CTD Castaway shallow water cast Mexican North Caribbean/Manatee Lagoon Quintana Roo Protected Natural Area.

the manatí lagoon belongs to the chacmochuc lagoon system, and is part of the coastal wetlands in the mexican caribbean. currently, the chacmochuc and nichupté lagoon system have been fragmented from the lagoon complex by the urban sprawl of the city of cancun and ciudad mujeres, mainly by means of communication such as the highways that connect the city of cancun with punta sam and ciudad mujeres, as well as the josé lópez portillo, bonampak, intermunicipal highway and kukulkán boulevard avenues. currently, the manatee lagoon has an area of 234 ha belonging to the environmental management unit 22b, of the local ecological planning program of the benito juárez municipality. the conservation space was decreed as a protected natural area with the category of zone subject to ecological conservation, a state refuge for flora and fauna, located in the municipality of benito juárez on august 9, 1999. the exploration of this lagoon by the universidad del caribe begins in 2020, but ctd measurements began on march 20, 2021. the general depth of the lagoon is 1.5 meters to 2 meters. within this lagoon there is an underwater cenote called borbotón, in this cenote, the thermocline begins at a depth of 3 meters and the halocline at a depth of 12 meters. the salinity up to 10 meters deep is between 3 and 4 ups, but from 11 meters it begins to increase up to 34 ups, this already at 14 meters. in october 2021, under the coordination of ana k. celis, cave divers carried out the first exploration of the cenote borbotón. the observation of key fauna led to the characterization of the cenote as a potential habitat of the tarpon fish (megalops atlanticus) inside the natural area. underwater surveys carried out in september 2022 confirmed that the entrance to the cenote is located 4 meters deep and has a diameter of between 9 and 13 meters. the access consists of a vertical shaft 2 meters thick from which a cavern opens. the interior of the cavern presents turbidity, abundant accumulated organic matter (dissolved and particulate) on the walls and bottom, and an evident stratification of the water column. between 6 and 8 meters deep, stalactites were observed, indicative that in the past, this sinkhole went through dry stages in which surface water infiltration favored the construction of speleothems. the maximum depth recorded in the cavern is 18 meters and its maximum diameter is 25 meters in an east-west direction.

马那蒂潟湖隶属于查克莫丘克潟湖系统，并构成墨西哥加勒比海岸湿地的一部分。目前，查克莫丘克与尼丘普特潟湖系统因坎昆市与希多马斯市的都市扩张而与潟湖群复杂体分离，主要原因是交通建设，如连接坎昆市与蓬塔萨姆和希多马斯市的高速公路，以及何塞·洛佩斯·波蒂略、波纳帕克、城际高速公路和库库尔坎大道等。目前，马那蒂潟湖面积为234公顷，属于本托·胡亚雷斯市地方生态规划项目第22B环境管理单元。该保护区于1999年8月9日被宣布为生态保护区，具有生态保护区的分类，成为州立植物与动物保护区，位于本托·胡亚雷斯市。2020年，卡里比大学开始对该潟湖进行探索，而CTD测量则始于2021年3月20日。潟湖的平均深度为1.5至2米。在此潟湖内，存在一个名为博博顿的地下水洞，在该水洞中，温度跃层始于3米深处，盐度跃层始于12米深处。在10米深以内的盐度介于3至4个单位，但自11米处开始增加，至14米时已达34个单位。2021年10月，在安娜·K·塞莉斯的协调下，洞穴潜水员首次对博博顿水洞进行了探险。对关键生物种群的观察导致将该水洞特征化为鲈鱼（大西洋鲈鱼，Megalops atlanticus）在自然保护区内潜在栖息地的标识。2022年9月进行的水下调查确认，水洞入口位于4米深处，直径在9至13米之间。入口由一个2米厚的垂直井构成，井中开启一洞穴。洞穴内部呈现出浑浊，墙壁和底部积聚了大量的有机物质（溶解的和颗粒状的），以及水柱的明显分层。在6至8米深处观察到钟乳石，这表明在过去，该陷坑经历了干涸阶段，地表水的渗透有利于洞穴石笋的形成。洞穴记录的最大深度为18米，东西方向的最大直径为25米。