**1. Introduction**

Geologically, the Island of Cozumel's basement is calcareous from the upper Tertiary period and reef from the Holocene period, which, accompanied by tropical climatic elements, give rise to dissolution karst formations. The study uses records of uvalas and cenotes in the area of study, which were obtained through a record from touristic service providers and from the community, as well as from scientific articles [1, 2]; however, there is no updated and complete database. For the purpose of contributing to the identification of karst forms (dolines,

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

uvalas, and poljes-locally called "cenotes" and "rejolladas"), altitude mapping and digital models of elevation, shading, and slope generated with LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data were used for identification and cartography.

The Yucatan Peninsula has an area of 39,340 km2

increasing the amount of rainfall in the summer [12].

areas with higher density of exokarstic forms.

an information area of 62,556.27 km2

**2. Methodology**

cartographic model.

more, which dates from the Oligocene and Quaternary Epochs [10].

To achieve the objectives, the following were necessary (**Figure 2**):

the purpose of making the information available for reference.

most outstanding structural features of Yucatán are the sinkhole region and the aligned islands of Cozumel and Mujeres. The altitude of Yucatán not exceeding 300 m elevation dominates. Previous studies have recognized that different types of karstic depressions abound in the vast plateaus of the northern and eastern Yucatan Peninsula, and there are also extensive systems of caves and caverns in the entire landscape [8]. Climatic subtypes are warm and humid with summer rains and warm and humid with summer and winter rains [9]. Cozumel is part of the Yucatan peninsula with sedimentary rocks formed on a wide platform. The core drillings indicate that the island is formed from reef sediment with a thickness of 100 m or

Cozumel Island pertains to the state of Quintana Roo, located at 20° 28′ N, 86° 55′ W (**Figure 1**). Cozumel Island faces the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in the Caribbean Sea, approximately 16.5 km to the east of the Yucatan Peninsula, in the zone of the Northwest Caribbean [11]. The climate is hot and humid with abundant rainfall in the summer. The average annual temperature is 25.5°C and precipitation reaches 1504 mm per year. Cyclones have an important effect,

The relief of the island does not exceed 15 m of altitude above the sea level and the cartographic representations have been developed with data at 1:75,000 and 1:50,000 scale [1, 13]. The presence of dolines and uvalas with exokarstic forms has been reported, but the majority have been characterized over time, due to the fact that they do not exceed 50 m in diameter [14–16], which makes it necessary to recognize other techniques that aid the identification of exokarstic forms. For that reason, this study employs LiDAR modeling for the purpose of recognizing doline and uvala forms, enriching the list of these relief forms, and indicating the

Phase 1. Revision of the inventory of exokarstic forms (caverns, dolines, uvalas, and poljes – "cenotes" and "rejolladas") reported in Cozumel Island [1, 2, 13–17], as well as the reports from the association of speleologists MAYAB AC [18] were consulted, 37 of the reported karst units were recognized in these studies, and a georeferenced database was also generated for

Phase 2. Construction of a unified LiDAR mosaic of the terrain of Cozumel Island. To do so, the data from point clouds in 32 TIFF information files generated by the ALS 40 system and

5 m for the X and Y axes and 15–20 cm for the Z axis. The resolution scale is 1:10,000 for each

Phase 3. The application of filters for the elaboration of morphometric digital models of elevation, slope, and shadows. The digital model of elevation was derived from the simple method

[19] were revised and corrected; the data resolution is

and is located in southeast Mexico's. The

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.79196

35

Identification of Karst Forms Using LiDAR Technology: Cozumel Island, Mexico

The word LiDAR is an acronym for the term *LIght Detection And Ranging*, that is to say, detection and measurement of light. This technique is currently becoming a basic tool in studies based on topographical analysis and precision of the information base [3–5]. The use of LiDAR products has greatly improved and has a significant influence in the earth science disciplines [6, 7]. Its usefulness is emergent in shallow reliefs and those with little altitudinal difference.

**Figure 1.** Location of Cozumel Island in Mexico.

The Yucatan Peninsula has an area of 39,340 km2 and is located in southeast Mexico's. The most outstanding structural features of Yucatán are the sinkhole region and the aligned islands of Cozumel and Mujeres. The altitude of Yucatán not exceeding 300 m elevation dominates. Previous studies have recognized that different types of karstic depressions abound in the vast plateaus of the northern and eastern Yucatan Peninsula, and there are also extensive systems of caves and caverns in the entire landscape [8]. Climatic subtypes are warm and humid with summer rains and warm and humid with summer and winter rains [9]. Cozumel is part of the Yucatan peninsula with sedimentary rocks formed on a wide platform. The core drillings indicate that the island is formed from reef sediment with a thickness of 100 m or more, which dates from the Oligocene and Quaternary Epochs [10].

Cozumel Island pertains to the state of Quintana Roo, located at 20° 28′ N, 86° 55′ W (**Figure 1**). Cozumel Island faces the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in the Caribbean Sea, approximately 16.5 km to the east of the Yucatan Peninsula, in the zone of the Northwest Caribbean [11]. The climate is hot and humid with abundant rainfall in the summer. The average annual temperature is 25.5°C and precipitation reaches 1504 mm per year. Cyclones have an important effect, increasing the amount of rainfall in the summer [12].

The relief of the island does not exceed 15 m of altitude above the sea level and the cartographic representations have been developed with data at 1:75,000 and 1:50,000 scale [1, 13]. The presence of dolines and uvalas with exokarstic forms has been reported, but the majority have been characterized over time, due to the fact that they do not exceed 50 m in diameter [14–16], which makes it necessary to recognize other techniques that aid the identification of exokarstic forms. For that reason, this study employs LiDAR modeling for the purpose of recognizing doline and uvala forms, enriching the list of these relief forms, and indicating the areas with higher density of exokarstic forms.
