The Lava-ly Geologists

What is greenschist? Greenschist is a fine-grained to medium-grained foliated metamorphic rock. It is dominated by chlorite (ClO2-), actinolite (Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2), and epidote (Ca2(Al,Fe)2(SiO4)3(OH)). Greenschists form by regional metamorphism of mafic igneous rocks, usually basaltic rocks, under greenschist facies metamorphism. The name comes from commonly having an abundance of green minerals such as chlorite, serpentine, and epidote, and platy minerals such as muscovite and platy serpentine. Figure 1. Unpolished green schist with visible sharp side. Figure 2. Visible dull sides of an unpolished green schist. Figure 3. Diamond-like polished green schist pictured with its sharp side visible. Figure 4. Visible blunt edges of the polished green schist. Specific Characteristics of Greenschist Based on observation, the rock was sort of dusty and dull at first but after polishing it by washing it with water, the green color of

By: Camille Kate R. Librando Landslides, also referred by the technical term “mass wasting”, is the movement of rock, earth, or debris, down a sloped section of land. Geologists, people who study the physical formations of Earth, describe this as one type of mass wasting. A mass wasting is any downward movement in which the Earth’s surface is worn away. photo by Junjie Mendoza  Last October 2017, a landslide occurred Sitio Grahe, Barangay Busay, Cebu City. A portion of a road that leads to popular tourist sites like Temple of Leah, Mountainview Resort, and Lantaw Restaurant, cracked resulting to this incident. Located at the portion near the highway, it was more or less 10 meters of the road that cracked in half. “There’s another landslide. The road already cracked in half,” Busay Barangay Councilman Kevin Sanchez told Cebu Daily News. Due to the incident, the roads were closed after barangay officials have observed that the soil in the are continues to move. Even motorcycles wer

By: Marie Ernestine Patindol The Naga Landslide on 20 September 2018 which killed 78 people. RAPPLER. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/nation/212976-naga-cebu-officials-warned-of-landslide-prone-areas-in-2008 Mass wasting, which is sometimes called mass movement or slope movement, is defined as the down slope movement of rock and regolith near the Earth's surface mainly due to the force of gravity. It is a type of erosion, and is capable of making big changes to the side of a mountain. Last year, 20th of September 2018, a horrifying tragedy just unfolded before our eyes. About 80 hectares of earth moved and buried more than a hundred of people in Naga City, Cebu. When I saw the news and the footage of the landslide, it made me think, what if the mountains were not bald and trees are abundant during that time, could the tragedy have been avoided? The baldness of the mountain really stood out and that could be one of the factors why the tragedy occurred. One of the

By: Erika Florence P. Inez La Conchita slump in California. Retrieved from USGS site:  http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0276/ Mass wasting is the downslope movement of soil and rock debris due to gravity. It is classified into three major types—falls, slides and flows. Landslides have always been one of the major issues in our country throughout the wet season, especially during the presence of a storm. Back when I was in second grade, my family and I traveled to Baguio with our family friends for leisure. What was supposed to be a weekend getaway almost turned into a drastic vacation. My parents have always been the adventurous type. They’ve always liked travelling, and I’m glad they always bring us along with them in most of their escapades. Back in 2011, we went to Baguio to visit the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). Right from the start of our journey, when we were riding the airplane at Mactan Cebu International Airport, we took so much time until we were able to

By: Camille Kate R. Librando Photo by kleo_marlo (flickr.com) Mount Dulang-dulang, called by Filipino trekkers as "D2", is the highest elevation peak in the Kitanglad Mountain Range, located in the north central p art of the province of Bukidnon in Mindanao. It is the second highest mountain of the Philippines at 2,938 metres (9,639 ft) above sea leve l. T h e long trek to the peak boasts of a variety of landscapes, starting from the wide trails with pine trees and grassland and progressing into denser jungles. The jungle will reach a point where everything is covered with moss and clouds. Trees are like bonsai, with spiraling, convoluted branches and ‘beards’ of lichen and white moss that give an ‘ancient’ feel to the forest. The temperature decreases even in daytime, and when you emerge from this jungle to the clearing at the peak, you can see the whole of the Kitanglad range and even catch a glimpse of majestic Mt. Apo. Photo retrieved from: trailadve

By: Erika Florence P. Inez Aerial view of Mount Pinatubo (http://noypicollections.blogspot.com/2011/07/mt-pinatubo-dilemma-turns-to-tourist.html) Standing 1,486 meters above sea level, Mt. Pinatubo is highly one of the Philippines' most famous mountains. Located on the   tripoint  boundary of the  Philippine provinces  of  Zambales ,  Tarlac  and   Pampanga , all in  Central Luzon  on the northern island of  Luzon, this mountain is well-known for its eruptive history. Pinatubo was once obscure, covered with dense forests and is supported several thousand indigenous Aetas. It was a little known volcano and it had been dormant for almost 400 years. But in 15 June 1991 , Mt. Pinatubo erupted, and it became the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. Complicating the eruption was the appearance of Typhoon Diding (International name: Typhoon Yunya), bringing a lethal mix of ash and rain to the neighboring towns and cities. Accurate predictions at the onset