EAGER TAIWAN TRAINING:  Extreme events and related consequences on humanenvironmental interaction Archived in the GEological Record: a TRAINING network of Austria, Taiwan, and beyond

解析地質紀錄中的極端事件人地相互作用: 奧地利與臺灣的合作交流訓練網路

Funded by the Austrian agency for international mobility and cooperation in education, science and research (OeAD) (2020-2022; Project Nr. TW 04/20)

PIs: Dr. Jhy-Jaan Steven Huang, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Strasser 

Extreme events, such as geohazard (e.g., floods, earthquakes, or tsunamis) and anthropogenic impacts (e.g., land-use changes or pollution), can severely perturb social-ecological systems on different timescales. The full risk potential and complexity of which can only be assessed by studying high-resolution natural archives, such as continuously-deposited sedimentary sequences in terminal sinks of lakes and oceans. However, the abrupt and rapid signals and consequences due to such natural or anthropogenic perturbations are challenging to be deciphered from sedimentary archives at societally-relevant timescales. The overarching aim of our Austria-Taiwan collaboration is to access the sedimentary records of extreme events from the Source-to-Sink (S2S) systems of Austria and Taiwan by using novel techniques and proxies to invert the sedimentary archive for holistic processes understanding. Through the joint short course, workshop, excursion, coring campaign, and scientist exchange, main objectives of the here proposed EAGER-TRAINING project are to (i) share the expertise on using core-scanning techniques with machine learning approaches, (ii) discuss available data and explore the potentials of Austrian and Taiwanese S2S systems with novel proxies, (iii) develop joint collaborative training network and international research projects to advance our understanding on the hazard-related environment and human interaction on multi-time-scales. The here proposed joint training network will not be limited to the listed project members but will act as a joint platform to integrate other students and early-career scientists. A new research team will then review the current status and plan for coordinated joint research initiatives to advance the state‐of‐the-art of EAGER-studies in S2S systems, serving an essential basis for sustainable mitigation strategies of human and environment.

Chinese abstract

極端事件，諸如洪水、地震和海嘯等地質災害以及土地開發和汙染等人為衝擊，可能在多重時間尺度上嚴重擾亂人類社會和環境生態的複合系統。其相關之潛在風險和複雜性，唯有透過研究高解析度的自然紀錄 (例如湖泊與海洋中的連續沉積序列)，方能以今準古，鑑往知來。然而，這些自然和人為擾動所留下的訊號和後續影響，往往十分短促和突然，傳統的沉積物分析手段不易將其破譯。本國際合作計畫EAGER-TRAINING希望整合奧地利與臺灣具有共同研究興趣的專家學者，透過聯合之訓練課程、研討會、野外地質調查、取樣和分析，評估奧地利與臺灣之源匯  (Source-to-sink, S2S) 沉積系統，並發展和深化現行的沉積物分析手段，以期進一步解析極端事件之沉積紀錄。具體之工作目標有三：(1) 交流與整合雙方於岩心掃描技術 (XRF以及電腦斷層) 和機器學習資料分析之經驗; (2) 透過既有之研究資料和新技術的發展評估奧地利與臺灣源匯系統的研究潛力; (3) 建立奧地利與臺灣之聯合培訓網絡以發展國際合作研究計畫。本計畫除了計畫的直接參與人員之外，也冀望提供一個整合平台供雙方的青年學者和學生進行交流，在此一基礎之上提出後續的國際合作研究計畫，以增進我們對極端事件於源匯系統中所造成的人地衝擊之了解，為人與環境的永續發展提供必要的線索。