Student Research Reports

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The Urussanga River Hydrographic Basin (BHRU), in Southern Santa Catarina, is known for both water scarcity and critically poor water quality, resulting from historical coal mining and modern anthropogenic pressures. This citizen science study, conducted at the Alaíde Tabalipa Municipal Elementary School in Içara, aimed to analyze the environmental quality of the Urussanga River banks using the GLOBE Observer hydrology and land use protocols. The main objective was to diagnose the physical and chemical conditions of the water (pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Electrical Conductivity, Nitrate and Nitrite, Salinity, and Transparency) and map the occupation of Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) in river sections within Içara, alongside soil and atmospheric parameters. The methodology involved field data collection using a laboratory kit with equipment selected by the students and the GLOBE Land Cover and Land Use (LULC) Protocol. Preliminary results, entered into the global GLOBE database, reaffirmed the impact of Acid Mine Drainage (DAM) in the region, potentially identifying pH values below legal limits. Furthermore, land use mapping provided insights into vegetation fragmentation and the advancement of urbanization and pasture areas, factors accelerating erosion and APP degradation (Oliveira, 2021). The study concludes that citizen science, in collaboration with academic knowledge (e.g., UNESC support), is a powerful tool for environmental awareness and generating localized data, which can be of great importance for the planning and management of the BHRU's water resources.