21 US-Mexico Exchange on Cave and Karst Science and Conservation (Posters)

This poster session welcomes poster submissions in fields related with cave and karst science and management in Mexico, with a special interest in geoheritage, inter- and multidisciplinary approaches and community outreach projects.

Thursday, 23 April 2026
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
LMH, 5th Floor Chapel

Gravity Anomaly Modeling of Karst Structures – Chicxulub Crater Ring of Cenotes

Paper number: 21-2
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:30 AM – 8:45 AM

Authors

Abstract

The Yucatan Peninsula in southeastern Mexico is characterized by carbonate rocks, karstic development, absence of rivers and lakes, shallow water levels, the peninsular aquifer, groundwater flow, dissolution structures and marine intrusion. Here we use gravity surveys to investigate the ring of cenotes associated with the Chicxulub crater, and the underlying structures and stratigraphy in the terrace zone and crater rim. Gravity methods detect karst structures, depending on density contrasts between the country rock and in-fill fluids. Studies in different karst terrains show the potential of geophysical methods for detecting structures and characterizing the hydrological connections, also showing the limitations and challenges. Integration of geophysical, geotechnical and geohydrological surveys provide high resolution detection capabilities.

The ~200 km diameter Chicxulub crater formed 66 Ma ago by an asteroid impact on the Yucatan carbonate platform. On the surface, the crater rim is marked by a semi-circular topographic depression, fracture zone and the cenote ring. Results of a gravity study are used to characterize the structure and stratigraphy of the ring of cenotes over the terrace zone and crater rim. Models of radial long gravity profiles crossing the crater structure from the central zone across the crater rim and short-spaced gravity profiles over the ring of cenotes provide constraints on the ring of cenotes and interconnected karst network. Modeling of gravity anomalies on the terrace zone shows down faulted blocks along the radial fault system. The cenotes and interconnected karst network are characterized by gravity lows, superimposed on the anomalies associated with the impactite deposits and faulted blocks of the terrace zone.

Inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches are being implemented to study the complex karst system. The karst network is one of the longest worldwide and home to endemic communities that are just beginning to be investigated. Further, the ring of cenotes, with its unique characteristics, is a major geoheritage geological feature.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 3

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026CD-410944

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