BACLIG, LORNA G.

18-1205
BSCE 4-2

RESEARCH CRITIQUE
ON
‘LARGE-SCALE ACTIVE FAULT MAP OF THE PHILIPPINES BASED ON AERIAL
PHOTOGRAPH INTERPRETATION”
H. Tsutsumi & J. Perez

TITLE
The research was entitled “Large-Scale Active Fault Map of the Philippines Based On
Aerial Photograph Interpretation” and written by Hiroyuki Tsutsumi a Japanese researcher and
Jeffrey S. Perez a researcher from Department of Science and Technology (DOST). It was
carried out in September 2013 and was posted on September 10, 2019 by Jeffrey S. Perez.
The researchers discovered that, despite its importance to the public in identifying active
tectonics and seismic hazards, there is no widely accessible detailed large-scale active fault map
in the Philippines due to a lack of financial and human resources. An active fault map can help
enhance hazard mitigation strategies and future earthquake preparedness. This paper, on the
other hand, intends to present their newly created large-scale active fault map of the Philippines.
After reading the full paper and comparing it to the title, I can ensure that the title accurately
reflects the contents of the work because this document includes all of the major and minor
discovered faults in the country using aerial photography.

INTRODUCTION and REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The introduction began by highlighting the significance of large-scale active faults in
studying active tectonic plates and mitigating earthquake hazards. They also address the lack of
this important map, particularly in earthquake-prone countries such as the Philippines. Following
that, the researchers reviewed the Philippine Fault, beginning with locating its position on the
Philippine Map and going to its origins. They also discussed the existing small-scale fault map
and the country's disadvantage for not having a larger size fault map.
Moreover, they also described their approach for producing a Large Active Fault Map.
They gathered all of the available data from the Geographic Information System to create the
map, and once completed, researchers wrote a description of the tectonic geomorphology,
geometry, and historical earthquakes of the whole Philippine fault. Northern Luzon was not
included to the study and mapping due to lack of aerial photographs. Furthermore, the tectonic
geomorphic features were identified from the interpreted aerial pictures and shaded relief maps,
and they tracked the based maps issued by NAMRIA before scanning and rectifying them into
1:50000-scale topographic maps. They were able to digitize and assign the tectonic geomorphic
features and fault traces of the based maps after synthesizing the tectonic geomorphic features
and fault traces of the based maps.
In this section, the researchers explained the study's problem as well as the methods and
approaches they used to solve it. They also include several references to back up the background
information discussed and make it more credible. As continuation to that, the researchers was
able to present reliable information for citing. That includes the name of the author; date of
publication and etc. However, I noticed that they cited old references, implying that the paper
lacks in updated resources.   To address this, they include several new information as well as
international studies and journals in other discussions to make the paper more credible.

RESOURCES and METHODS

In this part, the researchers described their method for producing a Large Active Fault
Map. As discussed in the paper, the researchers interpreted 1:30000 scale aerial photographs of
every region in the country such as Central Luzon and Mindanao Islands. Through the use of
geomorphic which is commonly used for active fault mapping in Japan, active faults were
identified. They further categorized it into two types: active faults and presumed active faults.
According to the study, active faults are defined as faults that offset late quaternary geomorphic
surfaces, whereas presumed active faults provide no obvious evidence of late quaternary
displacement.
Furthermore, the tectonic geomorphic features were identified from the interpreted aerial
pictures and shaded relief maps, and they tracked the based maps issued by NAMRIA before
scanning and rectifying them into 1:50000-scale topographic maps. They were able to digitize
and assign the tectonic geomorphic features and fault traces of the based maps after synthesizing
the tectonic geomorphic features and fault traces of the based maps. Finally, using MapInfo
Professional, they were able to digitize and identify the geomorphic features and fault traces of
the based maps. The digitalized fault maps, which were saved as PDF files, were made available
to the public.
The overview of the research methodologies used to create the large-scale map is quite
clear and comprehensible. I can assure you, with the support of figures and other sources, that
the active fault map they've generated is more accurate and exact than the small ones, except that
the northern Luzon is not included owing to the absence of aerial photography in the region.
RESULTS DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
After the completion of the Large-scale Active Fault Map of the Philippines, description
of the characteristics and distribution of active faults were presented in this section. The
researchers found out that the Philippine Fault from Central Luzon to Mindanao is approximately
1250 km long, but 700 km long was only exposed in subaerial view. They also learned that the
Philippine Fault is convex to the ENE. Reasons behind the seismic behavior were also identified,
including numerous discontinuities in fault traces. The researchers also concluded the Philippine
fault has the characteristics of strike-slip faults.
Furthermore, this section briefly describes the geometry, geomorphology and historical
earthquakes of the Philippine Fault from Luzon Island southward to Mindanao Island including
Masbate Island. After the brief description, the researchers compare the Active faults indicated
and also discussed the implications of the relation of the faults. They also stated that Philippine
Fault can be compared to San Andreas Fault because of having locked, transition and creeping
segments.
Finally, in the conclusion, the researcher just gave introduction to the first digital active
fault map of the Philippine Fault which readily available to anyone in the internet. They
emphasized the significance of the map, specifically in providing fundamental knowledge for
seismic hazard mitigation not only for national levels but also to local level of the community. It
will serve as base map for future geological and geophysical studies of the Philippine Fault.
The map is not yet fully complete, however, the researchers assured that the map will be
updated each time they’ve acquired additional aerial photographs and field observation of some
regions that have been excluded to the study due some reasons.

COMMENTS AND SUGGESTION

Due to lack of available aerial photographs in other regions such as northern
Luzon, the newly produced active fault map is not yet fully complete. However, even if its
incomplete, it can give a significant help especially for studying seismic related events. It can
contribute for enhancing hazard mitigation strategies and strengthening future earthquake
preparedness.
Given the fact the Larger-scale Active Fault Map has a significant impact on the country's
safety, economy, and social aspects, I propose further study and research on the Philippine Fault
using aerial photographs, geometry, historical earthquake, tectonic geomorphology, or other
possible fault mapping methods. I suggest to take advantage with the technology we have now
for further study about active fault in order to make the large-scale active fault map complete and
accurate.