Communications
The Community Engagement Office aims to build the identity of the Observatory beyond the scientific community, reaching government and leadership, educators, partners, and the media. This is achieved by elevating our scientists’ research and expressing the importance of Earth science awareness through both local and international media, and through the Observatory’s social channels.
Blog
“New EOS Study on the Dangers and Impacts of Unconfined Pyroclastic Flows”
[title_1]
Volcanic eruptions are sometimes accompanied by clouds of ash and hot gases that travel down the slopes of volcanoes at tens of kilometres per hour. These clouds, called pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), are some of the deadliest volcanic hazards. And as we cannot easily study them in real-time, we took another approach to quantify some of the features that make them so dangerous: their speed, temperature, height, and how far they travelled.
PDCs are often controlled by gravity. They therefore usually flow from high to low elevation and follow the easiest path allowed by topography. This means that PDCs most frequently flow in channels, allowing scientists and government planners to foresee which direction they might go in the event of an eruption.
Although they travel mostly in valleys, they can also unexpectedly overflow and affect inhabited areas under certain conditions and become unconfined, for example, when they aren’t nearly as controlled by topography. As...
“New EOS Study on the Dangers and Impacts of Unconfined Pyroclastic Flows”
[title_1]
Volcanic eruptions are sometimes accompanied by clouds of ash and hot gases that travel down the slopes of volcanoes at tens of kilometres per hour. These clouds, called pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), are some of the deadliest volcanic hazards. And as we cannot easily study them in real-time, we took another approach to quantify some of the features that make them so dangerous: their speed, temperature, height, and how far they travelled.
PDCs are often controlled by gravity. They therefore usually flow from high to low elevation and follow the easiest path allowed by topography. This means that PDCs most frequently flow in channels, allowing scientists and government planners to foresee which direction they might go in the event of an eruption.
Although they travel mostly in valleys, they can also unexpectedly overflow and affect inhabited areas under certain conditions and become unconfined, for example, when they aren’t nearly as controlled by topography. As...
“The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Eruption Recorded in Singapore”
[title_1]
The eruption from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano on 15 January 2022 sent a shock wave recorded all around the world, a large volcanic plume more than 20 kilometres (km) in the atmosphere, and a tsunami that affected many communities in Tonga and all around the world. There was also strong ashfall locally and reports of damage to infrastructure such as undersea cables vital to communications.
In Singapore, while the sound from the eruption was not heard, it was recorded by the infrasound stations from the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) which detect sounds below the audible range.
The eruption occurred at around 4am UTC (12pm Singapore time) from the large Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano located about 65 km north of the island of Tongatapu where the capital city of Tonga, Nuku’alofa, is...
“The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Eruption Recorded in Singapore”
[title_1]
The eruption from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano on 15 January 2022 sent a shock wave recorded all around the world, a large volcanic plume more than 20 kilometres (km) in the atmosphere, and a tsunami that affected many communities in Tonga and all around the world. There was also strong ashfall locally and reports of damage to infrastructure such as undersea cables vital to communications.
In Singapore, while the sound from the eruption was not heard, it was recorded by the infrasound stations from the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) which detect sounds below the audible range.
The eruption occurred at around 4am UTC (12pm Singapore time) from the large Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano located about 65 km north of the island of Tongatapu where the capital city of Tonga, Nuku’alofa, is...
“The Mw 7.3 Earthquake Off the Coast of Flores Likely Occurred on a Known Fault ”
[title_1]
A major earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia in the Flores Sea on 14 December 2021 at approximately 11:20am (Singapore time). According to the United States Geological Survey, the magnitude-7.3 earthquake occurred off the north coast of Flores, about 110 kilometres (km) from Maumere, at a depth of 16 km. The Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG), the Indonesian meteorology, climatology, and geophysical agency, issued tsunami warnings for the region but no significant tsunami was detected.
The Flores Sea region is a seismically active region with complex tectonics because it lies at the junction of several tectonic plates including the Indo-Australian plate, the Sunda plate, and other small tectonic plates.
This Mw 7.3 earthquake is not a megathrust event at the plate boundary. It occurred on a strike-slip fault offshore of Flores. The blocks on each side of this fault slid past each other laterally but did not lead to strong elevation changes...
“The Mw 7.3 Earthquake Off the Coast of Flores Likely Occurred on a Known Fault ”
[title_1]
A major earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia in the Flores Sea on 14 December 2021 at approximately 11:20am (Singapore time). According to the United States Geological Survey, the magnitude-7.3 earthquake occurred off the north coast of Flores, about 110 kilometres (km) from Maumere, at a depth of 16 km. The Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG), the Indonesian meteorology, climatology, and geophysical agency, issued tsunami warnings for the region but no significant tsunami was detected.
The Flores Sea region is a seismically active region with complex tectonics because it lies at the junction of several tectonic plates including the Indo-Australian plate, the Sunda plate, and other small tectonic plates.
This Mw 7.3 earthquake is not a megathrust event at the plate boundary. It occurred on a strike-slip fault offshore of Flores. The blocks on each side of this fault slid past each other laterally but did not lead to strong elevation changes...
Media
We work with the media to provide expert commentary on topics including earth science phenomena, geohazard crises, and new research findings.
To learn more about the Earth Observatory of Singapore in the news, please visit our newsroom.
Social Channels
Follow us on social media for stories, photos, and updates.
E-Newsletters
Get our quarterly newsletter delivered to your inbox by signing up here.
Outreach Events
We share our science and connect with our audience at various outreach events, from on-site tours to conferences to public exhibitions.
