Unlike in most other regions, Karakoram glaciers are either stable or advancing, a phenomenon known as the Karakoram anomaly. Despite studies of glacier surges and the derivation of surface velocity maps, the spatiotemporal variability of glacier dynamics still remains poorly understood, particularly in the Eastern Karakoram Range. We use Advanced Land Observing Satellite/the Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS/PALSAR)-1/2 data from 2007 to 2011 and 2014 to 2015 to examine detailed surface velocity patterns of the Siachen, Baltoro, Kundos, Singkhu and Gasherbrum Glaciers. The first three glaciers show considerable velocity variability (20–350 m a⁻¹), with clear seasonal patterns. Although all glaciers, except for Baltoro, flow slowest in 2015, the velocity structures are individual and vary in space and time. In Gasherbrum Glacier, peak surge-phase velocities are seasonally modulated, with maxima in summers 2006 and 2007, suggesting surface melt plays an important role in maintaining the active phase. Given the relatively close proximity of these glaciers, we assume that surface melt timing and rates are comparable. We therefore argue that the observed spatiotemporal and interannual velocity patterns are determined by local and internal mechanisms, including englacial and subglacial hydrology, thermal processes and tributary configuration of each individual glacier.

The Tibetan Plateau is considered to be one of the best natural laboratories for seismological research. This study sought to determine the spatial variations of b-values in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau, along with its surrounding areas, and the relation with the region’s fault blocks. The study region lies within 27–36.5° N, 78–89° E, and its fracture structure consists of strike-slip faults, as well as normal and thrust faults. A catalog record from 2009–2019 provided 4431 well-centered earthquakes that varied in magnitude from 0.1 to 8.2 M. The record was obtained from China’s seismological network, which is capable of recording low magnitudes to analyze b-values in the study area. The key findings of this study are as follows: (1) the range of earthquake depth in the region was 0–256 km, with the depth histogram showing a high frequency occurrence of shallow earthquakes in the area; (2) a time histogram showed that the major earthquakes occurred between 2014–2015, including the notable 2015 Gorkha earthquake (M = 8.2); (3) the b-value computed in the study area was 0.5 to 1.6, but in most of the study area, the b-value ranged from 0.6 to 0.9, which was a low to intermediate value, due to the presence of strike-slip faults in the central part of the study area and underthrusting in the region (south of the study area); and (4) a high b-value was found in the northwestern and eastern regions of the area, which proved that the area is prone to small earthquakes in the near future. The study also showed that the central and southern areas of the study region had low to intermediate b-values, meaning that it is prone to destructive and massive earthquakes with high magnitudes, such as the Gorkha earthquake (southern part of the study area). Low b-values revealed the degree of variation in rock properties, including large stress and strain, a fractured medium, a high deformation rate, and large faults. Small b-values were observed when the stress level was high in the investigated region, which might be used to predict a massive high-magnitude earthquake in the near future.

Although job availability in Japan is at its highest in 24 years, the unemployment rate has remained unchanged. On one hand, certain fields are saturated with employees while on the other hand, the rural areas of Hokkaido are in desperate need of agricultural workers. At the same time, the aging population in Japan is an emerging challenge. The flat unemployment rate in conjunction with the rapidly aging farmers’ population can possibly reduce the food self-sufficiency rate, raise Japan’s dependency for international food products and increase import expenses. Thus, these factors can tip the socio-economic balance of the struggling economy. For the present research, different surveys were conducted not only in various farming corporations of Hokkaido but also 20 farmers were directly contacted and interviewed. In addition, adolescents’ (aged 16–18 years) career choices were studied through questionnaires administered to 157 students at Hokkaido’s Sapporo Kaisei Secondary School. It was found that, in rural areas of Hokkaido, relocation of youth to the cities is probably the main cause of the shortage of workers. In Sapporo city, among adolescents who had already chosen a career path, around 76% wanted to enter the science and technology field. This trend can result in intense competition and “saturation” in science and technology fields and many vacant slots in the others related to agricultural farming. This behavior is probably maintaining the unemployment rate, regardless of the number of job vacancies. In addition, according to our survey, considering career paths, parents and teachers provide general guidance that has very little influence on adolescents’ career decisions. So, a more detailed career counseling is suggested.

The Quetta Syntaxis in western Baluchistan, Pakistan, is the result of an oroclinal bend of the western mountain belt and serves as a junction for different faults. As this area also lies close to the left-lateral strike-slip Chaman fault, which marks the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates, the resulting seismological behavior of this regime is very complex. In the region of the Quetta Syntaxis, close to the fold and thrust belt of the Sulaiman and Kirthar Ranges, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 (Mw) occurred on October 28, 2008, which was followed by a doublet on the very next day. Six more shocks associated with these major events then occurred (one foreshock and five aftershocks), with moment magnitudes greater than 4. Numerous researchers have tried to explain the source of this sequence based on seismological, GPS, and Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT)/Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) data. Here, we used Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS)/Phased Array-type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) InSAR data sets from both ascending and descending orbits that allow us to more completely detect the deformation signals around the epicentral region. The results indicated that the shock sequence can be explained by two right-lateral and two left-lateral strike-slip faults that also included reverse slip. The right-lateral faults have a curved geometry. Moreover, whereas previous studies have explained the aftershock crustal deformation with a different fault source, we found that the same left-lateral segment of the conjugate fault was responsible for the aftershocks. We thus confirmed the complex surface deformation signals from the moderate-sized earthquake. Intra-plate crustal bending and shortening often seem to be accommodated as conjugate faulting, without any single preferred fault orientation. We also detected two possible landslide areas along with the crustal deformation pattern.