The appreciation of experts from the Provincial Meteorological Center of Las Tunas on the repercussions on the ecosystem due to the explosion at the Matanzas Supertanker Base and the fires in the mountainous area of Pinares de Mayarí (Holguín) focus the observations they presented in the 14th International Convention on Environment and Development.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- The event that concluded today in Havana was attended by a representation of researchers who, for months, have examined the damage to essential natural factors such as vegetation, soils, and the atmosphere -from the concentration of harmful substances such as nitrogen dioxide.
The specialist José Norlan Peña Ojeda, with Studies of the impacts of air pollution generated by the fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base, through the use of satellite remote sensing, co-authored with Alexey Moreno Borges, shows a new material with precise information, thanks to the use of the Copernicus program of the European Space Agency.
Caused by an electrical discharge on the evening of August 5, 2022, the phenomenon that lasted for a week caused extensive material damage and loss of life, to the point of being considered the largest industrial disaster in the country's history; data that gave rise to the diagnosis of the analysts and that were exposed these days in the capital's conclave.
The evaluation of the areas affected by forest fires in Pinares de Mayarí, using Sentinel-2 satellite images, is the title of the paper that also bears the signature of Peña Ojeda, together with Yusniel Núñez Acosta, and which aims to delimit and calculate the degree of these affectations.
In statements to the Cuban News Agency, Núñez Acosta said that the damaged perimeter was quantified in some 7,729 hectares, of which 74 percent had low-severity burns and the rest, between moderate and high severity. Besides, they had the possibility of demonstrating the decrease of the forest in the area and its photosynthetic activity.
The incident that occurred last March, as a result of the strong drought that hit the region, the intense winds typical of the period, and the presence of combustible material, caused considerable damage to biodiversity, due to the presence there of abundant and exotic species of the Cuban flora and fauna.
The province of Las Tunas was represented also by professors from the local University, representatives of the Botanical Garden, and other technicians from the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment, with interventions on sustainable practices, transfer of knowledge, and sustained and inclusive economic growth.
