Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub

10/12/2025

Did You Know?

The most effective and reef-safe way to stop a devastating Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) outbreak in the Philippines is with a common household item? 😲

Marine conservationists use citric acid (or vinegar) injections to kill the COTS! The acid shock causes a rapid physiological shutdown and tissue disintegration. Best of all, this method is safe for surrounding corals and marine life, unlike other chemical treatments!

27/11/2025

𝓔𝓼𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓪𝓰𝓾𝓼, 𝓮𝓼𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓪𝓰𝓾𝓼. 𝓗𝓪𝓫𝓪𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓪𝔂𝓸'𝔂 𝓴𝓾𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓼𝓪 𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓪𝓰 𝓴𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓷 𝓼𝔂𝓮𝓶𝓹𝓻𝓮 𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓲 𝓶𝓪𝔀𝓪𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓪 𝓪𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓮𝓼𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓪𝓰𝓾𝓼

Exploring our earth and oceans ... with ✨Kween Yasmin✨

From our esophagus to our hearts, we would like to thank Kween Yasmin for promoting Science for the people 🙇‍♂️ 🙌

03/11/2025

Hindi ito . Gusto ko lang gumawa ng sea level timelapse hehe

🔍 References:
[1] Sea level anomaly 👉 Fournier S., Willis J., Killett E., Qu Z. and Zlotnicki V.. 2022. JPL MEaSUREs Gridded Sea Surface Height Anomalies Version 2205. Ver. 2205. PO.DAAC, CA, USA.
[2] Sea surface temperature anomaly 👉 Niño 3.4 Index

📖 Read how the El Niño Southern Oscillation influences the interannual sea-level variability in the Philippine Sea. You can request a copy of our study through my ResearchGate account
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372141068_Chapter_10_-_Influence_of_the_El_Nino_Southern_Oscillation_to_the_interannual_sea-level_variability_in_the_Philippine_Sea

13/10/2025

Sasabog pa ba ang Apolaki Caldera 🧐
Huwag tayo magkalat ng AI slop na content!

04/10/2025

Bogo Bay Fault

‼️𝗕𝗢𝗚𝗢 𝗕𝗔𝗬 𝗙𝗔𝗨𝗟𝗧: 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗨𝗟𝗧 𝗡𝗔 𝗡𝗔𝗚-𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝟲.𝟵 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗖𝗘𝗕𝗨 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗞𝗘, 𝗧𝗨𝗞𝗢𝗬 𝗡𝗔 𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗢𝗦𝗧-𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗖𝗦

DOST-PHIVOLCS Quick Response Team (QRT) found the onland extension of the newly-named 𝗕𝗼𝗴𝗼 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁, which caused the Magnitude 6.9 Offshore Northern Cebu Earthquake on September 30, 2025. Located in Sitio Looc, Brgy. Nailon, Bogo City, the team observed fault scarps, open cracks, and small pressure mounds within a 2-meter-wide deformation zone. Initial field mapping recorded about 200 meters of surface rupture, while drone surveys revealed the fault may extend up to 1.5 kilometers, showing signs of right-lateral movement. Field verification is ongoing to determine the full extent of the rupture.

DOST-PHIVOLCS reminds everyone to stay prepared for strong aftershocks, secure their homes, know evacuation routes, and rely only on official sources for updates and safety instructions. Stay safe and stay informed.
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𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘬𝘰𝘺 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮 (𝘘𝘙𝘛) 𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘖𝘚𝘛-𝘗𝘏𝘐𝘝𝘖𝘓𝘊𝘚 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵, 𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝗕𝗼𝗴𝗼 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 6.9 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘊𝘦𝘣𝘶 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘦𝘵𝘺𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘦 30, 2025. 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘶𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘚𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘤, 𝘉𝘳𝘨𝘺. 𝘕𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘯, 𝘓𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘰𝘨𝘰, 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘱, 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘬 𝘴𝘢 𝘭𝘶𝘱𝘢, 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘣 𝘯𝘨 2 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘣𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘸. 𝘚𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵-𝘬𝘶𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 200 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨 1.5 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘰, 𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪 𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘖𝘚𝘛-𝘗𝘏𝘐𝘝𝘖𝘓𝘊𝘚 𝘶𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘬𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.

𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘖𝘚𝘛-𝘗𝘏𝘐𝘝𝘖𝘓𝘊𝘚 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘺 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴, 𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘴𝘢𝘬, 𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦, 𝘱𝘶𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢, 𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘋𝘖𝘚𝘛-𝘗𝘏𝘐𝘝𝘖𝘓𝘊𝘚 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢, 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘣𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴.

18/09/2025

📢 NEW EPISODE 📢
In this episode of Behind the Science Podcast, we talk with Dr. Melanie Villarao about her study “Reproductive Biology and Population Dynamics of Largehead Hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus, 1758) in Babuyan Channel, Philippines.” They analyzed nearly 2,600 specimens of T. lepturus to determine s*x ratio, fecundity, spawning seasonality, length at first maturity, and key population parameters that are essential for the sustainable management of this important commercial species.

🎙️Stream Behind The Science Podcast on:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4NTLrSfceKjpFvZWflzBJj?si=a6913c304530471d
YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg3GZRd-UMScYpWlDj5T3eklUF75XPeLD&si=kmxO_0x2HmQmvzvQ
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/behind-the-science-podcast/id1753464681

🤝 Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, UPLB Philippine Agricultural Scientist Journal, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and Paase: The Filipino Scientist.

📚Research spotlight:
Villarao MC, Gumiran E, Encarnacion AB. 2023. Population Dynamics of Shortfin Scad (Decapterus macrosoma) Bleeker 1851 in Babuyan Channel, Philippines. The Philippine Journal of Fisheries 30(2):212-228.
► https://nfrdi.da.gov.ph/tpjf/vol30_2/research-article-villarao-3022019C0003

15/09/2025

The number of Super Typhoons in the Philippines has doubled since 1998. A recent study by Basconcillo and Bangquiao (2025) shows that this is linked to a shift in the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), a climate cycle that lasts 60-80 years. This shift in the AMO influences large-scale environmental changes in the Western North Pacific (WNP) such as increased ocean warming, rising vertical motion, and sustained convective activities. This leads to a chain of events such as the weakening of the East Asian subtropical jet stream and the westward displacement of the WNP subtropical high, which ultimately steers more intense tropical cyclones into the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

The strong correlation between the AMO and super typhoon frequency emphasizes the importance of assessing the possible role of anthropogenic climate change in modulating this relationship. Understanding these climate dynamics is important for reducing and mitigating the impacts of tropical cyclones especially as compounding climate and weather extremes continue to pose significant risks in the Philippines.

Read more: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2225603225000402

07/09/2025

📢 NEW EPISODE 📢
This episode of Behind The Science Podcast features Engr. Harold Aquino and his research on quantifying the impacts of earthquake disasters on the building construction sector using a SARIMA-based counterfactual analysis.

🎙️Stream Behind The Science Podcast on:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4NTLrSfceKjpFvZWflzBJj?si=a6913c304530471d
YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg3GZRd-UMScYpWlDj5T3eklUF75XPeLD&si=kmxO_0x2HmQmvzvQ
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/behind-the-science-podcast/id1753464681

🤝 Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, UPLB Philippine Agricultural Scientist Journal, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and Paase: The Filipino Scientist.

📚Research spotlight:
Aquino DHM, Domingo N, Atapattu C. 2025. Evaluating the impacts of earthquake disasters on the building construction sector: a SARIMA-based counterfactual analysis. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 127:105695. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105695.
► https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420925005199

04/09/2025

02/09/2025

Subduction zones are geological boundaries where one tectonic plate is being consumed beneath another tectonic plate. As the descending plate sinks, it carries with it oceanic crust, sediments, and seawater. Under intense heat and pressure, this material is transformed, and some of it melts and fuels volcanoes. The rest is slowly incorporated back into the mantle. Over millions of years, the recycled material can re-emerge as brand new crust at mid-ocean ridges. This continuous cycle not only reshapes continents and ocean basins but also regulates Earth’s chemistry and climate, making subduction zones a driving force in the planet’s long-term habitability.