Featured image: Bulletin 04: Model forecasts that spill will reach Cuyo Islands and get closer to northern Palawan in about a weeks time The projected trajectory of the oil slick is shown in the images for March 7 and March 12, and initialized with spill locations in the image for March 5. The projected spill…

Photo: Philippine Coast Guard We would like to update and correct the area of affected coral reefs that we published in MSI Bulletin #01. Using the modeled oil spill trajectories (Bulletin #02), and looking at higher resolution data, we approximate that 20,000 ha of coral reef, 9,900 ha of mangroves and 6,000 ha of seagrass may…

Photo: Philippine Coast Guard MSI’s scientists, with the concurrence of the DENR, are recommending to warn coastal communities—especially those on the eastern and southern sides of Oriental Mindoro, including Caluya Island (Northwestern Antique), and potentially Cuyo Island of Palawan—to prepare for the possibility that the oil spill could reach their shores. Aerial surveys by the…

Photo: Philippine Coast Guard Marine experts from the UP Diliman College of Science Marine Science Institute (UPD-CS MSI), UP Visayas (UPV), and Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) came together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to work on countermeasures to address the…