Microstructures play a fundamental role in deciphering the rheology of the lithosphere and lithospheric tectonics. Microstructures and crystallographic textures are used to analyze the physical and chemical properties of geomaterials, while deformation microstructures (e.g., fabrics, textures, grain sizes, shapes, cracks, etc.) can be used to infer, identify, and quantify deformation, metamorphic, magmatic or diagenetic processes. Processes such as grain-size reduction, metamorphic reactions, crack growth, and the development of crystallographic preferred orientations modify the rheological properties of rocks and minerals, providing key information on the dynamics of small- to large-scale tectonic processes. In this session, we invite contributions that use microstructure and texture analyses from field observations, laboratory experiments, and numerical modelling at brittle and/or ductile conditions aiming to constrain deformation mechanisms.

Sedimentary rocks and sediments, having different degrees of cementation and primary layered architectures, cover most of the Earth's surface with thickness ranging from a few meters to several kilometers deposited in different tectonic-geodynamic settings and depositional environments. The joint study of deformation mechanisms, strain localization, fluid flow patterns and diagenetic processes affecting sedimentary rocks has crucial importance for both scientific research and global economy. Sedimentary rocks represent strategic targets and prospects for resource supply (groundwater, geothermal energy, hydrocarbons, ore deposits), underground gas storage (anthropogenic CO2, H2), as well as risk evaluation (groundwater contaminant transport). The meso- and micro-structural analysis of brittle deformation structures, the quantification of petrophysical properties, the characterization of fluid flow patterns, and the reconstruction of fluid-rock interactions occurring in sedimentary rocks during diagenesis facilitate the evaluation of potential reservoir quality and its efficient exploitation. Moreover, primary layering of sedimentary rocks strongly influences fault geometries with mechanical stratigraphy and strength anisotropy playing a crucial role in defining the overall fault propagation process and mechanical behavior (aseismic creep vs seismic sliding).
We encourage you to contribute to this session by submitting original ongoing research lines, including field, laboratory, and computational modeling-based studies, dealing with the following topics:
- Analysis of brittle deformation (from outcrop to the micro-scale) affecting high to low porosity layered sedimentary sequences deformed in various tectonic settings, under different kinematics and depths.
- Relationships between brittle deformation structures (faults, deformation bands, joints, veins, and stylolites) and selective diagenetic processes (cementation, dissolution, and mineral replacement).
- Parameters controlling the strain localization in layered-anisotropic rocks, with implications for fault evolution in space and time, faulting style, and seismic activity.
- Definition and quantification of fluid flow patterns and pathways both via numerical modeling simulations as well as through direct measurements of petrophysical-hydraulic properties.
- Fluid-rock interactions associated with diagenetic processes active at different depths and time from rock deposition to final exposure.

In the crust, brittle fracturing, viscous deformation, fluid-rock interaction, and metamorphic reactions exhibit a complex feedback resulting in complex fault and deformation structures. This interplay leads to a large variability in rheological behavior, observed from micro-scale mineral reactions and deformation up to crustal-scale brittle and/or ductile deformation, including major earthquakes. Hence, it is believed that deformation processes taking place at the grain scale (nanometer to millimeter) are shaped by the presence or absence of fluids and may control the overall behavior of faults and shear zones, and thus affect rock deformation at a crustal scale (meter to kilometer).
The factors outlined above result in a variety of fault slip modes from slow slip to fast and seismic, changes in bulk rheological behavior, and crustal physical properties. The study of these processes holds the clues to understand how these factors interact from grain-scale mineral reactions to the nucleation of major earthquakes.
To derive meaningful physical models, it is fundamental to bridge several scales of observations and to integrate structural geology, petrology, experimental rock deformation, microstructural investigation, geochemical analysis, and numerical modeling.
We invite scientists of any expertise to bring their contribution and particularly welcome work that integrates different approaches to explore the role that brittle-viscous deformation and fluid-rock interaction play in shaping the rheological and physical properties of the solid Earth.

Tectonic faults accommodate plate motion through various styles of seismic and aseismic slip spanning a wide range of spatiotemporal scales. Understanding the mechanics and interplay between seismic rupture and aseismic slip is central to seismotectonics as it determines the seismic potential of faults. In particular, unraveling the underlying physics controlling these deformation styles bears a great deal in earthquake hazard mitigation, especially in highly urbanized regions. We invite contributions from observational, experimental, geological, and theoretical studies that explore the diversity and interplay among seismic and aseismic slip phenomena in various tectonic settings, including the following questions: (1) How does the nature of creeping faults change with the style of faulting, fluids, loading rate, and other factors? (2) Are different slip behaviors well separated in space, or can the same fault areas experience different failure modes? (3) Is there a systematic spatial or temporal relation between different types of slip?
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Invited speakers:
- Whitney Behr (ETH, Zurich)
- Quentin Beltery (Geoazur, Nice)
- Harsha S. Bhat (ENS, PSL, Paris) Program says 10' talk, but it will 20' one.

Deformation mechanisms, salt deformation and salt tectonics, the microporous structure and deformation of clays and claystones, open fracture networks, and the regional tectonics of Naxos and Oman: Janos Urai advanced our understanding in all these topics, and many more, using a wide range of techniques and building on a never-ending flow of ideas and enthusiasm. In this session, we would like to honour Janos’ comprehensive contribution to modern structural geology and tectonics, and map his legacy. With his multidisciplinary approach, combining field geology, microstructure images, analogue experiments, and analytical and numerical solutions, Janos truly has advanced our understanding of rock deformation ranging from nano- and microscale deformation processes to tectonic processes at the scale of mountain ranges. He also was an outstanding teacher of structural geology at all levels, and an immensely creative and productive out-of-the-box thinker and innovator. Beyond his retirement, Janos remained deeply invested in science and his many collaborations.

Here, we invite contributions on all topics that have their roots in Janos’ work and build on it, including work that was inspired by his research, ideas and collaborations with others. Janos was a 'salt giant', so a particular focus of this session will be salt-related deformation from microtectonic to regional scales.

The strength of rocks determines how the lithosphere responds to stresses resulting from geodynamic processes, gravitational forces and anthropogenic activities. A thorough understanding of rock strength and stress is therefore crucial for a wide range of topics, from plate tectonics and geohazards to mass transport and engineering applications. However, rock strength and stress remain difficult to measure and our comprehension of both quantities depends much on our ability to constrain them from observations, experiments and models.
One difficulty in constraining strength and stress is their variability in space and time, also because we do not fully understand the factors causing the variability. Fluids are known to reduce rock strength and trigger seismicity by reducing effective stresses and driving mineral reaction, but their exact role in driving mechanical instabilities needs to be better understood, also with respect to other processes like transformation-driven stress transfers.
The current state of stress is mainly assessed on seismic focal mechanisms, fault monitoring and slip inversion, borehole data, and methods such as hydraulic fracturing to determine the magnitude of the applied stress. In addition, the paleostress (ancient state of stress) can be obtained by different methods such as paleopiezometry and fault slip inversion, which mainly yield the direction of paleo-stress axes and the stress ratio. However, full stress tensor remains difficult to determine and investigations typically cover specific spatial and/or temporal scales, with a limited view on possible heterogeneities in space and time. We have to deal with incomplete datasets, part of which are not openly accessible. We must therefore advance and develop mechanical concepts, experiments, measuring methods and data compilations, to refine the models.
This session is intended to bring together researchers from various fields and to facilitate transdisciplinary discussions. We seek contributions that advance the current understanding of the governing mechanics of seismotectonic processes including fluids, the paleo and current in-situ stress state and estimation methods, as well as the strain field of the Earth’s lithosphere.

Continental rifting is a complex process spanning from the inception of extension to continental rupture or the formation of a failed rift. This session aims at combining new data, concepts and techniques elucidating the structure and dynamics of rifts and rifted margins. We invite submissions highlighting the time-dependent evolution of processes such as: initiation and growth of faults and ductile shear zones, tectonic and sedimentary history, magma migration, storage and volcanism, lithospheric necking and rift strength loss, influence of the pre-rift lithospheric structure, rift kinematics and plate motion, mantle flow and dynamic topography, as well as break-up and the transition to sea-floor spreading. We encourage contributions using multi-disciplinary and innovative methods from field geology, geochronology, geochemistry, petrology, seismology, geodesy, marine geophysics, plate reconstruction, or numerical or analogue modelling. Special emphasis will be given to presentations that provide an integrated picture by combining results from active rifts, passive margins, failed rift arms or by bridging the temporal and spatial scales associated with rifting.

Fold-and-thrust belts and accretionary prisms are key geological features occurring all around the globe. They mostly develop along convergent plate boundaries although they may also form along passive margins or other super-critical slopes by a gravitationally driven stress field. Fold-and-thrust belts can display a varied range of scales, may involve the whole continental lithosphere or just the uppermost sedimentary cover and can differ in their spatial extent, longevity of their formation and the rock types involved. Their geometry and kinematic evolution strongly depend on an ample variety of parameters (rheology, temperature, surface processes, structural inheritance, mechanical stratigraphy…), the understanding of their effects being fundamental for the comparison of different fold-and-thrust belts and the development of common predictive models.
Fold-and-thrust belts have been intensely investigated, aiming to decipher their short- and long-term evolution. However, there are important questions that remain not fully understood: i) What is the effect of structural inheritance, décollements, syn-tectonic sedimentation and the interplay between them on mountain building processes? ii) How are transient and long-term rheological/mechanical characteristics and processes affecting the evolution of fold-and-thrust belts? iii) How can we better define deep orogenic geometries and better reconstruct the burial, thermal and kinematic evolution of orogens?
The here proposed session tackles these questions by considering a multidisciplinary approach. We look forward to receiving abstracts focusing on the short- and long-term dynamics and the geometry and structural evolution of fold-and-thrust belts by means of different methodological approaches, including (but not limited to) field structural geology, cross-section construction and balancing, 3D structural modelling, seismics and seismology, analogue and numerical modelling, rock mechanics, geomorphology, thermochronology and geophysics.

The Alps, a representative orogenic system, offers an exceptional natural laboratory to study the evolution of mountain-building processes from short- to long-term scales, including the evolution of a plate margin, from rifting to subduction, inheritance from previous orogenic cycles), ophiolite emplacement, collision and exhumation, upper-plate and foreland basin evolution.

Advances in a variety of geophysical and geological fields provide a rich and growing set of constraints on the crust-lithosphere and mantle structure, tectonics and geodynamics of the entire mountain belt.

We invite contributions from different and multi-disciplinary perspectives ranging from the Earth’s surface to the mantle, and based on geology (tectonics, petrology, stratigraphy, geo- and thermochronology, geochemistry, paleomagnetism and geomorphology), geophysics (seismotectonics, seismic tomography and anisotropy) and geodesy and modelling (numerical and analogue). The aim is for contributions to provide new insight and observation on the record of subduction/collision, pre-Alpine orogenic stages; the influence of structural and palaeogeographic configuration; plate/mantle dynamics relationships; coupling between deep and surface processes.

Convergent Southeast (SE) Asian Tectonics Subduction plays an essential role in the dynamics of the Earth's mantle, controls the mixing of the surficial materials with those deep in Earth interior, and is also responsible for enormous risks associated with geohazards in densely populated regions. SE Asia lies in the joint area of the Eurasia, Indian-Australia and Pacific plates, and is surrounded largely by subduction zones where these major plates are convergent from the west, south and east to form a curved-shape subduction system in map view. Its interior is complicated due to internal subduction zones, such as the Molucca dual subduction zone and the Manila Trench, and a cluster of marginal basins, including the South China Sea, Sulawesi Sea et al. This convergent environment makes the SE Asia a uniquely natural laboratory to understand the interactions between the multiple overriding plates, the subducting and mantle convection. Decades of studies on SE Asia have greatly improved our understanding of the deep structure, deformation, material exchanges and evolution history of this convergent system. However, large uncertainties and controversies remain due to the knowledge gaps in the deep mantle structure, especially beneath the ocean basins with limited seismic experiments and petrology samples. There are also great differences in the extent of research into how the subducted materials influenced the island arc and intraplate magmatic activities. All in all, it is important but remains unclear how the deep structure, material cycling, and thermal state inherited from the interactions between the Pacific, Indian-Australia, Eurasia Plates, or even the disappeared Neo-Tethys slabs, control the tectonics of the SE Asia.
As the growing body of dataset has been collected across the SE Asia, different fields such as geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and numerical and analog modeling, must be integrated for further understanding. We aim to establish links between investigations and multidisciplinary collaborations and to set an in-depth conversation about the dynamic processes of the SE Asia. This session also welcomes contributions from all disciplines of the solid earth and past climate.

Relative motions at plate boundaries allow the Earth’s crust to compensate forces driven by global plate tectonics. Mid-oceanic ridges (MORs) provide the unique opportunity to study two of the three plate boundaries: divergent at the ridge axis and strike-slip at transform faults (off-setting the ridge axis). Knowledge of the active and past processes building and altering the oceanic lithosphere has increased over the past 20 years due to advances in deep sea research technologies and numerical modelling techniques. Yet, several questions remain open, such as the relative role of magmatic, tectonic and hydrothermal processes in the formation of the oceanic lithosphere at the ridge axis, especially at slow and ultra-slow spreading ridges and at their intersection with transform faults. Transform faults and their extension into fracture zones, for example, remain largely under-studied features. For a long time, they were considered as cold and inactive; however, evidence for magmatism emerged recently inside both features. Given the complex network of faults associated with these structures, they represent ideal pathways for hydrothermal percolation into the Earth’s lithosphere and may therefore play a significant role in the chemical and the thermal budget of the planet, as well as in the chemical exchange with the ocean (e.g., nutrients). This session aims at fostering the scientific exchange across all disciplines studying mid-oceanic ridge axes, transform faults and fracture zones. Studies building on the use of cutting-edge deep-sea research technology are particularly welcome. The session also welcomes recent developments in thermo-mechanical models, which integrate geophysical and geological data with numerical modelling tools, bridging the gap between observations and numerical models.

Subduction drives plate tectonics, generating the major proportion of subaerial volcanism, releasing >90% seismic moment magnitude, forming continents, and recycling lithosphere. Numerical and laboratory modelling studies have successfully built our understanding of many aspects of the geodynamics of subduction zones. Detailed geochemical studies, investigating compositional variation within and between volcanic arcs, provide further insights into systematic chemical processes at the slab surface and within the mantle wedge, providing constraints on thermal structures and material transport within subduction zones. However, with different technical and methodological approaches, model set-ups, inputs, and material properties, and in some cases conflicting conclusions between chemical and physical models, a consistent picture of the controlling parameters of subduction-zone processes has so far not emerged.

This session aims to follow subducting lithosphere on its journey from the surface down into the Earth's mantle and to understand the driving processes for deformation and magmatism in the over-riding plate. We aim to address topics such as: subduction initiation and dynamics; changes in mineral breakdown processes at the slab surface; the formation and migration of fluids and melts at the slab surface; primary melt generation in the wedge; subduction-related magmatism; controls on the position and width of the volcanic arc; subduction-induced seismicity; mantle wedge processes; the fate of subducted crust, sediments and volatiles; the importance of subducting seamounts, LIPs, and ridges; links between near-surface processes and slab dynamics and with regional tectonic evolution; slab delamination and break-off; the effect of subduction on mantle flow; and imaging subduction zone processes.

With this session, we aim to form an integrated picture of the subduction process and invite contributions from a wide range of disciplines, such as geodynamics, modelling, geochemistry, petrology, volcanology, and seismology, to discuss subduction zone dynamics at all scales from the surface to the lower mantle, or in applications to natural laboratories.

The western South American subduction zone is among the largest subduction systems on the planet and stands out as the archetype of ocean-continent convergent margins. Compared to other subduction zones, the region is notable because it is associated with the largest accretionary orogen of the world (The Andes cordillera), it shows several regions of flat slab subduction, and it hosted some of the largest instrumentally recorded earthquakes. Over the last years and decades, significant progress has been achieved in characterizing and imaging the constituent parts of the South American subduction zone (downgoing oceanic plates, South American upper plate, plate interface between them, mantle wedge beneath the upper plate) as well in the understanding of geodynamic and seismotectonic processes shaping the convergent margin.

In this session, we aim to bring together scientists and contributions from a wide variety of disciplines that try to constrain and understand past and ongoing processes in this subduction zone. These can include, but are not limited to: seismo-geodetic studies of slow and fast deformation along the plate interface; geophysical studies of subduction zone structure, geometry and fluid processes; analog and numerical modeling studies of this subduction zone; studies on faulting or fluid processes in the upper plate; offshore studies on bathymetry and structure of the downgoing plate or the outer forearc; studies of Andean magmatism, volcanic processes and their link to tectonics.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that Wilson Cycle processes (i.e. processes controlling rifting, drifting and inversion) involve complexities not easily explained by standard models, especially in oblique and transform settings. In rifted margins, oceans and orogens, abundant data showcases the significance of inherited geological structures, lithospheric rheology, time-dependence, surface processes, magmatism, obliquity, and geometry in processes of rifting, drifting and inversion, yet our understanding of the role and interaction of these factors remains far from complete. Unexpected discoveries, such as continental material far offshore (e.g. at the Rio Grande Rise) and wide-magmatic rifted margins (e.g. the Laxmi Basin), challenge conventional models and exemplify the need for further work on Wilson Cycle processes. This session aims to bring together new observations, models, and ideas to help us understand the complex factors influencing rifting, drifting, and inversion, at orthogonal, oblique and/or transform settings. Works investigating time-dependence, inheritance, plate kinematics, strain localisation, magmatism, obliquity, interior plate deformation, driving forces, sedimentation, surface processes, and the interaction/feedback between processes controlling the Wilson Cycle are therefore welcomed to this session. Contributions from any geoscience discipline, including geophysics, marine geophysics, seismology, ocean drilling, geochemistry, petrology, plate kinematics, tectonics, sedimentology, field and structural geology, numerical and analogue modelling, or thermo and geochronology etc., are sought. We particularly encourage cross-disciplinarity, innovative studies, the spanning of spatio-temporal scales, and thought-provoking ideas that challenge conventions from any and all researchers.

Solicited speakers for this session are Pauline Chenin and Gianreto Manatschal.

Across the time scales, from earthquakes to earthquake cycle
The last decade has seen the accumulation of new observations about earthquakes with a level of detail never reach before. In parallel, methods have significantly improved in geophysics, geodesy, and in paleoseismology-geomorphology. Hence, on one hand the number of earthquakes with well-documented rupture process and deformation pattern has increased significantly. On the other hand, the number of studies documenting long time series of past earthquakes, including quantification of past deformation has also increased. In parallel, the modeling community working on rupture dynamics, including earthquake cycle is also making significant progresses. Thus, this session is the opportunity to bring together these different contributions to foster further collaboration between the different groups focusing all on the same objective of integrating earthquake processes into the earthquake cycle framework. In this session we welcome contributions documenting earthquake ruptures and processes, both for ancient events or recent events, such as the Turkey sequence of 2023 for example, from seismological, geodetic, or paleoseismological perspective. Contributions documenting deformation during pre-, post-, or interseismic periods, which are highly relevant to earthquake cycle understanding, are also very welcomed. Finally, we seek for any contribution looking at the earthquake cycle from the modeling perspective, especially including approaches mixing data and modeling.

Understanding seismic activity and associated hazard of seismically active regions requires building comprehensive, multiscale models of earthquake deformation. From individual outcrops to regional scales, seismotectonic studies aim to link active faults mapped at the surface down to the base of the seismogenic layer. Despite significant technological advancements in geophysics (seismic reflection, seismology), laboratory and field structural geology (rock mechanics, rare earth elements and cosmogenic nuclides analysis, paleoseismology), remote sensing (SAR, LiDAR, photogrammetry), software and data (GIS, databases, artificial intelligence, big data), and modeling (analogue and numerical modeling, inversion), numerous questions remain about defining fault dimensions, displacements, segmentation, slip rates, and lithologies hosting seismicity. Among different structural settings, a better understanding of intraplate settings, subduction zones and the interplay between megathrust seismicity and earthquakes within both the oceanic slab at various depths and the upper plate, is needed.

This session aims to bring together the broad community interested in seismotectonics, including subduction zone earthquakes and intraplate settings. We invite contributions that integrate structural geological studies with geophysical and geological observations, laboratory experiments, and numerical models to explore the underlying mechanisms of earthquakes at different spatio-temporal scales. Additionally, we specifically encourage contributions that investigate the spatio-temporal relationships and interplay between interplate and intraplate seismicity in subduction zones, as well as their connection with subduction dynamics.

Even in a recent timeframe, earthquake occurrences like the 6 February 2023, Mw 7.8 and 7.7 Kahramanmaraş (Turkey) and the 8 September 2023, Mw 6.8 (Atlas Mountains, Morocco), put into the spotlight the high seismogenic potential of the Mediterranean regions and, more broadly, delineate a clear reminder for the need to individualise and parametrise the sources of future seismic events.
A key issue for seismic hazard assessment pertains to the identification of active faults as well as the reconstruction, to the best possible extent, of their geometry, kinematics and deformation rates. Such a task can often be challenging, either due to the possible paucity of unambiguous evidence, or quantitative data, both at the near-surface and at seismogenic depths.
Integrating different methodologies, both innovative in their technologies and complementary in their prospecting at different resolution scales, depth- and dimensions (3D to 4D), has become the necessary approach to apply in active fault studies. In this perspective, the multidisciplinary characteristic of seismotectonics integrating structural-geologic, morphologic, seismologic, geophysical, remote-sensing, geodetic data and numerical/analogue modelling methods can help to individualise evidence of active tectonics.
This session is aimed at gathering studies focused on the following topics: i) field-based geological and structural surveys of active faults, including in volcanic areas; ii) classical to innovative multiscale and multidisciplinary geological, seismological and geophysical approaches; iii) new or revised seismological, geophysical, field-and remotely-collected datasets; iv) faults imaging, tectonic-setting definition and 3D seismotectonic models; v) numerical and analogue modelling. In the above framework, we hope to spark major scientific interest and debate on how to advance our understanding of active faulting as well as producing robust seismotectonic models.

The Eastern Mediterranean is an actively deforming region where the African, Arabian, and Eurasian tectonic plates interact, involving the interplay of subduction, collision, and extrusion of crustal blocks. This dynamic tectonic framework makes the Eastern Mediterranean region the most seismically active in Europe. The tectonic extrusion of Anatolia is accommodated by the North Anatolian and East Anatolian strike-slip faults, which together have produce large earthquakes in recent history.

The 6th February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence affected a large region in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria by rupturing multiple tectonic structures within the East Anatolian fault zone, including the East Anatolian Fault itself, but also secondary faults, such as the Çardak fault, farther to the west. The Kahramanmaraş sequence occurred in a critical tectonic setting connecting the Dead Sea Fault and the Adana-Cilicia-Hatay basin, raising fears of additional earthquakes and tsunamis in the Middle-East.

We welcome contributions not only focused on the forensics of the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence but also eastern Mediterranean, from a wide range of disciplines including, but not limited to paleoseismology, seismology, tectonic geodesy (e.g., GNSS, InSAR, optical), structural geology, and geodynamic modeling. Studies resolving crustal deformation before, during, and after the earthquakes, or unravelling the structural setting are particularly useful.
We strongly encourage the contribution of early career researchers.

Geological investigations on faults and the earthquakes they produce continue to advance our understanding of earthquake geology and of the associated seismic hazard.

The application of modern approaches has been shown to provide unprecedented and comprehensive pictures of the mechanics and dynamics of active faults over multiple temporal and spatial scales. Studying recent earthquakes can yield valuable information to characterize the earthquake source parameters and the coseismic behaviour of faults. Paleoseismological investigations extend the seismic record of active faults, providing information on past earthquakes and their recurrence intervals. Studies of the structural geology and tectonic geomorphology of active faults can help us defining their long-term behaviour. Geodesy may be used to complement studies that focus on decadal to multi-millennial timescales. Moreover, multidisciplinary approaches have demonstrated the interaction of faults within fault systems.

Incorporating the knowledge gained from active faults into suitable fault models for probabilistic seismic hazard assessments (PSHA) presents challenges, both in terms of ground motion and fault displacement hazard analysis (FDHA). Hence, this session aims to provide an open forum for recent studies concerning active faults, crustal deformation, PSHA, and FDHA.

In this Fault2SHA session, we welcome contributions describing and discussing different approaches to study active faults and to perform SHA. We are particularly interested in studies applying innovative and multidisciplinary approaches from observations on single earthquakes to geologic timescales. These methods may include, but are not limited to, structural analyses, paleoseismological trenching, high-resolution coring, geologic and morphotectonic studies, Quaternary dating, geophysical imaging, geodetic studies, and stress modelling. We encourage contributors to present studies that consider how fault data can be incorporated into models for seismic hazard assessment.

Earth's landscape evolution is shaped by the dynamic interplay of tectonics, climate, and surface processes, with added complexity due to differences between cratonic and orogenic lithospheres. Additionally, the properties of the crystalline basement are greatly affected by fault activity, hydrothermal alteration, and long-term exposure to superficial conditions.
Thermochronology is essential for understanding thermal evolution and paleogeography by quantifying cooling, exhumation, and weathering trends in various crustal environments. Recent developments in thermochronology, including 40Ar/39Ar, fission tracks, Raman dating, (U-Th)/He, 4He/3He, trapped charge systems, as well as complementary isotopic methods like K-Ar dating of clay weathering products and U-Pb carbonate dating, have provided additional constraints. Computational tools and remote sensing methods further contribute to this interdisciplinary approach. While this integrated approach enables the development of robust tectonic and landscape-evolution models, these advancements also underscore the existing limitations in our understanding of these systems and their quantification, emphasizing the need for thorough comprehension.
We invite contributions that: (1) present theoretical and experimental work establishing new thermochronometers, developing novel quantification and modeling approaches, or enhancing our understanding of current systems' abilities and limitations for reliable geological interpretation; and (2) address bedrock deep-time evolution, elucidate the timing and rates of processes shaping Earth's surface (e.g., burial/exhumation, faulting, hydrothermalism, weathering), and the interplay of cooling, exhumation, and alteration events using interdisciplinary approaches such as thermochronology, geochronology, geomorphology, tectonics, geochemistry, and mineralogy.

The intricate links between crustal deformation, mantle dynamics, and climate-driven surface processes have long been acknowledged as primary drivers shaping the evolution of orogens and sedimentary basins. Tectonics, climate, and surface processes all leave fingerprints on modern topography, making it difficult for researchers to univocally characterize their contribution to shaping landscapes. Unraveling the distinct roles of crustal, deep mantle, and climatic forcings poses a formidable challenge due to the vast range of spatial and temporal scales involved in these processes. The comprehensive study of such dynamic systems necessitates a multidisciplinary approach, integrating observational data from field studies, geophysical and subsurface data analysis, quantification methods of rock or surface uplift rates and erosion rates, as well as both analogue and numerical modeling techniques.

We invite contributions that delve into the exploration of orogenesis and sedimentary basin evolution, emphasizing their intricate connections to surface processes, and the underlying dynamics of crustal and mantle forcings. Furthermore, we encourage studies utilizing a diverse array of methodologies, including analogue and numerical models, along with quantitative techniques like cosmogenic nuclides and thermochronometers, as well as field studies. This collective effort aims to quantify and elucidate the intricate coupling between tectonics and surface processes in these dynamic geological systems and the links to mantle forcings.

The vast region from Arabia, Himalaya to Tibet presents a stunning geologic history with numerous mountain-building processes and resources.
The Arabian Plate recorded several plate reorganizations, including the Cadomian and Angudan orogenies, rifting following by Alpine Orogeny and by Neogene rifting leading the opening of Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Arabian Peninsula contains the planet’s largest and most prolific hydrocarbon petroleum system. Moreover, following the closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean, the Semail Ophiolite is the largest exposed ophiolite in the world. This stunning geological history provides fresh insights into mountain-building processes, hydrocarbon and renewable energy (H2 and noble gases) generation, or carbon dioxide capture and storage.
The Himalayan orogen is the highest continental collision belt, stretching for ~2400 km. The structural pattern of the Himalayan orogen varies along its length from west to east, suggesting orogenic segmentation, reveal by detailed field observations and laboratory inspection with disruptions and along-strike variations of the deformation. The Greater Himalayan brittle-ductile style of deformation fabric, the Lesser Himalaya fold-and-thrust belt, and the Sub-Himalaya Siwalik molasse basin of the central and eastern Himalayas, have to be discussed.
The Tibetan plateau is the widest orogenic plateau on earth. At the crustal scale, the role of competing mechanisms, such as distributed crustal thickening versus lateral propagation of thrust faults at crustal or lithospheric scales, is still poorly understood. Conceptual models explaining observations at the continental scale are based on hypotheses that are hard to reconcile, on the one hand buoyancy forces dominating with low influence of upper crustal faulting, on the other hand faults dominating by favour discrete propagation of rigid upper crustal thickening. However, in view of the 3D nature and temporal complexity of the deformation processes, numerical or analogue models implementing strike-slip faults in accommodating stepwise evolution of thrust faulting, as well as the interaction between the deep crust and the surface, are challenging.
This session will discuss all these processes, in memory of Paul Tapponnier, who passed away in 2023 December 24th. He was an extraordinary field geologist and observer of nature, with an exceptional talent for reading the record of the history of Earth crustal deformation in the landscape and in the rocks.

It is now well known that the coupling between tectonics, climate and surface processes governs the dynamics of mountain belts and basins. However, the amplitude of these couplings and their exact impact on mountain building are less understood. First order quantitative constraints on this coupling are therefore needed. They can be provided by geomorphic and sedimentary records including longitudinal river profiles, fluvial and marine terraces, landslides, downstream fining trends, growth strata, sediment provenance, sequence stratigraphy, and changing depositional environments. In addition, such interaction may be explored also by geodetic analyses (e.g., GPS, UAV and satellite images analyses) as well as with innovative geo-informatic approaches. Moreover, the increasing integration of geochronological methods for quantifying erosion rates and source-to-sink sediment transfer with landscape evolution, stratigraphic, climatic, and tectonic models allows us to advance our understanding of the interactions between surface processes, climate and tectonic deformation.

We invite contributions that use geomorphic, geochronologic and/or sedimentary records to understand tectonic deformation, climate histories, and surface processes, and welcome studies that address their interactions and couplings at a range of spatial and temporal scales. In particular, we encourage coupled catchment-basin studies that take advantage of numerical/physical modelling, geochemical tools for quantifying rates of surface processes (cosmogenic nuclides, low-temperature thermochronology, luminescence dating) and high resolution digital topographic and subsurface data. We invite contributions that address the role of surface processes in modulating rates of deformation and tectonic style, or of tectonics modulating the response of landscapes to climate change.

The imaging of Earth’s crustal structure is a challenging task in seismology and seismic, due to strong lateral discontinuities, heterogeneities and presence of fluids. Active and passive seismic methods are widely used to characterize tectonic structures and geological processes ranging from large to very shallow scale.
Active seismic methods using reflected and refracted waves have shown to be particularly useful in providing images and seismic velocity variations of the subsurface. Recently, important developments in the frame of data instrumentation, data acquisition and inversion methods have pushed the limits of spatial resolution, like the utilization of shear-wave and multi-component reflection seismic for shallow investigations. Despite these significant improvements, the interpretation of geophysical images and properties still remains ambiguous and shows several limitations, mainly due to the cost and availability of the instruments and the difficulties in exploring remote but also urban areas, as well as the loss of resolution with depth.
To overcome this obstacle, it can be useful to combine active and passive seismic methods. Furthermore, the number of high-quality seismic catalogs is increasing, thanks to new denser seismic networks and the use of artificial intelligence, improving knowledge of tectonic structures. This session shall promote the exchange of experience using cutting-edge active and passive seismic techniques with the aim of imaging and characterizing deep and shallow geological structures, in particular active and ancient faults in tectonic or volcanic settings but also intraplate regions.
We welcome contributions to technical developments, data analysis, seismic processing from both active methods like seismic reflection (P- and S- wave reflection seismic, multi-component methods, Vp/Vs analysis, traveltime tomography or full waveform inversion), seismic refraction and integrated drilling data, seismic attributes analysis, and passive techniques including seismic tomography (based on local earthquakes, ambient noise or converted waves), attenuation tomography, receiver functions, source imaging characterization also based on a data-driven approach and high-quality seismic catalogs, which reveal new insights about tectonic and volcanic structures.
We also encourage contributions using novel techniques based on complementary methods, such as data mining and machine learning.