The 2 June 1994 Java tsunami earthquake ruptured in a seismically quiet subduction zone and generated a larger-than-expected tsunami. Here, we re-process a seismic line across the rupture area. We show that a subducting seamount is located up-dip of the mainshock in a region that did not rupture during the earthquake. Seamount subduction modulates the topography of the marine forearc and acts as a seismic barrier in the 1994 earthquake rupture.

As continental plates collide, mountain belts grow. This study investigated the provenance of rocks from the northwestern segment of the Zagros mountain belt to unravel the convergence history of the Arabian and Eurasian plates. Provenance data synthesis and field relationships suggest that the Zagros Mountains developed as a result of the oceanic crust emplacement on the Arabian continental plate, followed by the Arabia–Eurasia collision and later uplift of the broader region.

A large amount of new seismic data from the greater Alpine area have been obtained within the AlpArray and SWATH-D projects. S-to-P converted seismic phases from the Moho and from the mantle lithosphere have been processed with a newly developed method. Examples of new observations are a rapid change in Moho depth at 13° E below the Tauern Window from 60 km in the west to 40 km in the east and a second Moho trough along the boundary of the Bohemian Massif towards the Western Carpathians.

After an earthquake, the fault continues to slip for days to months. Yet, little is know about the very early part of this phase (i.e., minutes to hours). We have looked at what happens just after an earthquake in Chile from 2015. We find that the fault responds in two ways: south of the rupture zone it slips seismically in the form of aftershocks, while north of the rupture zone it slips slowly. Early inference of such bimodal behavior could prove to be useful for forecasting aftershocks.

In this paper, we dated fault movements at geological timescales which uplifted the sedimentary successions of the Jura Mountains from below the sea level up to Earth's surface. To do so, we applied the novel technique of U–Pb geochronology on calcite mineralizations that precipitated on fault surfaces during times of tectonic activity. Our results document a time frame of the tectonic evolution of the Jura Mountains and provide new insight into the broad geological history of the Western Alps.

We analyse broadband ocean bottom seismometer data of the AlpArray OBS network in the Ligurian Basin. Two earthquake clusters with thrust faulting focal mechanisms indicate compression of the rift basin. The locations of seismicity suggest reactivation of pre-existing rift structures and strengthening of crust and uppermost mantle during rifting-related extension. Slightly different striking directions of faults may mimic the anti-clockwise rotation of the Corsica–Sardinia block.

Past strong earthquakes can produce topographic deformations, often memorized in Quaternary sediments, which are typically studied by paleoseismologists through trenching. Using a ground-penetrating radar (GPR), we unveiled possible buried Quaternary faulting in the Mt. Pollino seismic gap region (southern Italy). We aim to contribute to seismic hazard assessment of an area potentially prone to destructive events as well as promote our workflow in similar contexts around the world.

The Ligurian Sea opened ~30–15 Ma during SE migration of the Calabrian subduction zone. Using ambient seismic noise from stations on land and at the ocean bottom, we calculated a 3D shear-velocity model of the Ligurian Basin. In keeping with existing 2D studies, we find a shallow crust–mantle transition at the SW basin centre that deepens towards the northeast, Corsica, and the Liguro-Provençal coast. We observe a separation of SW and NE basins. We do not observe high crustal v_P/v_S ratios.

Here we present new surface elevation constraints for the middle Miocene Central Alps based on stable and clumped isotope geochemical analyses. Our reconstructed paleoelevation estimate is supported by isotope-enabled paleoclimate simulations and indicates that the Miocene Central Alps were characterized by a heterogeneous and spatially transient topography with high elevations locally exceeding 4000 m.

New images from the multi-national AlpArray experiment illuminate the Alps from below. They indicate thick European mantle descending beneath the Alps and forming blobs that are mostly detached from the Alps above. In contrast, the Adriatic mantle in the Alps is much thinner. This difference helps explain the rugged mountains and the abundance of subducted and exhumed units at the core of the Alps. The blobs are stretched remnants of old ocean and its margins that reach down to at least 410 km.

The Alpine mountain belt was formed by the collision of the Eurasian and African plates in the geological past, during which parts of the colliding plates sank into the earth's mantle. Using seismological data from distant earthquakes recorded by the AlpArray Seismic Network, we have derived an image of the current location of these subducted parts in the earth's mantle. Their quantity and spatial distribution is key information needed to understand how the Alpine orogen was formed.