Manila Bay's Turquoise-Blue Water Caused By Pollution - Scientists Confirm

This turquoise-blue water of Manila Bay had surprised much of the online readers, when a photos and videos spread fast like a wildfires.

        Photo source: Chino Gaston / Twitter

It was first emerged online last month, were many people thought it was a nature's healing that brought back the natural beauty of the bay amid the enhanced community quarantine. 

Now, experts confirmed that this rare sightings was caused by pollution.

According to the satellite images taken by Diwata 1 from space, PHL-Microsat Facebook page confirmed that the Turquoise-colored Manila Bay water was caused by pollution. On its blog post, PHL-Microsat, the local science program behind the launched of the Philippine' first microsatellite, images from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 showed the estimated chlorophyll and high water turbidity in the area from March 13 to March 28. 

Image source: blog.phl-microsat.upd.edu.pg. Areas in red indicate high values of chlorophyll-a concentration and water turbidity. High water turbidity suggests high water pollution while chlorophyll-a concentration suggests algal abundance.

The concentration of chlorophyll indicates algal abundance while high level of water turbidity suggests high water pollution.

Relatively, the images suggests that both factors which already observed as early as March 23, with a spiked of turbidity levels by March 25 - the same date when the major discoloration was sighted in the area is "suggesting that the change in color on Manila Bay waters could be attributed to high water pollution," the blog post read.

The photos of turquoise-colored water in Manila Bay is making a buzz online on March 25 after Facebook user Randy Raga shared a video taken from a nearby hotel in the area.