantic Ocean. The study aimed to characterize this basin regarding the temporal variability of the flow of biologically essential trace elements (Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, and Zn). To achieve this, data from the Hybam Program were utilized, covering the period from 2003 to 2018 at the hydrometric stations of Serrinha on the Rio Negro and Caracaraí on the Rio Branco. The temporal analysis yielded the concentration of trace elements, with the Caracaraí station showing the highest concentrations. However, when assessing the flux of these elements, the results were inverted, revealing that the Serrinha station exhibited higher values than Caracaraí, primarily due to the net discharge at Serrinha being greater than that at Caracaraí. The physicochemical parameters demonstrated influence from hydrological regimes. Therefore, this study indicated temporal variation in the parameters examined.

Keywords: Rio Negro; Hydrological Cycle; Geochemistry.