Lactec and Eomap sign an unprecedented partnership in Brazil

Researchers and specialists from the two companies have already worked together to investigate environmental damage in the Doce River Basin and the adjacent coastal region, following the rupture of the ore tailings dam in Mariana (MG) in 2015.

“Environmental monitoring in digital media is a trend, which has already been consolidated in other countries. The intelligent use of data, which is collected by orbital images, daily, is an essential part of this methodology. The work carried out by Lactec and Eomap in the Doce River project is proof of the effectiveness of using remote sensing in environmental assessments. Thanks to this partnership, there will be more opportunities to apply these concepts in Brazil ”, jointly declared by the companies.

From the union of Lactec and Eomap's expertise, it was possible to build a complete picture of Mariana's environmental disaster. The experts applied analyzes of satellite images, modeling and data collected in the field, allowing to identify how the tailings mud spread through the river until it reached the ocean, compromising the water quality and the biota.

This work will continue, now, in the assessment of the reflections of the floods registered in the state of Minas Gerais, earlier this year. With the floods, the ore tailings that were deposited on the banks, as well as in the sediments, at the bottom of the Doce River and tributaries, may have aggravated the environmental conditions of those ecosystems, in relation to water quality.

Researcher in the Lactec Environment area, Gheysa do Rocio Morais Pires, explained that the remote sensing technology - associated with software with specific algorithms - allows the collection and treatment of a series of information about the aquatic environment, such as temperature, turbidity, suspended solids, chlorophyll concentration, among others, which are important parameters for determining water quality.