Limnology of groundwater exposures with urban influence in Cozumel island, Mexico

Abstract

Cozumel, the largest Mexican island in the Caribbean, is geologically formed by limestone. The potable water supply depends on the karstic aquifer, which is recharged only by rain (WuRL & GrESE 2005). Water quality reports are scarce for a region considered to be the most important receptor of tourism in Mexico. The available reports are not adequate to determine ifthe physical environment ofthe subterranean water in Cozumel is discontinuous, a disadvantage for managers in a place with limited water availability. Our goal was to classify the sinkholes on Cozumel island according to physico-chemical analysis, and to describe the basic limnology of water bodies near urban areas. The practical use of this information is to define water bodies based on the physiographic features o f the island as well as to generate baseline data for monitoring, potential use, or ecological research.