From November 13 to 16, 2025, Dr. Alyssa Peleo-Alampay, Dr. Allan Gil Fernando, Dr. Sandra Catane, and Dr. Leopoldo de Silva, Jr. led the 12 MS Geology students of the Geology 252 (Sedimentology) class on a fieldwork across selected sites in Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and La Union. The class was divided into three groups, with each group expected to discuss their observations at each location. Throughout the fieldwork, the groups recorded various clastic sedimentary rocks, including sandstones, mudstones, and mixed successions displaying sedimentary structures such as cross-bedding, ripple marks, graded bedding, and soft-sediment deformation features. Fossil fragments were also encountered within several horizons, providing clues to depositional settings and paleoenvironmental conditions.
One of the notable stops was in Kapurpurawan, Ilocos Norte, where the class examined the well-exposed calcarenites. Along the access roads approaching Kapurpurawan, volcaniclastic units such as volcanic breccias and tuffs, as well as exposures of andesitic lava flows, were observed, showing evidence of past volcanic activity and its influence on the regional geology.
The fieldwork provided hands-on experience in lithologic identification, stratigraphic logging, and sedimentary facies interpretation, which are skills needed for sedimentological training.
