Emma HILL

Director, Research and Strategy

Principal Investigator

Associate Professor, Asian School of the Environment

Faculty Representative

NRF Fellow

Group Representative

Phone:

+65 6592 1603

Fax:

(+65) 6790 1585

Email:

ehill@ntu.edu.sg

Office Location:

N2-01a-09e

Additional Website:

https://emmahill.squarespace.com/

Research Group:

Tectonics, Climate

Team:

Geodesy Group - Emma Hill

Emma Hill’s research interests involve the application of space geodesy to understanding climate change and natural hazards. She is currently investigating the tectonic deformation of the Sumatran subduction zone using high-precision GPS geodesy, with the overall goal of understanding earthquake hazard in the region. Emma Hill also uses GRACE satellite gravity and the global tide-gauge network to study glacier melting and regional variations in sea-level change. A particular research focus is the development of techniques to combine different geodetic data sets for the purpose of separating the effects of the many different geophysical processes occurring in the Earth system.

Education:

- 2005 PhD in Geophysics: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
- 1999 Bsc in Surveying and Mapping Science: Department of Geomatics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Professional Experience:

- 2010 - Present : Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator, Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- 2010 - 2012 : Research Associate, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- 2007 - 2010 : Geodesist with the Space Geodesy Group, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- 2005 - 2007 : Post-doctoral Fellow with the Space Geodesy Group, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- 1999 - 2005 : Graduate Research Assistant, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology / University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA

Professional Activities:

- 2010-2012 Member of the Council of the American Geophysical Union. The Council is responsible for developing the scientic policy and direction of the AGU, an 60,000 scientific member organization
- Chair (2010) and Member (2007-2009) of the UNAVCO Education and Outreach Advisory Committee. UNAVCO is a large, non-profit consortium whose mission is to support and promote earth science by advancing the high-precision measurement of crustal deformation.
- 2010 Member of the UNAVCO Bylaws Task Force
- 2010 Member of the American Geophysical Union Strategic Planning Task Force, a 16-member task force with the purpose of drafting a plan for the strategic direction of AGU over the next 5-10 years.
- 2008-2010 E-mentor for female and minority-group graduate students in science and engineering through the MentorNet program (www.mentornet.net). Provide advice and support on career progression and any personal/professional difficulties to a geoscience graduate student through weekly e-mail communications.
- 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Judge for the Outstanding Student Paper Award (Geodesy section) at the AGU Fall Meetings.
- Responsible for organizing the student poster competition at the 2009 EarthScope National Meeting. Organized 30 scientists to judge a combined total of 150 presentations.
- Convener of various special sessions at AGU and AOGS meetings over the years.

Courses Taught:

ES7002 - Seminar series
ES7008 - Geophysical Data Analysis

Honours and Awards:

- Singapore National Research Foundation Fellow, 2011
- Nanyang Assistant Professorship, Nanyang Technological University, 2011
- University of Nevada, Reno, Department of Geological Sciences Award for Best 2004-2005 Geo-
physics Graduate Student, 2005
- American Geophysical Union Geodesy Section Outstanding Student Paper Award for talk given
at Fall 2002 Annual Meeting, 2003
- Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellowship for Outstanding Women Graduate Students in Aerospace Engineering, 2001
- First Place in University of Nevada, Reno, Student Poster Competition , 2002
- Geological Society of America Allan Cox Award for Outstanding Student Research Grant Proposal, 2001
- University of Nevada, Reno, Department of Geological Sciences Award for Best 2000-2001 Geo-
physics Graduate Student, 2001
- University of Newcastle upon Tyne Department of Geomatics Award for Best 1996{1997 Surveying
and Mapping Science Student, 1997

Publications:

Feng, L., Zhang T., Koh T-Y., & Hill E. M. (2021). Selected Years of Monsoon Variations and Extratropical Dry-Air Intrusions Compared with the Sumatran GPS Array Observations in Indonesia. Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan.
Lindsey, E. O., Mallick R., Hubbard J. A., Bradley K. E., Almeida R. V., Moore J. D. P., et al. (2021). Slip rate deficit and earthquake potential on shallow megathrusts. Nature Geoscience.
Mallick, R., Meltzner A. J., Tsang L. L. H., Lindsey E. O., Feng L., & Hill E. M. (2021). Long-lived shallow slow-slip events on the Sunda megathrust. Nature Geoscience.
Tay, C. W. J., Yun S-H., Chin S. Tong, Bhardwaj A., Jung J., & Hill E. M. (2020). Rapid flood and damage mapping using synthetic aperture radar in response to Typhoon Hagibis, Japan. Scientific Data. 7(1),
Salman, R., Lindsey E. O., Feng L., Bradley K. E., Wei S., Wang T., et al. (2020). Structural Controls on Rupture Extent of Recent Sumatran Fault Zone Earthquakes, Indonesia. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth. 125(2),
Salman, R., Lindsey E. O., Lythgoe K. H., Bradley K. E., Muzli M., Yun S‐H., et al. (2020). Cascading Partial Rupture of the Flores Thrust during the 2018 Lombok Earthquake Sequence, Indonesia. Seismological Research Letters.
Manta, F., Occhipinti G., Feng L., & Hill E. M. (2020). Rapid identification of tsunamigenic earthquakes using GNSS ionospheric sounding. Scientific Reports. 10,
Mallick, R., Hubbard J. A., Lindsey E. O., Bradley K. E., Moore J. D. P., Ahsan A., et al. (2020). Subduction initiation and the rise of the Shillong Plateau. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 543,
Morgan, P. M., Feng L., Meltzner A. J., Mallick R., & Hill E. M. (2020). Diverse Slip Behavior of the Banyak Islands Subsegment of the Sunda Megathrust in Sumatra, Indonesia. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.
Materna, K., Feng L., Lindsey E. O., Hill E. M., Ahsan A., Khorshed Alam AKM., et al. (2020). GNSS characterization of hydrological loading in South and Southeast Asia. Geophysical Journal International.
Pham, D. T., Switzer A., Heurta G., Meltzner A. J., Nguyen H. M., & Hill E. M. (2019). Spatiotemporal variations of extreme sea levels around the South China Sea: assessing the influence of tropical cyclones, monsoons and major climate modes. Natural Hazards. 98(3), 969-1001.
Qiu, Q., Feng L., Hermawan I., & Hill E. M. (2019). Coseismic and Postseismic Slip of the 2005 M-w 8.6 Nias-Simeulue Earthquake: Spatial Overlap and Localized Viscoelastic Flow. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth. 124(7), 7445-7460.
Wong, N. Z., Feng L., & Hill E. M. (2019). GPS-based slip models of one M-w 7.2 and twenty moderate earthquakes along the Sumatran plate boundary. Geoscience Letters. 6(1),
Peng, D., Hill E. M., Li L., Switzer A., & Larson K. (2019). Application of GNSS interferometric reflectometry for detecting storm surges. GPS Solutions. 23,
Peng, D., Hill E. M., Meltzner A. J., & Switzer A. (2019). Tide Gauge Records Show That the 18.61‐Year Nodal Tidal Cycle Can Change High Water Levels by up to 30 cm. Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans. 124, 736-749.
Mallick, R., Lindsey E. O., Feng L., Hubbard J., Banerjee P., & Hill E. M. (2019). Active Convergence of the India-Burma-Sunda Plates Revealed by a New Continuous GPS Network. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth. 124(3), 3155-3171.
Bradley, K. E., Mallick R., Andikagumi H., Hubbard J., Meilianda E., Switzer A., et al. (2019). Earthquake-triggered 2018 Palu Valley landslides enabled by wet rice cultivation. Nature Geoscience.
Manta, F., Occhipinti G., Hill E. M., Perttu A., Assink J., & Taisne B. (2019). Correlation Between GNSS-TEC and Eruption Magnitude Supports the Use of Ionospheric Sensing to Complement Volcanic Hazard Assessment. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.
Lin, N. Y., Yun S-H., Bhardwaj A., & Hill E. M. (2019). Urban Flood Detection with Sentinel-1 Multi-Temporal Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Observations in a Bayesian Framework: A Case Study for Hurricane Matthew. Remote Sensing. 11(15),
Qiu, Q., Moore J. D. P., Barbot S., Feng L., & Hill E. M. (2018). Transient rheology of the Sumatran mantle wedge revealed by a decade of great earthquakes. Nature Communications. 9(995),
Lindsey, E., Almeida R., Mallick R., Hubbard J., Bradley K. E., Tsang L., et al. (2018). Structural Control on Downdip Locking Extent of the Himalayan Megathrust. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 123(6), 5265-5278.
Almeida, R., Lindsey E., Bradley K. E., Hubbard J., Mallick R., & Hill E. M. (2018). Can the Updip Limit of Frictional Locking on Megathrusts Be Detected Geodetically? Quantifying the Effect of Stress Shadows on Near‐Trench Coupling. Geophysical Research Letters. 45(10), 4754-4763.
Meltzner, A. J., Switzer A., Horton B. P., Ashe E., Qiu Q., Hill D. F., et al. (2017). Half-metre sea-level fluctuations on centennial timescales from mid-Holocene corals of Southeast Asia. Nature Communications. 8(14387),
Bradley, K. E., Feng L., Hill E. M., Natawidjaja D. H., & Sieh K. (2017). Implications of the diffuse deformation of the Indian Ocean lithosphere for slip partitioning of oblique plate convergence in Sumatra. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 122(1), 572-591.
Morgan, P. M., Feng L., Meltzner A. J., Lindsey E. O., Tsang L. L. H., & Hill E. M. (2017). Sibling earthquakes generated within a persistent rupture barrier on the Sunda megathrust under Simeulue Island. Geophysical Research Letters. 44, 2159–2166.
Wang, Y., Wei S., Wang X., Lindsey E. O., Tongkul F., Tapponnier P., et al. (2017). The 2015 Mw 6.0 Mt. Kinabalu earthquake: an infrequent fault rupture within the Crocker fault system of East Malaysia. Geoscience Letters.
Monecke, K., Meilianda E., Walstra D-J., Hill E. M., McAdoo B. G., Qiu Q., et al. (2017). Postseismic coastal development in Aceh, Indonesia - Field observations and numerical modeling. Marine Geology. 392, 94-104.
Salman, R., Hill E. M., Feng L., Lindsey E. O., Veedu D. M., Barbot S., et al. (2017). Piecemeal rupture of the Mentawai patch, Sumatra: The 2008 Mw 7.2 North Pagai earthquake sequence. Journal of Geophysical Research.
Tsang, L. L. H., Hill E. M., Barbot S., Qiu Q., Feng L., Hermawan I., et al. (2016). Afterslip following the 2007 M-w 8.4 Bengkulu earthquake in Sumatra loaded the 2010 M-w 7.8 Mentawai tsunami earthquake rupture zone. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 121(12), 9034-9049.
Wang, L., Davis J. L., Hill E. M., & Tamisiea M. E. (2016). Stochastic filtering for determining gravity variations for decade-long time series of GRACE gravity. Journal of Geophysical Research. 121(4), 2915–2931.
Bradley, K. E., Feng L., Hill E. M., & Natawidjaja D. H. (2016). Sumatran Fault slip rates imply a rigid forearc and shortening of Indian Ocean lithosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.
Steckler, M. S., Mondal D R., Akhter S. H., Seeber L., Feng L., Gale J., et al. (2016). Locked and loading megathrust linked to active subduction beneath the Indo-Burman Ranges. Nature Geoscience. 9(8),
Feng, L., Barbot S., Hill E. M., Hermawan I., & Banerjee P. (2016). Footprints of past earthquakes revealed in the afterslip of the 2010 Mw 7.8 Mentawai tsunami earthquake. Geophysical Research Letters. 43(18), 9518–9526.
Qiu, Q., Hill E. M., Barbot S., Hubbard J., Feng W., Lindsey E. O., et al. (2016). The Mechanism of Partial rupture of a Locked Megathrust: The Role of Fault Morphology. Geology.
Hu, Y., Bürgmann R., Banerjee P., Feng L., Hill E. M., Ito T., et al. (2016). Asthenosphere rheology inferred from observations of the 2012 Indian Ocean earthquake. Nature.
Hubbard, J., Barbot S., Hill E. M., & Tapponnier P. (2015). Coseismic slip on shallow décollement megathrusts: implications for seismic and tsunami hazard. Earth-Science Reviews. 141(February), 45-55.
Hill, E. M., Yue H., Barbot S., Lay T., Tapponnier P., Hermawan I., et al. (2015). The 2012 Mw 8.6 Wharton Basin sequence: A cascade of great earthquakes generated by near‐orthogonal, young, oceanic‐mantle faults. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 120(5), 3723–3747.
Meltzner, A. J., Sieh K., Chiang H-W., Wu C-C., Tsang L. L. H., Shen C-C., et al. (2015). Time-varying interseismic strain rates and similar seismic ruptures on the Nias–Simeulue patch of the Sunda megathrust. Quaternary Science Reviews. 258–281.
Melgar, D., Crowell B. W., Geng J., Allen R. M., Bock Y., Riquelme S., et al. (2015). Earthquake Magnitude Calculation without Saturation and the Scaling of Peak Ground Displacement from Regional High-Rate GPS Recordings. Geophysical Research Letters.
Yue, H., Lay T., Li L., Yamazaki Y., Cheung K F., Rivera L., et al. (2015). Validation of linearity for tsunami waves in joint inversion of kinematic rupture models: Application to the 2010 Mentawai Mw 7.8 tsunami earthquake. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 120(3),
Melgar, D., Crowell B. W., Geng J., Allen R. M., Bock Y., Riquelme S., et al. (2015). Earthquake magnitude calculation without saturation from the scaling of peak ground displacement. Geophysical Research Letters. 42(13), 5197-5205.
Feng, L., Hill E. M., Banerjee P., Hermawan I., Tsang L. L. H., Natawidjaja D. H., et al. (2015). A unified GPS-based earthquake catalog for the Sumatran plate boundary between 2002 and 2013. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 120(5), 3566-3598.
Tsang, L. L. H., Meltzner A. J., Hill E. M., Freymueller J. T., & Sieh K. (2015). A paleogeodetic record of variable interseismic rates and megathrust coupling at Simeulue Island, Sumatra. Geophysical Research Letters. 42(24),
Feng, L., Hill E. M., Elósegui P., Qiu Q., Hermawan I., Banerjee P., et al. (2015). Hunt for slow slip events along the Sumatran subduction zone in a decade of continuous GPS data. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth. 120(12), 8623-8632.
Tsang, L. L. H., Meltzner A. J., Philibosian B., Hill E. M., Freymueller J. T., & Sieh K. (2015). A 15 year slow-slip event on the Sunda megathrust offshore Sumatra. Geophysical Research Letters. 42(16), 6630-6638.
Yue, H., Lay T., Rivera L., Bai Y., Yamazaki Y., Cheung K F., et al. (2014). Rupture process of the 2010 Mw 7.8 Mentawai tsunami earthquake from joint inversion of near-field hr-GPS and teleseismic body wave recordings constrained by tsunami observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 119(7), 5574–5593.
Hill, E. M., Borrero J. C., Huang Z., Qiu Q., Banerjee P., Natawidjaja D. H., et al. (2012). The 2010 Mw 7.8 Mentawai earthquake: Very shallow source of a rare tsunami earthquake determined from tsunami field survey and near-field GPS data. Journal of Geophysical Research.

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Philibosian, B., Sieh K., Natawidjaja D. H., Chiang H-W., Shen C-C., Suwargadi B. W., et al. (2012). An ancient shallow slip event on the Mentawai segment of the Sunda megathrust, Sumatra. Journal of Geophysical Research. 117,

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Vinogradova, N. T., Ponte R. M., Tamisiea M. E., Hill E. M., & Davis J. L. (2011). Self-attraction and loading effects on ocean mass redistribution at monthly and longer time scales. Journal of Geophysical Research. 116,

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Hill, E. M., Davis J. L., Tamisiea M. E., Ponte R. M., & Vinogradova N. T. (2011). Using a spatially realistic load model to assess impacts of Alaskan glacier ice loss on sea level. Journal of Geophysical Research. 116,

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Publications:

Salman, R., Lindsey E. O., Lin Y-N N., Feng L., Bradley K. E., & Hill E. M. (2018). Investigating active deformation of the northern Sumatran Fault using InSAR data. European Geosciences Union.
Salman, R., Hill E. M., Wei S., Lindsey E. O., Bradley K. E., Muzli, et al. (2017). Analysis of the 2016 Aceh Mw 6.5 strike-slip earthquake using joint inversion of InSAR and tele seismic data. Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 14th Annual Meeting.
Qiu, Q., Moore J. D. P., Barbot S., Feng L., Hill E. M., & Ezer T. (2016). Transient flow in the mantle wedge in the last decade following great earthquakes in the Sumatran subduction zone. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
Salman, R., Hill E. M., Feng L., Wei S., Barbot S., Lindsey E. O., et al. (2016). The 2008 Mw 7.2 North Pagai earthquake sequence: Partial rupture of a fully locked Mentawai patch. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
Salman, R., Hill E. M., Feng L., Wei S., Barbot S., Lindsey E. O., et al. (2016). The 2008 Mw 7.2 North Pagai earthquake sequence: Partial rupture of a fully locked Mentawai patch. 6th International Symposium on Earth Hazard and Disaster Mitigation.
Salman, R., Hill E. M., Barbot S., Feng L., Banerjee P., Hermawan I., et al. (2014). The 2008 Mw 7.2 North Pagai earthquake sequence and its relationship to ruptured and unruptured parts of the Mentawai patch. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
McCaughey, J. W., Lubis A M., Sinaga B., Huang Z., Yao Y., Hill E. M., et al. (2012). Partnerships for outreach: earthquake and tsunami hazard in West Sumatra. AOGS-AGU Joint Assembly.
Yao, Y., Huang Z., Lubis A M., Hill E. M., McCaughey J. W., & Li L. (2012). Numerical simulations of tsunami inundation for the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia - a scenario study using high resolution topographic data. AOGS-AGU Joint Assembly.
McCaughey, J. W., Huang Z., Yu Y., Hill E. M., & Eriksson S. (2012). Earthquake and tsunami hazard in West Sumatra: integrating science, outreach, and local stakeholder needs. EGU General Assembly.
McCaughey, J. W., Lubis A M., Qiu Q., Huang Z., Hill E. M., & Natawidjaja D. H. (2011). User driven science: earthquake and tsunami scenarios for Mentawai Islands, western Sumatra. AGU Fall Meeting.

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