Our first-order understanding of earthquake cycles is limited by our ability to detect and interpret natural phenomena or their relict signatures on faults. However, such observations allow us to define fundamental hypotheses that can be tested by way of experiments and models, ultimately yielding deeper insights into mechanics of faulting in nature. Inter-, co-, and post-seismic deformation can be documented geodetically, but the sparseness of the data and its large spatial and temporal variability do not sufficiently resolve their driving mechanisms. Laboratory experiments under controlled conditions can narrow down the possibilities, while numerical modelling helps extrapolating these results back to natural conditions. Thus, integrated approaches to bridge long-term tectonics and the earthquake cycle that combine observation, interpretation, experimentation, and finally, physical or numerical modelling, are key for our understanding of the deformation behaviour of complex fault systems.

This session seeks contributions toward an integrated perspective on the earthquake cycle that span a wide range of observations, methodologies, and modelling over a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Presentations can cover brittle and ductile deformation, from microstructures to mantle rheology and with applications to earthquake mechanics, geodynamics, geodesy, geohazards, and more. Specific questions include: How do long-term crustal and lithospheric deformation affect short-term seismicity and earthquake cycle behaviour? What is the long-term topographic signature of the earthquake? What are the relative contributions of rheology and geometry for seismic and aseismic slip? What are the roles of on- and off-fault deformation in shaping the landscape and partitioning seismic and aseismic energy dissipation? We welcome submissions by early-career scientists in particular.

— Invited speaker: Luc L Lavier, Jackson School of Geosciences | The University of Texas at Austin