Technical Know-How for the Investigation and Modelling of Topographic Evolution for Site Characterisation

Geological hazard assessments are being used to make important decisions relevant to nuclear facilities such as a repository for deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste. With respect to such repositories, topographic evolution is a key issue for description of the long-term evolution of a groundwater flow characteristics in time spans of tens to hundreds of thousands of years. The construction of topographic evolution models is complex, involving tacit knowledge and working processes. Therefore, it is important to externalise, that is to explicitly present the tacit knowledge and decision-making processes used by experts in the model building unambiguously, with thorough documentation and to provide key knowledge to support planning and implementation of investigations. In this study, documentation of the technical know-how used for the construction of a topographic evolution model is demonstrated. The process followed in the construction of the model is illustrated using task-flow logic diagrams; the process involves four main tasks with several subtasks. The task-flow followed for an investigation to estimate uplift rates linked to the task-flow for the modelling of topographic evolution is also illustrated. In addition, the decision-making processes in the investigation are expressed in logical IF-THEN format for each task. Based on the documented technical know-how, an IT-based Expert System was constructed. In future work, it is necessary to analyse the knowledge, including the management of uncertainties in the modelling and investigations, and to integrate fundamental ideas for managing uncertainties with expert system.