Earth Observatory Blog

EOS and CVGHM Celebrate a Decade of Collaboration

Submitted on 22 Feb 2021 by:

Last December, the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) celebrated the 10th anniversary of its collaboration with the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM).

Over the past decade, EOS and CVGHM have shared knowledge, expertise, and adventures through fieldwork, workshops, and publications.

"This long-term collaboration has enabled us to refine eruption histories, unravel magma storage conditions and eruption dynamics, further our understanding of related geophysical signals, and evaluate the implications in terms of hazards in one of the most populated and volcanologically active regions of the world," said Assistant Professor Caroline Bouvet de la Maisonneuve, a Principal Investigator at EOS.

Dr Hanik Humaida, Head of the...

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2020: A Year at EOS in Review

Submitted on 29 Dec 2020 by:

Dear EOS Community,

This year has been an extraordinary one and has been challenging for many, but it has demonstrated how resilient and innovative we can be in response to unique circumstances during this “new normal”. We continued addressing critical questions in Earth science, conducted more research in Singapore than ever before, and brought our science to the public with two exhibitions and a documentary series in collaboration with our partners.

EOS Leadership Transition

I am indebted to Director Emeritus Kerry Sieh for founding EOS and for inviting me to be part of the team in Singapore three years ago. Kerry’s legacy is a world-class research institute, dedicated to...

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Could Harnessing Geothermal Energy be a Viable Option for Southeast Asia?

Submitted on 21 Dec 2020 by:

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 ...

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New Climate Challenge as Melting Glacier Threatens to Trigger a Catastrophic Tsunami in Alaska

Submitted on 07 Dec 2020 by:

In conversation with Dr Kyle Bradley, Principal Investigator at the Earth Observatory of Singapore

 

1. Can you tell us about your work on geohazards and the interesting parallels between in Southeast Asia and Alaska?

At the Earth Observatory of Singapore, I study the active faults of Southeast Asia and their associated geohazards. We are increasingly aware that rapidly changing environments can produce surprising hazards that can lie undetected for a long time until they are triggered by sudden events like earthquakes or large rainfalls.

Recently we learned about a very interesting geohazard case in Alaska, where scientists have identified a potential tsunami that could possibly be produced by a landslide along the Alaskan coast. Here at the Earth...

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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 understated.

If we go beyond the Paris Agreement we will cause a destabilisation of the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets, it will include...

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Using Large Earthquakes to Understand Singapore’s Underground Structure

Submitted on 15 Jun 2020 by:

The first results from Singapore’s first island-wide seismic survey unravel some important features of Singapore’s underground.

In March of last year, a team at the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) recorded the ground movements of Singapore using 88 seismometers placed in locations such as schools, parks and weather stations.

We collected a vast quantity of fascinating data using distant earthquakes to image Singapore’s subsurface, and our first set of results were recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Seismologists use a technique called receiver functions to look at boundaries between different rocks...

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Pandemics & Natural Hazards: The Way Forward for Earth Scientists in a Global Lockdown

Submitted on 14 May 2020 by:

Pandemics & Natural Hazards is a special series for the EOS Blog which looks at the compounding impacts of coinciding disasters. This third commentary is a contribution from EOS’ Centre for Geohazard Observations.

The daily coverage of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the media has given the public an insight into how the crisis has impacted the healthcare sector. We’ve seen footage of hospitals inundated with stricken patients, hospital staff begging for supplies, and the global race to find the medical holy grail of the moment – a COVID-19 vaccine.

But what about the other sectors of science that are not directly linked to the coronavirus? How are they coping with, even transforming in, this pandemic and the ensuing cross-border lockdowns?

...
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Pandemics & Natural Hazards: Rebuilding Public Health and the Natural Environment After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Submitted on 04 May 2020 by:

Pandemics & Natural Hazards is a special series for the EOS Blog which looks at the compounding impacts of coinciding disasters. This second commentary is contributed by EOS Principal Investigator Professor Benjamin Horton.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which is sweeping the globe infecting 7.6 million and causing the death of 424,472 (as of 12 June 2020) has understandably superseded the issue that dominated the news, social media, political activity, business practice, and academic research for much of 2019 – the climate emergency.

But it is useful to consider, are these two issues related, do they both have the same underlying causes, and can the solutions be the same?

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 is believed to have originated at wildlife markets...

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