Abstract:A physics-based model is provided for predicting the impact of climate change on stream temperature and, in turn, on Formosan landlocked salmon (Oncorhynchus masou formosanus) habitat. Because upstream watersheds on Taiwan Island are surrounded with high and steep mountains, the influence of mountain shading on solar radiation and longwave radiation is taken into account by using a digital elevation model. Projections using CGCM2 and HADCM3 models and CCCM and GISS models provided information on future climatic conditions. The results indicate that annual average stream temperatures may rise by 0Ð5°C (HADCM3 short term) to 2Ð9°C (CGCM2 long term) due to climate change. The simulation results also indicate that the average suitable habitat for the Formosan landlocked salmon may decline by 333 m (HADCM3 short term) to 1633 m (CGCM2 long term) and 166 m (HADCM3 short term) to 1833 m (CGCM2 long term) depending on which thermal criterion (17°C and 18°C respectively) is applied. The results of this study draw attention to the tasks of Formosan landlocked salmon conservation agencies, not only with regard to restoration plans of the local environment, but also to the mitigation strategies to global climate change that are necessary and require further research.

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Lu H.-Y. (2014): Characterization of extractable metals from the aquifers with arsenic contamination in the Tsengwen Creek, Taiwan. Soil & Water Res., 9: 66-76. Arsenic contamination in groundwater is a common groundwater problem worldwide. To manage groundwater resources effectively, it is crucial to determine the arsenic source. Taiwan's Tsengwen Creek watershed is one of the known areas for groundwater arsenic contamination. Water-rock interactions are evaluated on a regional scale. A conceptual hydrogeological framework is first established based on groundwater hydrochemistry. The local aquifer system can be categorized into high-arsenic deep aquifer and low-arsenic shallow aquifer. The average geochemistry of sediments indicates that arsenic and heavy metals are not significantly enriched in the deeper aquifer on the scale of the whole watershed. Therefore, arsenic contamination in the deeper groundwater of the Tsengwen Creek watershed is not simply source-controlled. However, the Fe-Mn oxides in sediments contain slightly more arsenic in the deep aquifer. The long residence time of groundwater could magnify the enrichment and cause natural arsenic contamination in the deep aquifer.

Flood hazards have become increasingly common and serious over the last few centuries. Volunteers can observe instant flood information in their local environment, which presents a great opportunity to gather flood information. The information provided by individual volunteers is too much for them to truly understand. Corporate volunteers can offer more accurate and truthful information due to their understanding of the roles and requirements of specific tasks. Past studies of factors influencing the success of corporate volunteers in flood disaster are limited. Thus, this research aims to derive the factors that enable corporate volunteers to successfully integrate the flood information to help reduce the number of injuries and deaths being caused by flood disasters. This research used the information success model and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to develop an analytic framework. The nature of flood disaster management problems is inherently complex, time-bound, and multifaceted. Therefore, we proposed a novel hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model to address the key influence factors and the cause-effect relationships between factors. An empirical study in Taiwanese public flood disaster inquiry and notification systems was used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The research results can serve as guidelines for improving the government's policies and the public sector in the context of corporate volunteer involvement in flood disaster inquiry and notification and in relation to other natural and manmade disasters.