A team of Filipino scientists and researchers starts exploring the potentially oil-rich Benham Rise also known as Benham Plateau, a largely unexplored territory located in the Eastern portion of Luzon, the Philippine territory is believed to be larger than Luzon.
Benham Rise is named after American Admiral and geologist Andrew Benham, the plateau was first mapped in 1933 when it was yet to be acknowledged as part of the Philippine continental shelf. Last April 2012, the Philippine government claim was granted by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, that Benham Rise is part of the Philippine territory.
The Philippine team of scientist that will explore the vast area in the Eastern portion of the Philippine archipelago is led by the University of the Philippines (UP) oceanographer Hilde Nacorda of the UP Diliman Marine Science Institute (MSI).
The team left on May 3, 2014, on board a Philippine research vessel for the first-ever benthic survey of the 13-million hectare area off the eastern coast of Aurora Province. The main objective of the Filipino scientists is to map the bottom of the ecological region of the sea.
On Tuesday afternoon, May 6, 2014, two of the researchers have touched the lowest part of Benham, reporting “120 percent coral cover.” They also noted that they have captured “fascinating” videos of the benthic area.
Meanwhile the University of the Philippines (UP) issued a statement regarding the survey conducted by Filipino scientists in the Benham Rise area. According to UP the group of Hilde Nacorda is expected to conduct surveys for two weeks which will pave the way for further research and exploration in the region.
One of the members of Nacorda’s group, UP Marine Law expert Jay Batongbacal said that initial samplings from the undersea plateau point to huge deposits of natural gas and a rich source of manganese nodules.
Aside from UP Marine Science Institute (MSI), a foreign research partners and a representative from the Philippine Navy is part of the Filipino explorers who are conducting the first oceanographic survey of Benham Rise. The first group, aboard a vessel belonging to Scripps Research Institute, investigated the effects of Pacific Ocean current son the productivity of the seas in the Eastern Luzon areas.
