Regional Hydrogeochemical Evolution of Groundwater in the Ring of Cenotes, Yucatán (Mexico): An Inverse Modelling Approach

Abstract

The Ring of Cenotes (RC) extends along the edge of the Chicxulub crater, in the limestone platform of the Yucatan Peninsula (YP), where groundwater shows two preferential flow paths toward the coast near Celestun and Dzilam Bravo towns. The objectives of this study were to describe the regional hydrogeochemical evolution of the groundwater in the RC, and its association with the dissolution/precipitation of the minerals present along its pathway to the ocean. These objectives results were obtained by: a) characterizing groundwater hydrogeochemistry; b) calculating calcite, dolomite, and gypsum saturation indexes in the study area; and c) developing a hydrogeochemical model using PHREEQC (U. S. Geological Survey) inverse modelling approach. The model predictions confirmed that there are two evolution pathways of the groundwater consistent with the preferential flow paths suggested in a previous regionalization of the RC. On the western path, where groundwater flows towards Celestun, marine intrusion influences the hydrogeochemical processes and represents a risk for the freshwater. On the eastern path, where groundwater flows toward Dzilam Bravo, rainfall has an important effect on the hydrogeochemical processes, evidenced by a higher concentration in sulfates during droughts than during rainy periods. Then, monitoring of marine intrusion and phases dissolution in the RC is highly recommended

Diversity and Bioprospection of Gram-positive Bacteria Derived from a Mayan Sinkhole

“…In contrast to other coastal cenotes, Pol-Ac lacks a freshwater layer on its surface due to a surface salinity of 20.9 psu and a halocline at a shallow depth of only 0.4 m. For instance, the coastal cenotes Tábano [ 54 ] and Na’ach Wennen Ha [ 55 ], both within 1 km of the Caribbean Sea, have surface salinities of 2 psu and 0.5 psu, and much deeper haloclines at 11 m and 5 m, respectively. With an average water temperature of 26.4 °C, Pol-Ac follows the trend of other coastal cenotes like Tabano and Odyssey [ 54 ] during this time of the year [ 5 , 56 ].…”

Las Granjas Porcinas en Zonas De Karst: ¿cómo Pasamos De La Contaminación a La Sustentabilidad?

“…La intrusión marina (hasta un 2% de agua de mar) en la trayectoria de Celestún fue mayor que en la trayectoria de Dzilam Bravo. La intrusión marina en la trayectoria de Celestún no se ve afectada por la precipitación, mientras que en la zona costera de Dzilam Bravo varía fuertemente de forma inversa a la precipitación (Pérez-Ceballos et al, 2021).…”

Identification of Natural and Anthropogenic Geochemical Processes Determining the Groundwater Quality in Port del Comte High Mountain Karst Aquifer (SE, Pyrenees)

“…Such hydrochemical processes along with the heterogeneity in the inner karst structure make characterizing the behavior of the associated aquifer system difficult. To this end, it is convenient to adopt a multidisciplinary approach [12], considering the hydrodynamic behavior and analyzing the physico-chemical and isotopic characteristics of groundwater (GW) throughout the aquifer [7,[13][14][15][16], using both environmental and chemical tracers [17][18][19], applying data analysis techniques [20][21][22], conducting geophysical prospection [23], and/or applying hydrodynamic and hydrogeochemical and isotopic modeling tools [24][25][26][27][28][29].…”