Concentration Areas

Major Divisions

Marine, Coastal, and Sedimentary Geology

Lines of Research

Coastal zone evolution and dynamics: Study of the coastal zone processes and environments , such as estuaries, bays, deltas, coastal dunes, continental shelves, and the marine environments of the Atlantic ocean.

Micropaleontology and coral reefs: Encompasses the study of microfossils, with a major focus on foraminifera and its use in environmental reconstructions and the study of coral reefs of the western Atlantic ocean , their Quaternary evolution and major environmental threats deriving from human activities and climate changes.

Basin analysis and Tectonics applied to hydrocarbon exploration: Study of the sedimentary infill, deformation and hydrocarbon potential  of  the Phanerozoic sedimentary basins focused on the application of Sequence and Seismic stratigraphy concepts, geophysical methods (Gravimetry and Magnetometry) and and Structural geology.

Environmental Geology, Hydrogeology, and Water Resources

Lines of Research

Medical and Environmental Geology: uses interdisciplinary approaches and techniques from Environmental Geochemistry, Geophysics, Ecotoxicology, and Geoconservation to investigate major issues in the fields of Environmental and Medical Geology. It also uses GIS in applied research on (1) urban, rural, and industrial zones, (2) mining and petroleum exploration areas, (3) renewable energy, (4) coastal zones, and (5) the effects of pollution on natural ecosystems and human health.

Hydrogeology of porous, karst, and fractured aquifers: seeks to understand groundwater storage, circulation, and recharge phenomena in various lithologic types, as well as their relation to surface water. Is applies concepts and techniques from Classic Hydrogeology, Environmental Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geoprocessing, and Numerical modeling to determine the potentiality, demands, main uses, and vulnerability to contamination of aquifers with a focus on sustainability.

Quality and management of underground and surface water resources: investigates the quantitative and qualitative natural standards of surface and underground water, as well as contamination sources, aquifer vulnerability, and pollution control and remediation techniques. It also focus on monitoring, protection, and conservation of rivers, aquifers, and estuaries in the state of Bahia, as a means of establishing and improving public policies related to protecting its water resources.

Petrology, Metallogeny, and Mineral Exploration

Lines of Research

Petrogenesis, Geochronology, Geotectonic evolution, and Metallogeny of Archaean and Proterozoic Shields: comprises petrologic and geochronological studies of Geotectonic Provinces in Brazil and worldwide, focusing on crustal evolution and metallogeny.

Metallogenic models, processes, and mineral exploration: it studies the sources, transport, and deposition of mineral concentrations using several tools, such as isotope and fluid inclusion analysis. We refine metallogenic models and define new applicable models to find economic mineral deposits for mineral exploration.

Evolution, stratigraphy, and metallogeny of sedimentary sequences: it aims to define metallogenic processes related to sedimentary basin evolution, focusing on Proterozoic basins. It uses concepts borrowed from the Sedimentary  Facies analysis, Geotectonics, and Chemostratigraphy.