In a world largely driven by technology, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is ubiquitous. Best known for providing positioning, navigation, and timing services, the incorporation of this system into smartphones and smartwatches has made it almost indispensable for many.

Scientists at the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) have explored the use of this system for climate research by observing the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere. Atmospheric water vapour, albeit invisible, plays a crucial role in shaping the Earth’s weather and climate.

GPS radio signals travel from GPS satellites at an altitude of ~20,000 kilometres to ground receivers through the Earth’s atmosphere. Because of its physical properties, the atmosphere slows and bends the GPS signals. As...

Did you know that the coral reefs of Southeast Asia account for a third of the world total? Spanning an area of 100,000 km2, these reefs are rich in biodiversity and provide critical services to coastal communities, including fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection. 

While reef health and resilience are often measured by metrics such as the amount of coral on a reef or the number of different species, the quality of the coral skeleton itself is also a critical part of the services reefs provide. In Singapore, we found that some coral skeletons deformed and fractured more easily than their counterparts from other reefs, which may make them more vulnerable to climate change.

As corals grow, they deposit calcium carbonate crystals underneath their tissue, building...

Singapore is known as one of the safest places in the world. Why, then, would we choose Singapore as a case study for developing new methods for disaster risk reduction?

People tend to be surprised when a natural hazard occurs and shocked when disastrous impacts follow. We wanted to create a new framework that can help preempt such surprise. We developed a guided process to explore potential outcomes that we do not naturally want to consider due to our optimistic human nature. And, regarded as one of the world’s safest countries, where could be a more surprising location for a disaster to happen other than Singapore?

First, we needed to better quantify and understand the past disasters Singapore has experienced. We started by looking into the past records of...

In conversation with Dr Karen Lythgoe, Research Fellow at the Earth Observatory of Singapore

1. What area of earth science do you study and monitor?

I am a seismologist at the Earth Observatory of Singapore at Nanyang Technological University, where I monitor and study earthquake hazards and sub-surface imaging both for the deep and the shallow earth. I apply seismology to important Earth science problems, including earthquake processes, Earth structure and dynamics, and smart city development.

2. What opportunities exist to capture heat from the deep earth to create low carbon energy and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases?

Recently there was ...