Earth Observatory of Singapore

Spotlight: Asia

Gede-Salak Lab Volcano

Gede and Salak, high-risk volcanoes in West Java, are representative of many arc volcanoes.

Testing the Potential of Wave Gliders for Ocean Exploration and Seafloor Geodesy in SE Asia

Barbot's team is developing geophysical marine robots to probe the deformation of the seafloor. The end goal is to extend geodetic measurements offshore to better understand earthquakes, tectonic processes and tsunami hazards.

The Child of Krakatoa Awakes

At approximately 9:30pm local time (2:30pm GMT) on the 22 December 2018, a tsunami struck Indonesia’s Sunda Strait, which lies between the islands of Java and Sumatra, claiming over 430 lives. According to Indonesia’s disaster agency there are at least 1,500 injured, over 120 people still missing, and around 12,000 people have been displaced.

How Strong are the Rocks in the Sumatran Subduction Zone?

The highly active Sumatran Subduction Zone has produced more than four great earthquakes in the last decade. The first of these was the giant Mw 9.2 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake that ruptured on 26 December 2004. This devastating event was followed by three others – the Mw 8.6 Nias-Simeulue quake in 2005, the Mw 8.4 Bengkulu earthquakes in 2007, and the Mw 7.7 Mentawai tsunami-earthquake in 2010.

Covered in Golden Dust: Learning to Survey Active Faults in Myanmar

In February 2017, scientists from the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) led an earthquake geology training camp in Myanmar and Thailand. The course was designed to allow scientists to share their knowledge about active fault trenching and paleoseismology with geology students who may not have had prior field experience.

Testing the Potential of Wave Gliders for Ocean Exploration and Seafloor Geodesy in SE Asia

Nepal Seismotectonics

One major issue addressed here is to know whether the recent great earthquakes on the MFT ruptured the surface or not. EOS confirmed with 14C dating that the rupture of the 1934 Bihar-Nepal earthquake (Mw 8.2) reached the surface. It is a major breakthrough as the hitherto entrenched consensus had been that the 20th century catastrophic events along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust were blind.

The Legend that Saves Lives

113 years ago, on 4 January 1907, a powerful magnitude (M) 8.2-8.4 earthquake occurred off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. This earthquake belonged to a special class called “tsunami earthquakes” that do not generate very strong shaking, but can result in large tsunamis.

Mentawai Gap–Tsunami Earthquake Risk Assessment (MEGA-TERA)

The Mentawai Gap–Tsunami Earthquake Risk Assessment is a joint project between Schmidt Ocean Institute, the Earth Observatory of Singapore, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris.