Since 2004, there have been a number of large subduction earthquakes whose unexpected rupture features contributed to the generation of huge tsunamis. These events highlight the need to broaden our knowledge about physical processes behind large subduction earthquakes and determine what, if any, major physical constraints for earthquake modeling new observations provide. Advances in these areas have major implications in several geophysical frameworks such as tsunami hazard analysis.

The large amount of geophysical data recorded at present has led to an unprecedented description of faulting and rupture complexity (e.g., spatial and temporal seismic rupture heterogeneity, fault roughness and geometry, interseismic coupling, etc.). Rock physicists have been proposing new constitutive laws and parameters based on a new generation of laboratory experiments, which simulate close to natural seismic deformation conditions on natural fault samples (e.g., JFAST in the 2011 Tohoku region). In the meantime, numerical methods continue to be updated using geophysical observations and laboratory results in order to better image the seismic source, simulate rupture dynamics and wave propagation in heterogeneous media, as well as model tsunami generation and evolution.

The challenge is twofold: i) how to improve the integration of recent results from these different fields in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the physics involved in large subduction earthquakes?; ii) how can tsunami hazard analysis benefit from this multi-disciplinary approach?

We invite abstracts that would enhance interdisciplinary collaboration among observations, laboratory, numerical modeling, and tsunami hazard.