Earth Observatory Blog

The Earth has Lost 28 Trillion Tonnes of Ice in Less than 30 Years – New Report Sparks Concerns for Sea-Level Rise in Southeast Asia

Submitted on 23 Sep 2020 by:

In conversation with Fangyi Tan, PhD student, Sea Level Research team at the Earth Observatory of Singapore

 

1. Will melting ice sheets in such quantities pose a threat to Southeast Asia in the future? 

A recent study found that the Earth has lost a staggering 28 trillion tonnes of ice between 1994 and 2017. The scientists commented in a related news article that the melting of glaciers and ice sheets could cause sea levels to rise by as much as a metre by the end of this century.

One metre may not sound like a lot...

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Volcanic Soundscape: How Seismic Sounds Can Reveal Eruption Secrets

Submitted on 15 Sep 2020 by:

When a volcano erupts in the darkness of night, or when it is blanketed by clouds, determining even the most basic information about the plume can be very difficult. Particularly for air safety, information like the time the eruption started, the height of the plume, and the eruption duration are crucial for determining what air spaces will be impacted.

Published on 15 September 2020, in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, is a study I led that developed a new method to estimate plume heights. This method utilises the long-travelling low-frequency sound waves produced by the eruptions.

Infrasound, or sound that falls below 20 Hz, can travel thousands of kilometers and...

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The Consequences of Breaching the Paris Agreement Pledge

Submitted on 14 Jul 2020 by:

In conversation with Professor Benjamin Horton, Director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore 

 

1. How might a breach of the 1.5°C Paris Agreement in the next five years impact Southeast (SE) Asia?

This week a new report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shows there is a 1 in 5 chance annual global temperatures will be at least 1.5°C warmer than in pre-industrial times in the next 5 years. This is very worrying to the planet. From the Paris Agreement, we needed to keep our temperatures below a 2°C temperature rise before the end of this century. The importance of the Paris Agreement cannot be unders