The paper discusses the geo-environmental studies carried out to revitalise a silted up channel in Guanabara Bay. A dredging operation has been planned to remove about 1.5 million cubic meters of contaminated sediment. Investigations were performed to characterise the sediment in terms of its physical and chemical properties and to evaluate the presence of heavy metals and organic compounds, particularly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAR Finally, dredging and disposal schemes are briefly outlined based on measured contamination levels. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.