Assessment of the morphometric characteristics of the sub-basins of the Grijalva-Villahermosa region (RH30D) in southeastern Mexico

Abstract

Morphometric analysis of watersheds is key to identifying and establishing comparisons between different geomorphological, topographical, morphodynamic, and hydrological characteristics in watersheds with limited climatic information. Southeastern Mexico has been characterized by recurrent flood events and vulnerability to the associated adverse effects. The main goal of the research is to evaluate the statistical relationships of 12 morphometric parameters and examine their significance for grouping sub-basins with similar morphometric characteristics and thus analyze the homogeneity in morphodynamic and hydrologic behavior in the 26 sub-basins of the Grijalva-Villahermosa Hydrological Region (RH30D) of southeastern Mexico. The results revealed four distinct sub-basin groups. Group 1 showed positive correlations with efficient drainage patterns, while group 4 was associated with flooding tendencies due to heavy floods and large flows. Although groups 2 and 3 presented values close to the mean for most of the parameters, differences are observed in having inverse values for Bifurcation ratio (RB) and Stream Frequency (Fr). On the one hand, group 3 presents drainage patterns controlled by geological structures (high RB values), and group 2 shows a high number of streams per unit area, from which faster hydrological responses are inferred. It seeks to contribute to knowledge, research, and decision-making on related topics.