Daniela Ortega Camacho,Laura M. Hernández Terrones,Viridiana M. Nava Ruiz, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Unidad de Ciencias del Agua, michiromd@gmail.com
Abstract
The Yucatan Peninsula groundwater is the only source of water to the population. The geology of this place is a carbonated and evaporite rock platform, a karstic system with rainfall infiltration, vulnerable to pollution, with flow recharge and seawater intrusion, a problem for its use. Hydrogeochemical analyses are a valuable to obtain information: quality and type of groundwater, recharge flows, in situ processes and to infer the relationship among geographic location and anthropogenic activities. The interpretation of the data is useful to propose or decree the areas that can be considered as hydrogeological reserves for water supply. Representative samples from the 14 cenotes considered for this project were analyzed. This investigation reports: physical-chemical parameters (pH, T, EC) and the chemical composition of cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+ , K+ , Sr2+) and anions (HCO3 - , SO4 2-, Cl- ). The results from this investigation were evaluated with different hydrogeochemical tools for classification (Piper and Stiff Diagrams, ionic relations). Data interpretation indicates that the analyzed groundwater samples are classified in three water types: Mg-Cl type, Ca-Cl type, and Mg-HCO3 type. The lack of homogeneity at the groundwater classifications may be related to the geographic features of the sampled caves (cenotes).
Keywords: Yucatán, hidrogeochemistry, karstic