Long-term tectonic processes shape the bulk of conditions under which faults operate and thereby influence earthquake processes on short time scales. In turn, rupture processes locally reduce the strength of the brittle lithosphere and thereby affect the long-term processes that shape our plate boundaries. Reconciling observations of mechanisms taking place across these different time and spatial scales will improve our understanding of the physical processes governing the seismic cycle and the construction of geological and topographic structures, the rheology of the lithosphere-asthenosphere system, and may ultimately improve seismic hazard assessment.

Specific questions include how long-term crustal and lithospheric dynamics and structures affect short-term seismicity and earthquake cycle behaviour, and conversely how earthquake cycles result in the construction of geological and topographic features. What are the driving forces and the rheological structure at plate boundaries? What are the relative contributions of rheology (temperature, fluids, chemistry) and geometry in the segmentation of fault ruptures? What are the roles of faulting and off-fault deformation in shaping the landscape and partitioning seismic and aseismic energy dissipation? And what new information can be extracted regarding this from the wealth of geophysical observations in the age of big data? These example questions are intended to stimulate a discussion about the interplay between seismicity, earthquake cycle dynamics and the geological and geodynamic evolution of deforming zones. Therefore we seek contributions from across the fields of geology, geodynamics, seismology, geodesy and geomorphology, encouraging both modelling and observational studies.