The Yucatan Peninsula (165,000 km 2 ) encompasses three Mexican states (Yucatan, Quintana Roo, and Campeche) and is composed of Miocene to Late Pleistocene limestone which has undergone intense dissolution through cycles of sea-level change creating a karst topography (Bauer-Gottwein et al., 2011;Perry et al., 2003;Weidie, 1985). The high porosity of the limestone (14%-23%; Beddows et al., 2007) results in few surface water bodies (e.g., lakes), as rainfall quickly infiltrates through the limestone and into the unconfined aquifer which flows toward the coast through networks of caves and fracture zones (Beddows et al., 2007;Emblanch et al., 2003;Stoessell, 1995). The few surface water bodies that do exist are thought to contain draping layers of sediment which act as an aquitard (
Jökulhlaup is the Icelandic term for a sudden and substantial release of subglacial and/or proglacial water. The subglacial volcano Katla and its associated glacier Mýrdalsjökull, near Iceland's southern coast, have the potential to cause catastrophic jökulhlaups through geothermally induced melting and volcanic eruptions. The resulting jökulhlaups can cause destruction of property and detriment to human life. Water-filled ice depressions (termed ice cauldrons) are produced by enhanced geothermal heating/melting and are large enough to be identified through remote sensing; therefore, ice cauldrons can be used to infer geothermal hot-spot locations and melt rates. To assess the risk of surrounding communities and infrastructure, a map of geothermal hot spots, loss of glacial mass, and meltwater flow paths of the Mýrdalsjökull glacier were created and analysed. Using geospatial analysis, it was determined that three hazard zones – two towns, Alftaver (to the east) and Vik (to the south), as well as Iceland's main highway, Route 1 – are directly in the path of potential jökulhlaups originating from the Mýrdalsjökull-Katla complex. Future research should further constrain meltwater flow paths to determine potential flow discharge rates and areas that are at the greatest risk of flooding.
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