Geologists from Germany, Guatemala, Switzerland and the United States have just begun environmental studies of Guatemala's Petén Itzá lake, located 510 km north of the capital. Mark Brenner, head of the month-long study sponsored by the U.S. University of Florida, said the scientists are focusing on lake sediment to study as a means to understand the geological and ecological history of Petén.

“This aquatic body is the only one that meets the conditions we need in Central America, because it is 160 meters deep,” Brenner told Tierramérica.

Julián Tezecún, president of the Lake Basin Community Association, called for the study to also determine the causes behind the death of fishes, the degree of contamination of the water and its oxygenation levels. “We send samples to laboratories, but we never get a response,” said Tezecún.