From December 7 to 15, 2025, the graduate students of the Nannoworks Laboratory, Toby L. Vergara, Jyll Radbert P. Botardo, and Kirsty Mary D. Camba, led by Dr. Allan S. Fernando, conducted fieldwork across the Ilocos Region and some parts of Pangasinan. The main focus of the fieldwork was the collection of Pliocene sediment samples for ostracod (microfossil) analysis for the MS thesis of Toby L. Vergara, and the detailed logging and sampling of the Miocene allodapic limestones for Jyll Radbert P. Botardo.
Fossil crabs collected from an outcrop belonging to the Cataguintingan Formation in La Union (left). Fossilized shark teeth collected from an outcrop belonging to the Lao-ingen Formation in Ilocos Sur (top).
Jyll Radbert Botardo observing the allodapic limestone in “Santiago” outcrop, up-close for a detailed log.
Toby Vergara sampled the stations belonging to the different Pliocene formations in Ilocos, including Burgos and Laoag Formations in Ilocos Norte, Lao-ingen Formation in Ilocos Sur, and Cataguintingan Formation in La Union. These localities contain several microfossil groups, and some shark teeth and fossil crabs were also retrieved. Jyll Botardo focused on the allodapic limestone of the Batac and Amlang Formations.