Understanding the mechanism of mechanical compaction is important. Previous studies on mechanical compaction were mostly done by performing experiments. Studies on natural rocks are rare due to compositional heterogeneity of the sedimentary succession with depth. Due to remarkable similarity in composition and grain size, the Sumatra subduction complex provides a unique opportunity to study the micromechanism of mechanical compaction on natural samples.

We study time-varying vertical deformation signals in the European Alps by analyzing GNSS position time series. We associate the deformation signals to geophysical forcing processes, finding that atmospheric and hydrological loading are by far the most important cause of seasonal displacements. Recognizing and filtering out non-tectonic signals allows us to improve the accuracy and precision of the vertical velocities.

Near-surface characterisation is of great importance. Surface wave tomography (SWT) is a powerful tool to model the subsurface. In this work we compare straight-ray and curved-ray SWT at near-surface scale. We apply both approaches to four datasets and compare the results in terms of the quality of the final model and the computational cost. We show that in the case of high data coverage, straight-ray SWT can produce similar results to curved-ray SWT but with less computational cost.

The origin of many volcanic archipelagos on the Earth remains uncertain. By using 3D modelling of mantle flow and melting, we investigate the interaction between the convective mantle near the continental–oceanic transition and rising hot plumes. We believe that this phenomenon is the origin behind some archipelagos, in particular the Canary Islands. Analysing our results, we reconcile observations that were previously enigmatic, such as the complex patterns of volcanism in the Canaries.

Studying how earthquakes spread deep within the faults they originate from is crucial to improving our understanding of the earthquake process. We mapped preserved ancient earthquake surfaces that are now exposed in South Africa and studied their relationship with the shape and type of rocks surrounding them. We determined that these surfaces are not random and are instead associated with specific kinds of rocks and that their shape is linked to the evolution of the faults in which they occur.

We studied the mobility and sedimentary characteristics of rock avalanches influenced by initial discontinuity sets with experimental methods. In the experiments, we set different initial configurations of blocks. The results revealed that the mobility and surface structures of the mass flows differed significantly. In the mass deposits, the block orientations were affected by their initial configurations and the motion processes of the mass flows.