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The coastal plain of Brazil's extreme
south, with the Patos-Mirim Lagoon complex (approx.
14,000 km2) as the dominant feature,
corresponds to a warm-temperate (Cfa-mesothermal)
biogeographic transition zone due to the influence of the
Subtropical Convergence in the southwestern Atlantic. The
estuary of the Patos Lagoon (32° 05' S, 52°
10'W), coastal waters under the influence of the
estuarine plume, and adjacent exposed Atlantic beaches
and littoral dunes characterize this coastline. Together,
they cover an area of approximately 1,500 km2,
divided between the counties of Rio Grande, São
José do Norte, and Pelotas in the State of Rio
Grande do Sul. Both, estuary and Atlantic shores assume
critical interphase functions between marine shelf areas
and limnic or terrestrial environments of the coastal
plain, respectively.
Apart from ecological characteristics,
high biological productivity and diversity, and port and
industrial importance for the MERCOSUL, the large volume
of environmental data and
studies since the late 19th century,
integrated by a recent
appraisal, justify the Patos Lagoon estuary and
adjacent coast as a SITE for Brazilian Long Term Ecological Research (LTER).
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