Growing up, volcanologist Benoit Taisne wanted to study volcanoes so he could save people’s lives. He is now a Principal Investigator at the Earth Observatory of Singapore and has been studying volcanoes for the last 20 years.
Volcanologist Caroline Bouvet de Maisonneuve shares about her experiences on the ground, the inherent risk involved in her work, and her safety-first approach.
At the age of 17, Associate Professor Adam Swtizer became a professional surfer. Now a climate expert at the Earth Observatory of Singapore, he says that his years as a surfer shaped much of his current research and work.
Singaporeans dread the dangerous haze incidents that occur each year. Thick, smoky air dries our throats and irritates our eyes. It makes breathing difficult and can cause lasting damage to our lungs. When the haze hits, atmospheric chemist Mikinori Kuwata and his team of six get down to work.
Call her a nerd, but earthquake scientist Judith Hubbard loves geology, and she is not afraid to admit it. Both sides of her office door are plastered, top to bottom, with expedition photos, while graphs and metre-long topographical maps of Nepal and Singapore stretch across her walls. A slew of geology books and stacks of paper threaten to engulf her entire desk.
In 2010, Assistant Professor Wang Xianfeng and his Brazilian colleague were in a cave deep in the Amazon jungle, wading through waist-deep water in almost complete darkness. The only sources of light came from the head torches mounted on their foreheads. They were collecting rock samples from caves to study climate changes in the Amazon during the last ice age 21,000 years ago. Asst. Prof Wang was leading the way, when his colleague spotted something up ahead and told him to stop.
