Global climate change and permafrost degradation have significantly heightened the risk of geological hazards in high-altitude cold regions, resulting in severe casualties and property damage, particularly in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. To mitigate the risk of geological disasters, it is crucial to identify the primary disaster-inducing factors. Therefore, to address this issue more effectively, this study proposes a spatiotemporal-scale approach for detecting disaster-inducing factors and investigates the disaster-inducing factors of geological hazards in high-altitude cold regions, using the Kanchenjunga Basin as a case study. As the world's third-highest peak, Kanchenjunga is highly sensitive to climate fluctuations. This study first integrates the frost heave model and multitemporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar techniques to monitor ascending and descending track line-of-sight deformation of the frozen active layer in the study area. Subsequently, the surface parallel flow constrained model is employed to decompose the 3-D time-series deformation of geological hazards in the basin, with remote sensing imagery and field surveys used to identify a total of 94 disaster sites. In parallel, a database of potential conditioning factors is constructed by leveraging Google Earth Engine remote sensing inversion technology and relevant data provided by the China Geological Survey. Finally, by integrating monitoring results with a database of potential geological conditioning factors, the spatiotemporal-scale approach for detecting disaster-inducing factors proposed in this study is applied to investigate the disaster-inducing factors in the Kanchenjunga Basin. The research results highlight that surface temperature is the primary driving factor of geological hazards in the Kanchenjunga Basin. This research helps bridge the data gap in the region and offers critical support for local government decision-making in disaster prevention, risk assessment, and related areas.

Problem Statement. . The necessity to review, revise, and supplement existing building regulations in the field of engineering surveys and design is driven by the increasing significance of hydrogeological research. This is in response to the growing trend of urban development on territories (mainly within urban agglomerations) that were previously considered unsuitable for construction due to adverse engineering-geological conditions. The issue becomes particularly relevant against the backdrop of Russia's armed military aggression against Ukraine, which necessitates deeper underground space utilization to construct reliable shelters for protecting civilians from missile and bomb attacks. Under these conditions, new and stricter requirements arise for the content and quality of engineering surveys, design solutions, as well as for measures related to the engineering preparation and protection of territories and individual objects from hazardous geological processes. The aim of this study is to highlight the significance and objectives of engineering-hydrogeological surveys in construction and to propose recommendations for improving the state of survey and design activities in the context of large-scale reconstruction in Ukraine. Research Methodology. . The research involves the systematization and generalization of both domestic and international experience in conducting engineering-geological surveys for construction. Special attention is paid to identifying areas where hydrogeological studies should be prioritized. To formulate requirements and suggestions for improving the regulatory framework in the field of engineering surveys and design, the study analyzes various manifestations of flooding processes. Additionally, the impact of groundwater in various physical states on the strength and deformation properties of soils, as well as the initiation and intensification of hazardous engineering-geological processes, is investigated. Results. The study presents the scientific foundations for improving the regulatory framework in the field of engineering surveys for construction, according to modern requirements. Special emphasis is placed on enhancing the role of hydrogeological research in deepening underground space utilization within urban agglomerations. It is noted that with the expansion of the interaction sphere between projected structures and the geological environment, the influence of groundwater on engineering-geological conditions intensifies, leading to a deterioration in the properties of specific soils and the activation of engineering-geological processes. Scientific Novelty. For the first time, a theoretical justification is provided for the concept of mandatory inclusion of hydrogeological studies in the scope of engineering-geological surveys, even in cases where groundwater is absent within the interaction sphere of the designed structure and the geological environment. Based on the study and systematization of flooding processes, the stages of predicting changes in engineering-hydrogeological conditions have been improved. Practical Significance. The theoretical findings can be used to enhance the regulatory framework in the field of engineering surveys, particularly for developing requirements regarding the content and quality of hydrogeological research. This will improve the reliability of designed buildings and structures while also reducing the risks of hazardous engineering-geological processes emerging or intensifying.

The Antarctic Dry Valleys (ADV) are generally classified as a hyper-arid, cold-polar desert. The region has long been considered an important terrestrial analog for Mars because of its generally cold and dry climate and because it contains a suite of landforms at macro-, meso-, and microscales that closely resemble those occurring on the martian surface. The extreme hyperaridity of both Mars and the ADV has focused attention on the importance of salts and brines on soil development, phase transitions from liquid water to water ice, and ultimately, on process geomorphology and landscape evolution at a range of scales on both planets. The ADV can be subdivided into three microclimate zones: a coastal thaw zone, an inland mixed zone, and a stable upland zone; zones are defined on the basis of summertime measurements of atmospheric temperature, soil moisture, and relative humidity. Subtle variations in these climate parameters result in considerable differences in the distribution and morphology of: (1) macroscale features (e.g., slopes and gullies); (2) mesoscale features (e.g., polygons, including ice-wedge, sand-wedge, and sublimation-type polygons, as well as viscous-flow features, including solifluction lobes, gelifluction lobes, and debris-covered glaciers); and (3) microscale features (e.g., rock-weathering processes/features, including salt weathering, wind erosion, and surface pitting). Equilibrium landforms are those features that formed in balance with environmental conditions within fixed microclimate zones. Some equilibrium landforms, such as sublimation polygons, indicate the presence of extensive near-surface ice; identification of similar landforms on Mars may also provide a basis for detecting the location of shallow ice. Landforms that today appear in disequilibrium with local microclimate conditions in the ADV signify past and/or ongoing shifts in climate zonation; understanding these shifts is assisting in the documentation of the climate record for the ADV. A similar type of landform analysis can be applied to the surface of Mars where analogous microclimates and equilibrium landforms occur (1) in a variety of local environments, (2) in different latitudinal bands, and (3) in units of different ages. Documenting the nature and evolution of the ADV microclimate zones and their associated geomorphic processes is helping to provide a quantitative framework for assessing the evolution of climate on Mars. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.