Abstract
The local population in an agricultural field in Puebla State's sub-urban has been affected by the prolonged drought periods and exceptional precipitation events of 2021, modifying the urban, agricultural, and industrial activities in the region. The main objective is to identify the geohydrology, climatology, geophysical, and geomechanics proxies to understand the new phenomenon that led to the formation of the sinkhole in the non-karstic zone. The results revealed that the sand and silt particles of the volcanic sediments have been removed from the agricultural subsoil probably due to the intense exploitation of groundwater. Moreover, the exploitation strata indicated the existence of organic silt at 15 and 25 m, with high compressibility, less mass volume, and high water saturation conditions. Henceforth, these strata were considered as anomalies with low resistivity that are related to strong fluctuations in the water table that favored the collapse. Results of the void calculation formulation and the correlation with the removal of sediments of erosive susceptibility in the subsoil strata adjacent to the sinkhole demonstrate that the removal of sediments causes the collapse due to removal of finer sediments. The data integration allows us to determine that the sinkhole has been formed because of a combination of factors such as subsoil erosive conditions, extraordinary hydrometeorological events, hydraulic gradient flows, and the intense exploitation of groundwater in the region. Detecting the causes of sinkholes can predict the susceptibility of the territories, elaborate strategies to avoid risk, anticipate response–mitigation actions, and sustain the water safety plans for sustainable public policies.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the financial assistance awarded by the Secretary of Environment, Puebla (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente, Sustentabilidad y Ordenamiento Territorial de Puebla, Gobierno del Estado de Puebla). Also, the authors wish to express their gratitude to Ing. Honorio Guevara Brunel of the Servicios de Ingeniería y Control de Calidad, Puebla, México for his specialize assistance. PFRE wish to express his thanks to Lic. Gustavo Lima Carro Director de Prevención de Desastres de la Coordinación General de Protección del Estado de Puebla, México, the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI), CONACyT, IPN SIP20221849, SIP 20231805 and COFAA, EDI, México. KMOG and JJCG wish to express their thanks to MCEAS, DCEAS, (PNPC CONACyT), CIIEMAD-IPN. SMV, MGHS and JCSMG thanks IPN-ESIA for all the support.
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This project was funding by the Secretaria de Medio Ambiente, Desarrollo Sustentable y Ordenamiento Territorial, Puebla, México.
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Pedro Francisco Rodríguez Espinosa- Research and article structure design, data interpretation, fieldwork. Karen Mineli Ochoa Guerrero – Write the Original draft, data interpretation, figures design. Saúl Milán Valdés – Groundwater analysis, model, conclusion and data analysis. Juan Carlos San Miguel Gutiérrez - Geophysics fieldwork and interpretation results. Moisés Gerardo Hernández Silva - Geophysics fieldwork and interpretation results. José Jorge Caracheo González- Data interpretation and void calculation. Ángel Refugio Terán Cuevas- Geophysisc interpretation results. Santiago Creuheras Díaz – Economical and Social analysis.
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Rodriguez-Espinosa, P.F., Ochoa-Guerrero, K.M., Milan-Valdes, S. et al. Impacts on groundwater-related anthropogenic activities on the development of sinkhole hazards: a case study from Central Mexico. Environ Earth Sci 82, 358 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-11037-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-11037-4