Alluvial Terraces and Contaminant Sources of the Santa Catarina River in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area, Mexico

The development of the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA) and human carelessness have severely altered the Santa Catarina River (SCR). The objective of this research was to integrate fieldwork, a digital elevation model, exploratory surveys and satellite images analysis to develop a GIS-based map scale 1:40,000 and 1:5,000 of the Quaternary alluvial terraces and Cretaceous geologic formations present in the SCR. In addition, this study presents river geologic cross-sections, hydraulic conductivity estimates per terrace, a piezometric chart (dry season), and a database of contaminant sources along the river. The main results were the following: three terraces levels were identified, the distribution and hydrogeological properties of the terraces were documented, groundwater flow direction was southwest (SW) to northeast (NE), and 154 contaminant sources were georeferenced. This investigation lays down the basis for future environmental assessments and studies related to the quality and water supply for the MMA. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor %26 Francis Group.

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