Seismicity often exhibits complex spatio-temporal and moment release patterns that deviate from the traditional occurrence of isolated mainshock-aftershocks sequences. Earthquake swarms, intense foreshock activity, and sequences of doublets or triplets of comparable large magnitude earthquakes are observable across all tectonic settings, albeit more frequently in volcanic regions. These sequences exemplify complex seismic processes that do not conform with the conventional laws of earthquake occurrence, such as Båth, Omori-Utsu, and Gutenberg-Richter laws. The absence of definitive laws governing these sequences highlights the challenge faced by the geophysical community in understanding the underlying physical processes. Potential triggering mechanisms could include local increases of the pore-pressure, loading/stressing rate due to aseismic rupture processes (like creep and, slow slip events), magma-induced stress changes, earthquake-earthquake interaction or a combination of those. New generation of enhanced high-resolution earthquake catalogs obtained through the application of machine learning, template matching, and double difference techniques, now enable us to investigate complex sequences and their triggering mechanisms with unprecedented resolution. Furthermore, local or global studies of earthquake swarms and complex sequences, ideally approached through a multidisciplinary perspective that involves deformation, geophysical imaging of the crust, geology, and fluid geochemistry, are crucial for advancing our insights on the physics of triggering mechanisms.
This session aims at bringing together studies of earthquake swarms and complex seismic sequences across tectonic settings and scales. We welcome contributions that focus on the characterization of earthquake swarms and complex seismic sequences in terms of spatio-temporal evolution, frequency-magnitude analysis, scaling properties, aseismic transients, as well as laboratory and numerical modeling simulating the mechanical condition yielding to swarm-like and complex seismic sequences. The overarching objective is to bring together studies from different tectonic settings in order to acquire and share knowledge concerning the physical processes that contribute to the occurrence of such complex seismic sequences.