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This paper examines two Taiwan projects: the National Palace Museum (1965) in Taipei (NPM) and the NPM Southern Branch (NPMSB) in Chiayi (2003). The NPMSB targeted the liberalisation of the NPM from the stained political connotation of Chinese nationalism and constructs anew Taiwan's autonomous national identity. This paper argues that the construction of NPM/NPMSB in Taiwan is a cultural and colonial traumatism of national identity, and a struggle between official Chinese nationalism and rising prior Taiwanese subjectivity in a postcolonial context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses microtremor-array measurements to obtain an overall view of S-wave velocity structure in the Chiayi area, Taiwan. The Rayleigh-wave dispersion curves are calculated using the frequency-wavenumber (f-k) spectrum method and then the S-wave velocity structure of the area is estimated by surface-wave inversion. According to the inversion results, the S-wave velocities decrease from east to west. If the S-wave velocity of the bedrock is assumed to be 1500 m/s, the depths of the alluvium are between 560 and 1400 m gradually increasing from east to west. In order to understand the variations of the shallow S-wave velocity in the area, we sketch 2D and 3D maps using the imaging techniques based on interpolation algorithms. From the 3D results, the thickness of the sediments having an S-wave velocity in the range 270-1500 m/s increases from east to west; whereas the thickness of the layers having an S-wave velocity in the range 1500-2370 m/s decreases from east to west. The results are also in good agreement with the geological and geophysical information of the Chiayi area. Therefore, microtremor-array measurement provides a good alternate to estimate shallow S-wave velocity structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Variations in the fractal dimension of earthquakes have been suggested to be a precursor of a large earthquake. However, the physical characteristics and seismicity are always different along a large fault system, and it is difficult to segment a large fault for further investigating. Therefore, the fractal dimension of earthquakes on a given fault only reflects the average seismic characteristics of the area and may be unrelated to precursory activity. In this paper, the evolution of the temporal generalized fractal dimension (Dq) of a seismic cluster within a small fault system associated with the Chiayi earthquake (ML =6.4), Taiwan, is investigated. The earthquakes of this sequence are confined in small source volume and reflect the behavior of the local fault system. Our results show that the Dq curve of the background stage is smooth with a low multifractal degree (0.36) and the seismicity is nearly monofractal in the Chiayi region. During the foreshock stage, the seismicity becomes active such that not only the Dq curve exhibits greater variability especially for the steep slope of Dq curve at q=0 but also the temporal fractal dimension changes from nearly monofractal to multifractal. In the aftershock stage, the fluctuation of Dq is large and the multifractal degree is up to 1.0. The temporal multifractal property becomes more pronounced as well. Finally, when the seismicity returns to the background stage, the Dq curve becomes smooth and nearly monofractal again. Therefore, the fluctuations in the Dq spectrum of an earthquake cluster associated with a large earthquake not only give a clear picture of the temporal alterations in the seismogenic regimes but also illustrate their variability through time for a large earthquake. In addition, the variation of the slope of Dq curve at q=0 in the foreshocks may be used as a precursor of a large earthquake. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Removal of arsenic using an iron-oxide-based adsorbent (IBA) was examined for the groundwater near a black foot disease epidemic area, Chiayi, Taiwan. The groundwater was first characterized for arsenic speciation and water quality that may influence arsenic removal. Arsenic in the present groundwater was predominately the pentavalent species and dissolved form () and with a concentration of . Adsorption uptake of arsenate onto the studied IBA in the groundwater was only two-thirds of that in deionized water. Among the 10 ions, metals, and organics examined, only phosphate and natural organic matter (NOM) influenced the adsorption of arsenate onto iron-oxide-coated diatomite (IOCD). To further identify the governing factor for the suppression of arsenate uptake on IOCD, adsorption experiments were conducted using coagulated groundwater, which may remove phosphate and NOM to different degrees. Experimental results confirmed that phosphate was the only important factor to suppress arsenate adsorption to IOCD in the studied groundwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water samples from both hot and artesian springs in Kuantzeling in west-central Taiwan have been collected on a regular basis from July 15, 1999 to the end of August 2001 to measure cation and anion concentrations as a tool to detect major earthquake precursors. The data identify chloride and sulfate ion anomalies few days prior to major quakes and lasting a few days afterward. These anomalies are characterized by increases in Cl- concentrations from 34.9% to 41.2% and 71.5% to 138.1% as well as increases in SO4 2- concentrations from 232.7% to 276.8% and 100.0% to 155.1% above the means in both hot and artesian springs. The occurrence of these anomalies is probably explained first as stress/strain-induced pressure changes in the subsurface water systems which then generate precursory limited geochemical discharges at the levels of subsurface reservoirs. Therefore, finally leading to the mixing of previously separated subsurface water bodies occurs. This suggests that the hot and artesian springs in the Kuantzeling area are possible ideal sites for recording strain changes serving well as earthquake precursors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]