This research adopted CMCOT model (Cornell Multi-grid Coupled Tsunami Model) to simulate the wave ran up as the tsunami entered the shoaling water of coastlines, the inundation range on land, and the bridge scour caused by tsunami as it made its way upstream in the rivers. The inundation range was estimated with the fault parameters of Manila Trench and a simulation of bell-sphaped curve waves. The result indicated that if the height of bell-sphaped curve was the same as the maximum water level of the tsunami passed to Kaohsiung offshore, the inundation rage was generally consistent. In the simulation of different water level, we discovered that one meter of wave height was sufficient to inundate the entire coastland of Qijin and Gushan District and that the inundation rage would expand as the wave height increased. With the maximum simulated wave height of six meters, the inundation rage included Gushan, Qijin, Yancheng, Qianjin (small scope), Qianzhen, Fengshan, and Xiaogang District. As to the comparison of historical tsunami, according to the particle size analysis of geological survey from the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit, a layer of fine sediment could be found at specific depth, and its particle size (about 8£r) was significantly different than that of other layers. If this fine sediment was the border of tsunami sediment, the height of historical tsunami wave could be 4.9 meters. With regard to bridge scour, Gwando Bridge was chosen as research area. The result from the sediment simulation of COMCOT model was similar to the scour hole and sediment deposition formed by horseshoe vortex system. Based on the result, the scouring and depositing processes were mainly influenced by the particle size of the sediment. In the simulation, the results of different sediment particle sizes were as follows: (1) If the particle size of sediment was greater than 62£gm, the maximum scour depth was less than 4 cm, and the maximum height of deposition was under 3 cm. (2) If the particle size of sediment was between 4 and 62£gm, the maximum scour depth was between 4 and 5 cm, and the maximum height of deposition was between 3 and 4 cm. (3) If the particle size of sediment was smaller than 4£gm, the maximum scour depth was above 6.8 cm, and the maximum height of deposition was greater than 5 cm.

The overall purpose of this thesis is to investigate the economic value and use of geological information. Earthobservations of a geological nature, may have profound impacts on peoples everyday lives. Geological informationplays a key role in addressing the challenges of sustainable development, and contributes to improved decisionmakingprocesses related to, for instance, land degradation and water protection. Still, few have researched theeconomic values attached to such information. This thesis contains an introduction and five self-contained papers.Paper (I) provides a review of previous research addressing the economic value of geological information andother earth observations, as well as, related products, services and infrastructure. The paper also identifiesimportant lessons and topics that require increased attention in future research. The review of prior research showsthat significant economic benefits can be attached to the use of geological information. Still, it is often difficult tocompare results across studies since they differ in scope and make alternative assumptions concerning whichsectors to cover. Furthermore, previous research is not uniform in its treatment of potential (rather than onlyexisting) users, and it employs varying conceptions of avoided costs. The paper concludes that future researchshould devote more attention to the public and experience good characteristics of geological information and othertypes of earth observations, thus highlighting the preconditions for information adoption as well as addressing therole of potential users.Papers (II) and (III) investigate the determinants of adopting geological information in the public sector, with anemphasis on Swedish municipalities. Paper (II) contributes to the literature by providing theoretical explanationsand empirical findings on various individual and organizational factors influencing the adoption of geologicalinformation. The paper employs an information adoption model based on literature on diffusion of innovation. Itis estimated using data collected from 677 officials in all Swedish municipalities. The results indicate thatperceived usefulness and educational efforts have the largest influence on the adoption decision followed by agender effect. Furthermore, the results also show that organizational effects exist at the working unit level, butthere appear to be no spatial interactions across municipal boundaries.Paper (III) further investigates the adoption of geological information in the public sector by considering whetheranalyses of user patterns can be improved by considering an interrelated model estimation involving two types ofgeoinformation. The empirical tests focus on whether there are gender differences in how peer advice affects theuse of geoinformation. The information adoption model is estimated using probit and bivariate probits. Overall theresults indicate a more accurate prediction pattern when a secondary geoinformation decision was included, thussuggesting that different types of geoinformation should be analyzed jointly. The officials at Swedishmunicipalities tend to use both types of geoinformation, thus alluding to a demand for combined geoinformationproducts among the target population. Finally, there is evidence of women’s decisions to use geoinformation beingaffected by peer advice.Paper (IV) focuses on the economic value of hydrogeological information, namely water quality. The willingnessto pay (WTP) for reduced health risks following the exposure to emerging contaminants and microbial outbreaksin drinking water is assessed. Emerging contaminants, such as highly fluorinated substances (e..g., PFOA andPFOS), have been found in drinking water post treatment on a global level. The drinking water is the main sourceof exposure for humans. The WTP is assessed through a choice experiment approach, which also accounts fordifferences in perceptions between PFASs and microbial outbreaks due to parasites or bacteria. Knowledge aboutpublic preferences across different health threats is key to assessing support for policies aimed at reducing suchhealth risks. A majority of the respondents were found to have a higher WTP for reducing the risk of chemicalexposure to PFASs than reducing the corresponding risk of microbial outbreaks.In Paper (IV) it is evident that risk adverse individuals have a higher WTP for reducing health risks of drinkingwater, compared with individuals with other risk preferences. However, there is no consensus in the literature onhow to accurately capture risk preferences beyond financial decisions. Paper (V) therefore discusses thetheoretical assumptions used when measuring risk preferences and whether it is necessary to address domain riskspecific preferences. In order to test if a general risk preference is enough we present a hypothetical experimenton risk preferences for the health and financial domains, respectively. We also consider the design of theexperiment and compare the format with a reduced form to control for potential framing effects. The riskpreferences were elicited using switch multiple price list lotteries with hypothetical payments, and the questionswere adapted to the health domain by framing the lotteries as improvements in current health status using a visualanalogue scale as the reference point. The results show that individual risk preferences tend to be relativelyinconsistent across the two studied domains, and that the respondents appear to be more risk averse in the healthdomain than in the financial. The majority of the respondents tend to give too much weight to low-probabilityevents, which is consistent with cumulative prospect theory.

The purposes of this thesis are to: (a) provide a review of previous research on the economic value of geological information, including the identification of important lessons from such work: and (b) assess the current use and non-use of geological information in Swedish municipalities. The thesis consists of three papers all related to the assessment or adoption of geological information.Paper I provides a review of previous research on the economic value of geological information and other earth observations as well as related products, services and infrastructure. Furthermore, the paper identifies important lessons and issues that require increased attention in future research. The review of prior research shows that significant economic benefits are attached to the use of geological information. The value of geological information has typically been measured in terms of avoided costs. Still, it is difficult to compare results across studies since they differ in scope and make alternative assumptions concerning which sectors to cover. Furthermore, previous research is not uniform in its treatment of potential (rather than only existing) users, and it employs varying conceptions of avoided costs. The paper concludes that future research should devote more attention to the public and experience good characteristics of this type of information, thus highlighting the preconditions for information adoption as well as addressing the role of potential users. A number of specific methodological challenges also deserve further scrutiny in future research, such as the use of discount rates and benefit-transfer approaches in the empirical context of geological information.Based on the results of Paper I it is important to also analyze what, beyond technological advances, influences the adoption of geological information. Paper II and III investigate the determinants of adopting geological information in the public sector with an emphasis on Swedish municipalities. Paper II contributes to the literature by theoretical explanations and empirical findings on individual and organizational effects influencing the adoption of geological information. In this paper an information adoption model is proposed and tested against data collected from 677 officials in Swedish municipalities. The model is estimated using linear probability (LPM) and instrument variable generalized method of moment (IV-GMM) approaches. The results suggest that perceived advantages have the largest effect on the likelihood of adopting geological information, but also follow-up education (motivation) and gender are found to affect adoption behavior. In addition, the results also indicate a group effect within working units. Some implications of the findings and future research areas are discussed.Paper III further investigates the adoption of geological information in the public sector by considering social effects (collegial advice), and whether the information is jointly adopted with related information. The related information considered in this paper is other geoinformation such as map data, demographic information concerning population or building information. The empirical analysis builds on the survey sent out to officials at Swedish municipalities. The information adoption model is estimated using probit and bivariate probits. The results suggest that the adoption of geological and related information is a joint and complementary decision. It is also found that collegial advice, perceived skills from education, motivation to adopt, perceived advantage, gender and working unit affect the likelihood of adopting geological information.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:00:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3313.pdf: 8808866 bytes, checksum: 880469e967871859ca0064bd68e0073d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-09-14 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / Landscape appropriation, occupation and management processes currently used by human beings have generated conflicts which may lead to environmental quality deterioration. In face of its constant development and the need for territorial expansion, new planning models must be proposed considering as main premise the maintenance of environmental integrity and maximization of available scenic resources. Based on scenery ecology, this research discusses the elements of landscape and the importance of integrating ecological concepts in territorial process undertaken by humans. As a case study, an area from the municipal district of São João da Boa Vista in São Paulo state, with potential for urban expansion and conservation of important remaining fragments of seasonal semideciduous forest belonging to the atlantic forest biome, was selected. The study area was chosen based on its biophysical characteristics, use and land occupation, which occur throughout the district, allowing the expansion of the resulting proposal to other areas. Anthropogenic and natural biotopes identification and characterization, which compose the study area scenery mosaic, were conducted using Geographic Information Systems (ArcGIS 9.2 ESRI) in order to unify the information gathered in field surveys, scientific research and satellite image interpretation. Afterwards, thematic maps were generated assisting the accomplishment of a preliminary study aimed to integrate planning between anthropic and natural environment. Starting from the conservation principle, reasonable and sustainable use of natural resources, four spaces were proposed with specific use levels: protection of environmental resources, connectivity, buffering and interaction between humans and nature. As a result, a thematic map was developed with the desired environmental scenario, providing guidelines to decision makers and civil society in order to conduct municipal planning along with environmental responsibility. / Os processos de apropriação, ocupação e manejo das paisagens utilizadas pelo ser humano em seu momento atual têm gerado conflitos que podem acarretar a deterioração de sua qualidade ambiental. Diante de seu constante desenvolvimento e da necessidade de expansão territorial, devem ser propostos novos modelos de planejamento que consideram como premissa principal a manutenção da integridade ambiental e a maximização dos recursos paisagísticos disponíveis. Tendo como base a ecologia de paisagem, esta pesquisa realiza discussão sobre os elementos constituintes das paisagens e a importância da incorporação de conceitos ecológicos no processo de territorialização empreendido pelo ser humano. Como estudo de caso, optou-se por uma área do município de São João da Boa Vista, estado de SP, com potencial para a expansão urbana e conservação de importantes fragmentos remanescentes de floresta estacional semidecidual, formação pertencente ao bioma mata atlântica. A área de estudo foi escolhida com base em características biofísicas e de uso e ocupação do solo que ocorrem em todo o município, permitindo a expansão da proposta resultante para outros locais. Por meio da utilização dos Sistemas de Informações Geográficas (ArcGIS 9.2 ESRI) para reunir as informações obtidas em levantamentos de campo, pesquisa científica e interpretação de imagem orbital, foram realizadas a identificação e a caracterização dos biótopos antrópicos e naturais que constituem o mosaico paisagístico da área de estudo. Posteriormente, foram elaboradas cartas temáticas que auxiliaram na realização de um estudo preliminar para o planejamento integrado entre o meio antrópico e o natural. Partindo-se do princípio da conservação e da utilização racional e sustentável dos elementos naturais, foram propostos quatro espaços com níveis específicos de uso: de proteção dos recursos ambientais, de conectividade, de amortecimento e de interação entre ser humano e natureza. Como resultado, foi obtida uma carta temática com o cenário ambiental pretendido, fornecendo uma contribuição aos tomadores de decisão e à sociedade civil na condução de um planejamento municipal com responsabilidade ambiental.