When George Leigh-Mallory was bombarded with questions on why he climbed mountains such as Mount Everest, the only thing he said was "Because it's there!" Aside from stating the obvious, it does seem natural for climbing enthusiasts like him to wake up excited to conquer any mountains in their paths. We learned from our geography,… Continue reading Mount Apo – A Climbing Destination For Beginner to Advanced Mountaineers in Mindanao
INTRODUCTION Kids, have you ever found yourself wondering what the earth is made up of? If you dig a tunnel as deep as your house, what will you find underneath? Will you find dirt, or treasure, or perhaps a dinosaur fossil? When I was your age, I liked looking down pits that adults dig up… Continue reading Rocks and Minerals: The Basic Components of Planet Earth
Octopus observed near the shoreline at Mongpong Island. Photo credit to my brother, Jay Emmanuel. I'm a self-proclaimed tree-hugger and nature lover. My first recollection of our country's beauty was when dad and mom brought us to their hometown, Catanduanes, when I was nine years old. Back then, their small barrio could only be accessed… Continue reading Mongpong Island – An Island Paradise Every Budget Traveler and Homeschooling Family Must Visit in the Philippines
A Go Bag is a bag containing everything you would need to survive when exiting a building or evacuating your home after a disaster. Ideally, each member of your family should have one bag each. The bag should have ample supplies to help you survive while in transit towards the nearest evacuation area or relocation… Continue reading Disaster Go Bag Essentials Every Family Should Have in Their Homes
The phreatic eruption of Taal has me walking down the memory lane the past days. I remember my Volcanology training in June 2012 when my colleagues and I had the privilege to get mentored by former USGS Geologist and Volcanologist, Chris Newhall. This is going to be a short blog with the intention to share… Continue reading Volcanology 101 with Chris Newhall
In my previous post, I described three possible scenarios that might explain why the Pansipit River dried up so quickly in one day. In an interview between our kabayan, Noli De Castro and Dr. Renato Solidum, USEC and director of PHIVOLCS, the director mentioned that the level of crater lake is lower now than the… Continue reading The Lowering of Taal Lake and Rock Deformation: Result of Magma Upwelling
Photos of Pansipit River suddenly drying up in Batangas has been going around in social media since yesterday. I would like to make an intelligent guess (or hypothesis) as to why this has happened. This was an article written by Manila Bulletin on their website regarding the drying up of the river. And this was… Continue reading Why did Pansipit River in Batangas Dry Up?
This is an interactive, web-based GIS tool that allows you to see the danger zones in kilometer radius around the eruptive crater of Taal. It’s quite easy to follow, you and the kids will enjoy dong this together for sure! I’ve taken the following post from GeoRisk Philippines as also shared by PHIVOLCS on Facebook.… Continue reading How to Check if Your Area is Within A Geological Hazard Danger Zone in Philippines
In the previous post, I explained the mechanism that drove the phreatic eruption of Taal last January 12. Yesterday, PHIVOLCS announced that Taal is now at the stage of Phreatomagmatic or Hydrovolcanic activity. What does that mean? Screenshot of Dr. Encarnacion's (a_geologist @ IG) sketch below illustrates what could be happening inside Taal. The magma… Continue reading Phreatomagmatic Eruption as Explained to Kids
Phreatic eruption as sketched by my fellow geologist, Dr. Encarnacion. Hi, fellow homeschoolers. Feel free to share this info to your kids as part of your lessons. 🙂 This is a nice drawing of a fellow Geologist, Dr. John Encarnacion, illustrating how the Taal phreatic eruption may have occurred. The ascending magma heats up the… Continue reading Taal’s Phreatic Eruption Explained for Kids
