ABSTRACT:The Pantanal Basin is an active sedimentary basin in central-west Brazil that consists of a complex alluvial systems tract characterized by the interaction between different river systems developed in one of the largest wetlands in the world. The Paraguay River is the trunk river system that drains the water and part of the sediment load received from areas outside of the basin. Depositional styles vary considerably along the river profiles throughout the basin, with the development of entrenched meandering belts, anastomosing reaches, and floodplain ponds. Paleodrainage patterns are preserved on the surface of abandoned lobes of fluvial fans, which also exhibit many degradational channels. Here, we propose a novel classification scheme according to which the geomorphology, hydrological regime and sedimentary dynamics of these fluvial systems are determined by the geology and geomorphology of the source areas. In this way, the following systems are recognized and described: (I) the Paraguay trunk-river plains; (II) fluvial fans sourced by the tablelands catchment area; (III) fluvial fans sourced by lowlands; and (IV) fluvial interfans. We highlight the importance of considering the influences of source areas when interpreting contrasting styles of fluvial architectures in the rock record. KEYWORDS: INVITED REVIEW RESUMO: A Bacia do Pantanal é uma bacia sedimentar situada no Centro-Oeste do Brasil, caracterizada pela presença de um moderno trato deposicional aluvial e pela interação de vários tipos de sistemas desenvolvidos em uma das maiores e mais importantes áreas úmidas do planeta. O Rio Paraguai representa o rio-tronco do sistema e drena a água e parte da carga sedimentar recebida de outras áreas extrabacinais. Os rios nos diferentes sistemas apresentam mudanças de estilo fluvial em consequência de fatores alogênicos e autogênicos, com desenvolvimento de cinturões de meandros incisos, domínios distributários não confinados e mundanças de canal único para padrões multicanal (anabranching). A superfície de lobos abandonados apresenta complexa

This chapter presents and discusses the avulsive nature of the Pantanal rivers and shows how the ever-changing drainage network influences the surface hydrology and ecology. Besides, the systemic portrait here outlined provides new insights concerning the Pantanal hydrodynamics, in its particularities and as a whole system. A simple model of the avulsion process is illustrated, and several realistic examples of the processes leading to river avulsions are shown and discussed. The north-to-south flood-pulse wave due to the presence of bottlenecks is further described in detail. This systemic approach allows identifying that the fluvial "avulsive and bottleneck" dynamics seasonally affects both local and regional ecohydrological processes. Moreover, it shows that avulsive processes are commonplace in Pantanal, and changes in land use, particularly in river headwaters in the highlands, accelerate the avulsions, making the sustainable use of the Pantanal lowland areas difficult.

O Paraguai é o rio-tronco do trato de sistemas deposicionais do Pantanal. Com base em dados de sensores remotos e verificação de campo, foi realizado mapeamento geomorfológico da planície do rio Paraguai no trecho entre as confluências dos rios Cuiabá e Miranda, onde foram reconhecidas formas deposicionais atuais e antigas. A análise das associações de formas permitiu estabelecer proposta de evolução geomorfológica para a área, mas os eventos carecem ainda de datação precisa por métodos geocronológicos. Uma rede de drenagem abandonada multicanais está parcialmente preservada na planície, sendo composta por formas de canais com diques marginais que evidenciam período de menor descarga fluvial, provavelmente do Pleistoceno tardio ao Holoceno inferior. Um sistema constituído por paleocinturões de meandros trunca a paleorrede de drenagem multicanais, registrando aumento na umidade e na descarga fluvial. Sob essas condições o rio Paraguai construiu um sistema composto por cinturões de meandros com direção aproximada norte-sul no Holoceno inferior/médio. Agradação dos cinturões favoreceu importante evento de avulsão, com a mudança do curso do rio Paraguai para o cinturão de meandros atual no Holoceno superior. As gerações de formas identificadas e mapeadas resultaram num padrão de sobreposição de diferentes estilos fluviais, que registram significativas mudanças hidrológicas na planície desde o Pleistoceno tardio.

No abstract

Worldwide wetlands contribute to the global carbon cycle by emitting about a third of the global methane (CH 4 ) emissions. However, CH 4 and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) dynamics remain poorly understood in the largest tropical wetland on Earth, the Pantanal. In this chapter, we aim to characterize the CH 4 and CO 2 biogeochemistry in the floodplain of the Paraguay River, near Corumbá, during the course of annual anoxia phenomena locally known as dequada. The strong anoxia is associated to the flooding of terrestrial habitats that enhances respiration, dissolved oxygen (DO) consumption, and methanogenesis. The extremely low DO also leads to high fish mortality in the region. CH 4 and CO 2 concentration in surface waters and diffusive water-air fluxes were measured in the oxbow Tuiuiú Lake and in the Paraguay River main stem in order to identify temporal and spatial patterns. The whole dataset shows that, for instance, dissolved CH 4 and diffusive CH 4 fluxes increased dramatically during the dequada. In the study area, CH 4 emissions can À2 h À1 during dequada climax. Riverine anoxic waters steadily penetrate the oxbow Tuiuiú Lake, indicating water inflow from the river main stem, whereas small reminiscent patches of oxbow waters not mixing with anoxic river waters may function as survival refuges to the aquatic wildlife. Clearly, the DO distribution during several dequadas in major rivers of the Pantanal highlights the importance of geomorphology on the biogeochemistry in the riverine floodplains of the Pantanal wetland.