Coring; visualizing quartenary deposits
+ Climate change is perceived as an urgent issue due to the threat of rising sea levels in coastal cities. Singapore is one such coastal city. Yet with the problem imminent, there is a lack of urgency and a perceived sense of detachment from the issue.
The examination of quaternary deposits through coring is a crucial part of ongoing research to predict how Singaporean coastlines will react to sea-level rise in the future. While the research informs policymakers and urban planning, the topic is abstract to the public.
This sense of detachment and lack of awareness might be attributed to rapid urbanization and the complexities of scientific communication.
What ‘story’ can the soil tell?
A core is a cylindrical tube of sediments obtained through drilling the land. It is the earth's truest image of the land as quaternary deposits can inform what the land looked like before.
This core obtained from Kallang River Basin is significant in showing that past a certain level of sea-level rise, mangroves will be unable to withhold the amount of seawater.
Visualising Kallang River Basin
In “A New Quaternary Stratigraphy of the Kallang River Basin, Singapore: Implications for urban development and geotechnical engineering in Singapore”, Kallang River Basin is identified as a point of interest. Borehole data and sediment cores allowed scientists to create a 3D geological model.
Fig. 1: 3-dimensional model (exploded) showing the Quaternary geological units found in the Kallang River Basin.
Photographing Kallang River Basin
Based on the map (fig 2.), I photographed elements found along the area. These elements include inorganic and organic subject matter.
Fig.2: a) Regional Map of SEA, b) Geological Map of Singapore and Kallang River Basin Identified.
The subject matter has been chosen based on iit t.
For example, the Singapore Sports Stadium, Leisure Park Kallang and Tanjong Rhu Residential Areas are currently significant spots. These areas are enhanced through the elements such as plants and the waterfront.
Core-lation: The core itself has organic patterns that are almost painterly. In order to mimic its visuals, the image is captured in motion with an altered shutter speed.
A Photographic Core of Kallang River Basin
In order to illuminate the story of the Kallang River Basin, the images were printed on translucent paper, then stacked and placed against a light box. One can sift through the layers of images like how one studies the sediment layers of a core.
A speculative future: what would a photographic core of Marina Bay look like?
In my work, I imagine what people would see if a core was dug out of Marina Bay, a site of land reclamation. Through a hypothetical projection into the future and the scientific classification of materials, I explore the natural and man-made elements that exist in the core. Using black and white film, I manipulate the images to mimic the natural patterns observed in sediment.
Visualizing Marina Bay
The core consists of sediments that include clay, plant material and micro-organisms. It is also made up of multiple layers that are formed over time. Initial experiments with film and the darkroom process treated images as spaces that contain organic and inorganic material. Once developed, the film negative is cut up and re-pieced to form a new image that is representative of what a core can contain.
Photographing Marina Bay
Table 1. Table Comparing the Quaternary Stratigraphy of Singapore
Referencing Table 1. Table Comparing the Quaternary Stratigraphy of Singapore, the core is made of multiple ‘members’ such as the reef and marine member. These members are representational of their composition. For example, the Reef Member is ‘ is predominantly composed of coral reef platforms and concomitant calcareous detritus, and these reefs are exposed during low tide as fringing island platforms, as disconnected shoals associated with former coastlines (DSTA, 2009), or underlie parts of present-day islands (e.g. Pulau Ubin).’
Hence, sediment layers are highly complex in composition. With this in mind, I redefined how images should be captured, in terms of hierarchy and composition. For example, at the lowest layer contains organic material such as plants, and transits into man-made structures that are also taller in height.
The resulting images feature groups of plants and structures that contain both organic and inorganic material. I layered the images on top of each other by forwarding them back and forth in the camera, creating transitional layers. By burning the developed film strip, I manipulate the images to form areas in focus and out of focus, further emphasizing the different layers and textures present.
A Photographic Core of Marina Bay
Each group now contains images that function as a member itself. Image one (left) contains photos that contain organic materials such as diverse plants found on site (plant layer). Image 2 (middle) contains the man-made super trees that contain plants mounted onto themselves hence containing both organic and inorganic layers (transitional layer). Lastly, image 3 focuses on the structures found on site contains solely inorganic layers (man-made layer).
This project was done with the help and research of Dr Stephen Chua from NTU Earth Observatory Singapore.