In remote sensing, traditional methodologies for image classification consider the spectral values of a pixel in different image bands. More recently, classification methods have used neighboring pixels to provide more information. In the present study, we used these more advanced techniques to discriminate between mangrove and non‑mangrove regions in the Gulf of California of northwestern Mexico. A maximum likelihood algorithm was used to obtain a spectral distance map of the vegetation signature characteristic of mangrove areas. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to this map to improve classification. Two classification thresholds were set to determine mangrove and non-mangrove areas, and two performance statistics (sensitivity and specificity) were calculated to express the uncertainty (errors of omission and commission) associated with the two maps. The surface area of the mangrove category obtained by maximum likelihood classification was slightly higher than that obtained from the land cover map generated by the ROC curve, but with the difference of these areas to have a high level of accuracy in the prediction of the model. This suggests a considerable degree of uncertainty in the spectral signatures of pixels that distinguish mangrove forest from other land cover categories.

Management of transboundary aquifers is a vexing water resources challenge, especially when the aquifers are overexploited. The Hueco Bolson aquifer, which is bisected by the United States–Mexico border and where pumping far exceeds recharge, is an apt example. We conducted a binational, multisector, serious games workshop to explore collaborative solutions for extending the life of the shared aquifer. The value of the serious game workshop was building knowledge, interest, understanding, and constituency among critical stakeholders from both sides of the border. Participants also learned about negotiations and group decision-making while building mutual respect and trust. We did not achieve consensus, but a number of major outcomes emerged, including: (1) participants agreed that action is called for and that completely depleting the freshwater in the shared aquifer could be catastrophic to the region; (2) addressing depletion and prolonging the life of the aquifer will require binational action, because actions on only one side of the border is not enough; and (3) informal binational cooperation will be required to be successful. Agreeing that binational action is called for, the serious games intervention was an important next step toward improving management of this crucial binational resource.

In this work, the pine, oak and mixed forest areas, with the highest probability of being degraded-deforested, were identified in the Conchos river basin (Chihuahua-Durango, Mexico). Degraded-deforested of pine, oak and mixed forest areas were calculated from 1985-2016 through map algebra (Inventory of land uses and vegetation series I and VI). Subsequently, the logistic regression technique was applied considering eight physical and socioeconomic variables possibly associated with the loss / degradation of the forest. A pseudo R-2 value of 0.204 was obtained, which indicates high predictive power of the model. An area of 733.43 km2 was identified at risk of being deforested / degraded in the future, representing 6.7% of the forest area currently existing in the basin. The variables with the greatest specific weight in deforestation / forest degradation were, in descending order: marginalization, mining concessions and land tenure. The results are helpful to prevent the loss / degradation of pine-oak forests in the basin, and facilitate its environmental management.

Este documento tiene como objetivo identificar modelos de escurrimientos superficiales en la última década. Se realizo una revisión de literatura y se encontraron 56 estudios publicados en los buscadores Google Scholar, Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina y el Caribe, España y Portugal (Redalyc), Difusión de Alerta en la Red (Dialnet), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) y Science Direct durante el periodo de 2012 hasta el 2022. La búsqueda se delimitó en artículo científico de libre acceso. Se genero una base de datos en Microsoft Excel 2010. Se registraron referencia, año de publicación, nombre de la revista, área de estudio, entidad, país, objetivo de la investigación, variables utilizadas y abreviación de modelos de escurrimientos superficiales. El 7 % de los artículos publicados se concentran en la revista Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua. Argentina ocupa el primer lugar en estudios publicados y 80 % de las áreas de estudios es en cuencas hidrográficas. Los modelos más utilizados para estimar, evaluar, predecir, modelar y simular los escurrimientos superficiales son Herramienta para la Evaluación del Suelo y Agua (SWAT) y Servicio de Conservación de Suelo-Número de curva (SCS-CN).

Groundwater is a strategic resource for economic development, social justice, environmental sustainability, and water governance. The lower Casas Grandes River Basin, located in the state of Chihuahua, México, is in a semi-arid region with increasing groundwater demand and regional challenges such as drought and depletion of aquifers. Even though there is official information about the availability of groundwater, a comprehensive aquifer characterization requiring an interdisciplinary investigation using a diverse suite of tools and multiple data sources has yet to be carried out. This study presents a multi-technique framework to evaluate potential sites to drill for groundwater resources and reduce the risk of unsuccessful drilling. The main components of the methodology include wellhead leveling correction with a differential global positioning survey to define piezometric levels, principal component analysis using LANDSAT-8 images, application of geospatial tools, geophysics analysis using time domain electromagnetic surveys (TDES) and vertical electric soundings (VES), and structural geohydrology to define aquifer characteristics. The results showed that using the proposed framework steps improved the possibility of identifying subsurface layers with lower resistivity values that could be related to groundwater. Low resistivity values (35 Ohm-m) were found at depths from 50 to 85 m at sites where the regional static water level reached a depth of 245 m, indicating the potential location of a shallow groundwater resource at a site where the intersection of a fracture trace was identified. This procedure can be used in other regions in the world where limited information is available for groundwater exploration, thus reducing the risk of drilling dry wells in complex hydrogeological environments.