Construction and application of a multilevel geohazard domain ontology: A case study of landslide geohazards

Abstract

The occurrence of geohazards entails sudden, unpredictable, and cascading effects, with numerous conceptual frameworks and intricate spatiotemporal relationships existing between hazard events. Presently, the absence of a unified mechanism for describing and expressing geohazard knowledge poses substantial challenges in terms of sharing and reusing domain-specific knowledge pertaining to geohazards. Therefore, it is imperative to address the issue of constructing a cohesive descriptive model that facilitates the sharing and reuse of geohazard knowledge. In this study, we propose a multilayered ontology construction method tailored specifically for the domain of landslide geological hazards. By comparing existing methods, we establish a hierarchical structure and expression framework for the geological hazard ontology. Notably, our approach seamlessly integrates the conceptual and semantic layers in the relationship description at each level, enabling association representation of hazard data across multiple tiers. We define essential concepts and attributes related to landslide geological hazards, along with their respective interrelationships. To achieve effective knowledge sharing and reuse, we model the ontology of the landslide geological disaster domain using the Web Ontology Language (OWL). This modeling approach serves as a powerful tool that facilitates the sharing and reuse of disaster-related knowledge. Finally, we verify the method's validity and reliability by employing illustrative case studies. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach imposes an affordable workload on human resources. Additionally, the foundational domain ontology significantly enhances information retrieval performance, thereby yielding satisfactory outcomes.