When I am nicely cocooned at home otherwise, I would find myself pondering at nature’s destructive power when she flexed her might such as the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa near us. The 20 million tonnes of sulphur released into the atmosphere back then caused a volcanic winter which decreased Earth’s temperature by an average of 1.2°C in the five years after.
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that explains how major landforms are created as a result of Earth’s subterranean movements. This includes the source of mountain-building, volcanic activity, ocean trench formation and earthquakes.
As a geographer in school, I was always fascinated by these elements and the spectacular natural features that result in our landscape, especially those outside of Singapore. A particularly memorable school geography trip to the Great Rift Valley in East Africa back in 1989 sparked my lifelong wanderlust.
