Loess deposits cover large areas of the Earth and host dense populations and major infrastructure worldwide. Although widely known as a terrestrial paleoclimate archive, loess is above all a problematic geomaterial: its open metastable micro-fabric, high porosity and water sensitivity make it prone to liquefaction, subsidence, erosion, and catastrophic landsliding under intense rainfall, irrigation, water-table rise, human induced loading and vibrations, or seismic shaking. Climate change and rapid land use transformation are altering the drivers of these processes, making the hazard non-stationary. Developing hazard mitigation and sustainable engineered solutions requires a better understanding of loess behavior across multiple scales – from fabric dynamics at the micro-scale to to slope- and landscape-scale failure. This remains the central open problem, and it is one that no single discipline can solve. This session brings together geologists, geomorphologists, geotechnical engineers and disaster risk experts. It also fosters discussions with experts in machine learning and AI to better understand opportunities for connecting information across the scales. We welcome contributions on, but not limited to:
• Micro- to nano-scale characterisation: advanced imaging (CT, SEM, NMR), pore-network and fabric evolution, inter-particle bonding and cementation, physico-chemical controls, and their upscaling within unsaturated soil mechanics.
• Geomorphology and erosion dynamics: aeolian deposition and provenance, landscape evolution, gully initiation and headcut retreat, sediment connectivity, and land-use or vegetation-restoration effects.
• Upscaling and heterogeneity: developing tools to connect information and insights across the scales.
• Geotechnical behaviour and geohazards: wetting-induced collapse, static and seismic liquefaction, failure mechanisms and runout of loess landslides, monitoring, modelling and early warning, including InSAR, UAV and LiDAR approaches.
• Engineering solutions and risk mitigation: soil stabilisation and improvement, infrastructure design on collapsible ground, eco-engineering and nature-based solutions, and risk-informed prevention strategies.
We particularly encourage novel experimental techniques, multi-scale and coupled modelling, and case studies from loess regions worldwide, to build a genuinely comparative and global understanding of loess systems and sustainable methods to mitigate the impact of loess geohazards.