Central Geological Survey, MOEA.

Although there are various mechanisms causing earthquake, it is found that earthquakes and associated damages in Taiwan were mainly due to fault reactivation. Therefore, as a governmental agency, the Central Geological Survey (CGS) has a major role to play in response to earthquake disasters.To live with earthquakes, at first, a fully-discussed and well-geometrically controlled map of the active faults is required in order to provide basic information for disaster-control and public construction.

This work should be done not only by geological survey (ex. geological mapping, trenching, and borehole drilling) but also by other means including geomorphic study, remote sensing and geophysical prospecting. Second, the activity of each fault should be monitored in order to assess the risk among them.

The long-term activity is gained by the study of paleoseismology in the trenches or boreholes, whereas the short-term activity is calculated by the geodetic survey. Third, a systematic monitoring system is required to study earthquake precursor. In order to efficiently deal with such earthquake geology related things burst out after the Chi-Chi earthquake. Active tectonics Division (ATD) was set up in April 2002 and right now runs two big projects those are funded by National Science Council (NSC).

One is "Active Fault Monitoring and Evaluation on Earthquake potential" from 2000 to 2004. The other one is "Earthquake Geological Investigation and Data Bank Establishment on Active Fault" from 2002 to 2006. The expansion schedule of these projects will be year-by-year and region-by-region. The ultimate goal is attaining complete coverage for the entire island of Taiwan. At present, ATD has put the recent results in the CGS web site.

In the future, CGS will strengthen the analytical and data integration capabilities of the ATD for integration of geological, geomorphic, geophysical and geochemical information, and will expand the active faults database. The enhanced capabilities of the ATD will enable the CGS to integrate a wide range of the active faults related information in almost real-time, in support of all earthquake hazards response activities. These enhanced capabilities will also be used to construct predictive models in support of mitigation and planning to reduce future loss of life and property.

The Environmental & Engineering Division performs investigation in environmental and engineering geology relying on both geological principles and advanced laboratory techniques to prevent geological disasters.The approach used combines site sampling with testing and analysis of engineering materials to understand the potential geological problems and mechanical characteristics of the rock mass at the site. The results contribute to implementation of proper policy, prevention of geologic disasters, and lowering of engineering costs.

The Environment and Engineering Geology Division conducts research related to major construction projects and developing social needs ongoing in Taiwan. Many research projects have been completed and a geologic data bank established. The current research has focused on the subsurface geology of metropolitan areas, environmental engineering safety evaluation, and geologic hazards, etc.

Monitoring instruments have also been installed in the boreholes. Furthermore, a GPS net and several high precision level profiles have been set around the basin to monitor neotectonic movement and activity of faults.he program has drilled 10 deep boreholes in the basin, and 8 of them penetrated the Quaternary sediments and into the Tertiary strata.

It has been found that the deepest part of the Tertiary basement is 500m below sea level in the Kuando-Luchou-Wukou area near the northwestern margin of the basin while the depth of the basement in the southeastern part of the basin decreases to less than 100 meters. The upper most Quaternary sediments belong to the Sungshan Formation consisting of soft sand-silt-mud deposits 30 to 100 meters in thickness. The Chingmei Gravel that underlies the Sungshan Formation has long been considered as a foundation for construction project in the basin by civil engineers.

This gravel unit is composed of fine matrix-supported gravel of thickness less than 10 meters in the eastern part of the basin. It is not strong enough to support high-rise buildings in that area. The program is still ongoing. It is expected that after the program is complete, the geologic history and origin of the basin, together with the sedimentary environment and the engineering characteristics of the Quaternary formations will be fully established, which will be beneficial to the city development, land utilization, and construction safety in the Taipei Metropolitan area.

The ongoing landslide investigation related project includes the investigations of landslide distributions and analysis using remote sensing and aerial photography. These tools provide preliminary information on landslide distributions and properties, such as position, size, volume, type, and cause of landslide. The data are useful for land-use planning and development, and landslide prevention. In addition, the Division studies the effect of neo-tectonic movement on engineering construction. Case studies include geologic hazards, surface uplift and subsidence, crust deformation, fault activity, earthquakes and mass movement.

All the samples are grouped into 24 topics for exhibition, among those the following are the most important: The Geology and Image of Taiwan, The Metamorphic Rocks of Taiwan, The Igneous Rocks of Taiwan, The Sedimentary Rocks of Taiwan, The Metamorphic Minerals of Taiwan, The Beauty of Minerals in Taiwan, The Ore Minerals of Taiwan, The Fossils of Taiwan, The Ore Minerals of Overseas and The Rocks and minerals of Overseas. Most of our visitors are students from the primary and junior middle schools from nearby areas. The major objective of the Geologic Museum is to supply education material of earth science for ordinary people.