2014 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 3-20
An expert in a geoscience handles and analyzes the multidisciplinary and huge amounts of geo-environmental data by applying of his/her technical knowledge gained through the long years of experience in the field of a geoscientific investigation. The technical knowledge, especially technical know-hows and decision-making process, play the key role on this occasion but it is almost implicit (tacit knowledge) and cannot be easily documented. To promote the effective use and passing of the knowledge down the generations, the knowledge has to be externalized in a user-friendly form. In this study, decision-making process and technical know-how on an estimation of uplift rate by using a marine terrace have been clarified by the application of a knowledge engineering approach. Investigations and analyses for the estimation of uplift rate are classified into 8 units of "task". A sequence of the task from "extraction of pre-existing information" to "calculation of uplift rate" has been illustrated as a "task flow". The decision-making processes in each task have been illustrated as an "IF-THEN rule-base" and a "flow diagram of decision-making process". The rule-base and diagram show input for the decision-making, decision point conducted the decision-making, and task and output resulting from the decision-making. To share and pass this externalized tacit knowledge down the generations it is important to integrate the knowledge into the IT-based "Expert System" and continuous improvement of the knowledge incorporated into the system.
