03. Science and Technology (Natural Sciences) Committee
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://repository.unesco.gov.ph/handle/123456789/3
In creating a culture of peace and addressing sustainable development challenges, UNESCO aims to cultivate the generation and application of scientific knowledge among its Member States. At UNACOM, we facilitate access to UNESCO’s international programmes in the sciences, such as the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, and International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme (IGGP), among others.
Through this sector, the Commission aims to contribute to the following SDGs: 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 13 - Climate Action, 14 - Life Below Water, and 15 - Life On Land. With the overarching vision of the 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan (PDP), UNACOM targets grassroots-inspired cultural heritage and biodiversity protection and conservation, as well as multi-stakeholder partnerships for SDGs promotion.
Through this sector, the Commission aims to contribute to the following SDGs: 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 13 - Climate Action, 14 - Life Below Water, and 15 - Life On Land. With the overarching vision of the 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan (PDP), UNACOM targets grassroots-inspired cultural heritage and biodiversity protection and conservation, as well as multi-stakeholder partnerships for SDGs promotion.
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- Precipitation stable isotopic signatures of tropical cyclones in Metropolitan Manila, Philippines, show significant negative isotopic excursionsJackisch, Dominik; Yeo, Bi Xuan; Switzer, Adam D.; He, Shaoneng; Cantarero, Danica Linda M.; Siringan, Fernando P.; Goodkin, Nathalie F. (Copernicus GmbH, 2022-01-28)Tropical cyclones have devastating impacts on the environment, economies, and societies and may intensify in the coming decades due to climate change. Stable water isotopes serve as tracers of the hydrological cycle, as isotope fractionation processes leave distinct precipitation isotopic signatures. Here we present a record of daily precipitation isotope measurements from March 2014 to October 2015 for Metropolitan Manila, a first-of-a-kind dataset for the Philippines and Southeast Asia. We show that precipitation isotopic variation at our study site is closely related to tropical cyclones. The most negative shift in δ18O values (−13.84 ‰) leading to a clear isotopic signal was caused by Typhoon Rammasun, which directly hit Metropolitan Manila. The average δ18O value of precipitation associated with tropical cyclones is −10.24 ‰, whereas the mean isotopic value for rainfall associated with non-cyclone events is −5.29 ‰. Further, the closer the storm track is to the sampling site, the more negative the isotopic values are, indicating that in situ isotope measurements can provide a direct linkage between isotopes and typhoon activities in the Philippines.This research was supported by the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) via its funding from the National Research Foundation Singapore and the Ministry of Education of Singapore under the Research Centres of Excellence initiative. This work comprises EOS contribution no. 422. This study is also the part of the IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP code: F31004) on “Stable Isotopes in Precipitation and Paleoclimatic Archives in Tropical Areas to Improve Regional Hydrological and Climatic Impact Models” (IAEA Research Agreement no. 17980).
- Quantifying vertical land motion at tide gauge sites using permanent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar and global navigation satellite system solutionsReyes, Rosalie; Bauzon, Ma. Divina Angela; Pasaje, Nikki Alen; Alfante, Rey Mark; De Lara, Pocholo Miguel; Ordillano, Marion; Flores, Paul Caesar; Rediang, Abegail; Nota, Patrick Anthony; Siringan, Fernando; Blanco, Ariel; Bringas, Dennis (Springer, 2022-01-29)One of the consequences of climate change is sea level rise (SLR). Near the coast SLR varies at different locations due to the contributions from regional/local climatic and non-climatic factors. Vertical land motion (VLM) can affect the accuracy of sea level observations from tide gauges (TG) that may exacerbate coastal area inundation/flooding. This study investigated the viability of Permanent Scatterer Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PSInSAR) to quantify the rate of VLM at the TG sites. Measurements from TG co-located GNSS receivers provide the actual VLM rates and ground truth for PSInSAR-derived rates. Based on the results from the 9 study sites, almost all except one are subsiding. Both PSInSAR and GNSS solutions showed the same trend with rates that correlate at 0.89. Analysis from 20 Active GNSS stations showed 95% of the sites are undergoing land subsidence. This should be a cause of concern for communities near the coastal areas.
- Effect of the Intensified Sub‐Thermocline Eddy on strengthening the Mindanao undercurrent in 2019Azminuddin, Fuad; Lee, Jae Hak; Jeon, Dongchull; Shin, Chang‐Woong; Villanoy, Cesar; Lee, Seok; Min, Hong Sik; Kim, Dong Guk (American Geophysical Union, 2022-02)The northward-flowing Mindanao Undercurrent (MUC) was directly measured by acoustic Doppler current profilers from a subsurface mooring at about 8°N, 127°E during 2 years (November 2017–December 2019). Its depth covers a range from 400 m to deeper than 1,000 m with its core appearing at around 900 m. The mean velocity of MUC's core was approximately 5.8 cm s−1 with a maximum speed of about 47.6 cm s−1. The MUC was observed as a quasi-permanent current with strong intraseasonal variability (ISV) with a period of 70–80 days. Further analyses with an eddy-resolving circulation model output suggest that the ISV is closely related to sub-thermocline eddies (SEs). In this study, two types of SEs near the Philippine coast are disclosed: the westward propagating SE (SE-1) and the quasi-stational SE southeast of Mindanao Island (SE-2). The SE-1 has both cyclonic and anticyclonic polarities with the propagation speed of 7–8 cm s−1, while the SE-2 is an anticyclonic eddy that moves erratically within 4–8°N, 127–130°E with the mean translation speed of about 11 cm s−1. Even though the SE-1 plays an important role in modulating the MUC, our results show that the observed strong MUC event (May–July 2019) is evidently induced by the intensified SE-2 that moves northwestward. This study emphasizes that the SE-2 when intensified, receives more energy from the strengthened New Guinea Coastal Undercurrent and loses the energy northward along the Philippine coast by intensifying the MUC.This study was part of the project entitled “study on air–sea interaction and process of rapidly intensifying Typhoon in the northwestern Pacific” (PM61670) funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Rep. of Korea. This study was also partly supported by the project entitled “Influences of the Northwest Pacific circulation and climate variability on the Korean water changes and material cycle I—The role of Jeju warm current and its variability” (PEA0011) funded by Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST). The mooring data used in this study were provided by KIOST and are available from the KIOST live access server (http://las.kiost.ac.kr/data_adcp/). The model data are freely available from Mercator Ocean (https://resources.marine.copernicus.eu/?option=com_csw&view=details&product_id=GLOBAL_ANALYSIS_FORECAST_PHY_001_024).