Mapeamento de Sensibilidade Ambiental a Derramamentos de Petróleo do Sistema Estuarino de Santos, Estado de São Paulo.

The aim of this work is to realize the environmental sensitivity mapping for oil spills of the Cubatao estuary and surroundings areas, in detail spatial scale, using a Geographic Information System. The methodology follows the standards determined by the Brazilian Federal Environment Organ (Ministry of the Environment). The study area can be considered of high sensitivity, because the mangrove is the predominant ecosystem. The mangrove is an ecosystem of high biodiversity and productivity; it presents low hydro energy and mud sediment, resulting in a significant persistence of the oil in this ecosystem. Besides, the techniques that allow cleaning the oil of this environment are limited. The estuary of Cubatao and surroundings areas can be considered also a susceptible area to oil spills due to the presence of several potential fountains of pollution like oil pipelines, terminals, industries and traffic of ships. These turn the area sensitive and very vulnerable in several points. This article shows a set of seven ESI maps including a tactical one, scale 1: 80.000, and six in detail scale, 1:25.000. It also shows thematic maps, visual resources and a species list from the estuary. In oil spill sceneries, sensitivity maps are extremely usefulness, since the maps supply clear informations for the response likes. So, these instruments represent a essential tool for the coordination of actions in oil spills sceneries, while they allow the management of available resources and the most efficient mobilization of the protection and cleaning teams, minimizing the impacts in the environment and reinforcing the political and administrative instruments of territorial ordainment.