The karst and its neighbors: Digital map of geomorphic environments in Quintana Roo

Abstract

The Yucatan peninsula is a large, carbonate platform with several geomorphic environments, the largest of which is the karst. The other geomorphic environments have not drawn much scholarly attention. The objective of this work is to spatially identify the geomorphic environments found in Quintana Roo, Mexico. These environments were characterized and defined through their geomorphic and environmental conditions, such as climate and vegetation. The soil types associated with them using cluster statistical analysis, principal components and classification analysis, processed through a GIS system. Seven geomorphic environments were defined for Quintana Roo based on their geomorphological characteristics and types of coverage: littoral, paludal, pseudopaludal, tecto-karstic, karstic, gypsum karst and mixed karst, with 12 subtypes. The karstic and tecto-karstic geomorphic environments occupy the largest surface. The digital map (1:50,000) of geomorphic environments that resulted from this investigation has an accuracy level of more than 80%, which makes it an important tool for developing plans and strategies for the use and management of land in Quintana Roo.

Distribución geográfica y características del medio físico natural de los ambientes kársticos de México

“…A nivel nacional, los estados de la Península de Yucatán son los que más se han estudiado, con alrededor del 73% de todos los trabajos relacionados con el karst de México (Álvarez-Rivera & Estrada-Medina, 2023). En cuanto a la identificación de ambientes kársticos y su estudio a nivel estatal, está el mapa digital de entornos geomórficos del estado de Quintana Roo (Fragoso-Servón et al, 2019), el mapa de paisajes geomorfológicos de Campeche (Palma-López et al, 2022) y la actualización del mapa de suelos del estado de Yucatán, en el que se considera la clasificación de ambientes geomorfológicos (Bautista et al, 2015). Así mismo, en el estudio realizado por Estrada et al, (2019) se realiza una caracterización detallada del origen y morfología del karst del estado de Yucatán.…”

Flooding of a carbonate platform: The Sian Kaʼan Wetlands, Yucatán, Mexico—A model for the formation and evolution of palustrine carbonate factories around the modern Caribbean Sea and in the depositional record

“…The SKW lie in the south‐east of the Yucatán Peninsula, forming a vast, little studied and largely inaccessible area of coastal marshes, swamps, lakes and coastal inlets (Figure 5) continuing south from Tulúm in South‐East Mexico to the Bay of Chetumal, which lies across the Mexico‐Belize border (Kramer & Kramer, 2002; Mazzotti et al, 2005). The area is low lying and dominated by lakes and sawgrass marsh in the west and mangrove swamp in the east, with lagoons of progressively increasing salinity and marine influence towards the coast (Fragosa‐Servón et al, 2019). The hydrology and water chemistry of the SKW were described by Gondwe et al (2010a, 2010b, 2010c, 2010d) and Lagomasino et al (2015).…”