Sónia Silva

• PhD
• Professor at University of Cape Verde

Although volcanoes present a risk to society, they also represent an opportunity for the development and socioeconomic sustainability of their territories. Its main benefits are associated with the diversity of resources offered by volcanic landscapes: geothermal energy, agriculture, building materials, tourism, etc. The volcanic nature of the Maca...

Reservoirs provide valuable services to human beings, especially in arid, semi-arid, and Mediterranean regions affected by water scarcity. The present effort aims to study the environmental descriptors of variation and the main factors influencing phytoplankton composition, structure, and diversity in five reservoirs in Santiago Island, Cape Verde,...

Reservoirs provide valuable services to human beings, especially in arid, semi-arid, and Mediterranean regions affected by water scarcity. The present effort aims to study the environmental descriptors of variation and the main factors influencing phytoplankton composition, structure, and diversity in five reservoirs in Santiago Island, Cape Verde,...

We report the results of the geochemical monitoring of the fumarolic discharges at the Pico do Fogo volcano in Cape Verde from 2007 to 2016. During this period Pico do Fogo experienced a volcanic eruption (November 23, 2014) that lasted 77 days, from a new vent ∼2.5 km from the fumaroles. Two fumaroles were sampled, a low (F1∼100°C) and a medium (F...

The Cape Verde archipelago is a group of ocean islands in the Central Atlantic that forms two chains of islands trending northwest and southwest. Several of the islands are considered to be volcanically active, with frequent eruptions on Fogo. We examine the mineral chemistry and thermobarometry of the southern islands—Santiago, Fogo, and Brava—tog...

We report the temporal evolution of helium isotopes emission and thermal energy release in the period 2007–2018 at the summit crater of Pico do Fogo volcano, Cape Verde. ³He/⁴He ratio measured in a fumarolic discharge, ranged from 6.69 to 8.63 RA, being the maximum mantle-derived composition measured in November 2013, one year before the eruption o...

The flora and vegetation of the archipelago of Cabo Verde is dominated by Macaronesian, Mediterranean, and particularly by African tropical elements, resulting from its southernmost location, when compared to the other islands of the Macaronesia (i.e., Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, and Canary Islands). Very likely, such a geographical position entail...

The target of this study is the Fogo Island in Cape Verde, where the hazards (caldera and/or flank collapse) and the timing (120 ka or younger?) are still controversial. Using high-resolution DEM, field geological and structural analysis, and high-precision K-Ar dating, we produced an age-calibrated volcanic stratigraphy of Fogo’s summit (Chã das C...

RESUMO: O geoturismo ou turismo geológico é uma prática de turismo alternativo que se utiliza essencialmente da geologia e da paisagem natural, enquanto forma de relevo, estrutura e composição de rochas e de processos como erosão e vulcanismo. É uma prática turística que abrange turistas que visitam, aprendem e apreciam os geossítios e pessoas do l...

RESUMO: Os resultados pesquisas biológicas e geólogas realizadas em rochas e fósseis evidenciam que as mudanças climáticas no paleoclima se deveram exclusivamente às causas naturais. Enquanto no passado geológico o aquecimento e o arrefecimento do planeta se deram de forma faseada ao longo de milhares de anos, dando tempo para que ao longo de vária...

Fogo volcano erupted in 2014–2015 producing an extensive lava flow field in the summit caldera that destroyed two villages, Portela and Bangaeira. The eruption started with powerful explosive activity, lava fountains, and a substantial ash column accompanying the opening of an eruptive fissure. Lava flows spreading from the base of the eruptive fis...

Fogo volcano erupted in 2014-15 producing an extensive lava flow field in the summit caldera that destroyed two villages, Portela and Bangaeira. The eruption started with powerful explosive activity, lava fountains, and a substantial ash column accompanying the opening of an eruptive fissure. Lava flows spreading from the base of the eruptive fissu...

VOLRISKMAC: Strengthening R&D&I capacities for the monitoring of volcanic activity in Macaronesia, is a project financed by the Cooperation Program INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal MAC (Madeira-Azores-Canaries) 2014-2020. This Program is the main instrument available to the outermost regions of Spain and Portugal to offer an effective response to the co...

VOLRISKMAC (MAC/3.5b/124) is a project financed by the Interreg Madeira-Azores-Canarias (MAC) 2014-2020 Territorial Cooperation Program-Axis 3-Promote adaptation to climate change and risk prevention and management. The main objective of the project VOLRISKMAC is to strengthen capacities for the monitoring of volcanic activity, with the aim of impr...

La Macaronesia es una región mundial formada por cinco archipiélagos del Atlántico norte. Son islas de origen volcánico, de norte a sur se localizan Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), Salvajes (Portugal), Canarias (España) y Cabo Verde. Estos sistemas insulares comparten características en común desde el punto de vista botánico, climatológico y...

Abstratcs of presentations at the European Meeting of Fitosociology dedicated to the issue of Biogeograohy and Sintaxonomy of the Atlantic Regions, Praia, Cabo Verde, November 5-7, 2017.

he island of Santiago is the largest of the 10 islands of the Cape Verde. It is located in the Paleotropical kingdom, Afrotropical sub-kingdom, Saaro-Tropical region, Cape Verde province, South Cape Verde sector, Santiago district. Bioclimate of Santiago varies from tropical desertic eu-hyperoceanic infratropical desertic (in Praia) and tropical xe...

Os trabalhos reunidos na presente publicação dão ensejo ao enriquecimento da produção científica resultante da implantação do Mestrado em Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente da Universidade de Cabo Verde.

Brava (67 km2) is the southwestern most and the smallest inhabited island of the Cape Verde archipelago. It is located 18 km west of Fogo Island and rises 976 m from the sea level. Brava has not any documented historical eruptions, but its Holocene volcanism and relatively high seismic activity clearly indicate that it is an active volcanic island....

Brava (67 km2) is the southwestern most and the smallest inhabited island of the Cape Verde archipelago. This oceanic active volcanic island is located 18 km west of Fogo Island and rises 976 m from the sea level. Volcanic hazard awareness among the Brava population and the authorities is very low because since no historical eruptions are recorded;...

The Electromagnetic surveys campaign using the TEM-FAST, in the island of Fogo, Cape Verde, aims to enable a thorough characterization of the geological structure of the volcano crater of Fogo and its monitoring in the face of its huge local and regional importance, with a view to the prevention of risks, and a land management more effective, enabl...

Introdução O arquipélago de Cabo Verde apresenta condições naturais adversas e está sujeito a uma grande diversidade de riscos naturais. Para além dos riscos sísmico e vulcânicos, praticamente limitados às ilhas da Brava, no primeiro caso, e do Fogo, nos dois casos, e dos riscos de seca, desertificação e erosão dos solos, ligados à localização geog...

Lava flow simulations help to better understand volcanic hazards and may assist emergency preparedness at active volcanoes. We demonstrate that at Fogo Volcano, Cabo Verde, such simulations can explain the 2014–2015 lava flow crisis and therefore provide a valuable base to better prepare for the next inevitable eruption. We conducted topographic ma...

Lava flow simulations help to better understand volcanic hazards and may assist emergency preparedness at active volcanoes. We show that at Fogo Volcano, Cape Verde, such simulations can explain the 2014–2015 lava flow crisis and therefore provide a valuable base to better prepare for the inevitable next eruption. In a rapid disaster response effor...

Satellite remote sensing techniques and lava flow forecasting models have been combined to enable a rapid response during effusive crises at poorly monitored volcanoes. Here, we used the HOTSAT satellite thermal monitoring system and the MAGFLOW lava flow emplacement model to forecast lava flow hazards during the 2014–2015 Fogo eruption. In many wa...

Diffuse CO2 emission surveys were carried out at São Vicente, Brava, and Fogo islands, Cape Verde, archipelago to investigate the relationship between diffuse CO2 degassing and volcanic activity. Total amounts of diffuse CO2 discharged through the surface environment of the islands of São Vicente, Brava, and Fogo were estimated in 226, 50, and 828...

A Cidade Velha apresenta um sítio histórico de relevância internacional, tanto que foi nomeada Patrimônio Mundial da Humanidade em 2009 pela UNESCO. É notável também a sua riqueza em relação a geodiversidade, principalmente a geomorfologia, que por ventura foi um dos facilitadores da instalação dos portugueses ali. Nesta perspectiva, a associação d...

We report the first detailed study of diffuse emis-sion of carbon dioxide (CO 2), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), helium (He), and hydrogen (H 2) from the summit crater of Pico do Fogo volcano, Cape Verde. Diffuse CO 2 , H 2 S, He, and H 2 gas fluxes were measured at 57 sampling sites and ranged up to 12,800, 13, 1, and 6 g m −2 day −1 , respectively. So...

Resumo: A ilha de Santiago, assim como a maioria das ilhas caboverdianas, são constituídas por rochas, estruturas e morfologias de origem vulcânica submarina. É apresentada uma avaliação das características litológicas e geotécnicas das unidades litológicas submarinas de fácies autoclástica da Cidade da Praia, na ilha de Santiago, Cabo Verde. Trata...

Pico do Fogo volcano is the youngest and most active volcano of the Cape Verde archipelago and rises over 2,800 m above sea level. It is located to the east of the Bordiera semicircular escarpment at Fogo Island and is capped by a 500-m-wide, 150-m-deep summit crater. Soil gas geochemical surveys in volcanic areas are useful tool to identify change...

O trabalho permitiu avaliar a susceptibilidade a cheias na área da Cidade da Praia e espaço envolvente utlizando as ferramentas proporcionadas pelos Sistemas de Informação Geográfica, após a integração de dados gemorfológicos, geológicos e hidrográficos.

The remote sensing data (optical and radar) was used with the purpose of identify the structural lineaments that crosscut the geological formations that composed the bedrock of the south part of Santiago island (Cape Verde). Besides tectonics, this study also provided new insights to the understanding of the hydrogeological system of the volcanic i...