Subduction zones feature a large elevation difference between the deep oceanic trench and the high mountains on land, which causes stress in the upper plate. We investigate how the topographic stress affects the aftershock seismicity of large subduction earthquakes using analytical and numerical stress models. We show that topographic stress has a large influence on aftershock seismicity and promoted most of the seismicity after the Tohoku-Oki (Japan) and Maule (Chile) earthquakes.

We address the transition between the Paleozoic Variscan and Alpine Mesozoic–Cenozoic cycles using tectono-stratigraphy and thermochronology. This transition unfolds through a multi-phase rifting history. An initial rifting stage occurred in the early Permian, followed in the early–middle Permian by a phase of transcurrent tectonics. This was succeeded by a period of erosion/non-deposition in the middle Permian. Crustal stretching in the Middle Triassic marked the onset of the Alpine cycle.

Our study investigates the statistical relationship between geological fractures and earthquakes in the southwestern Swiss Alps. We analyze how the fracture size and earthquake rupture are related and find differences in how fractures at different depths rupture seismically. While shallow fractures tend to rupture only partially, deeper fractures are more likely to rupture along their entire length, potentially resulting in larger earthquakes.

The vast Cenozoic arc magmatism of Iran introduced three distinct rock series. The LILE (large-ion lithophile elements)-rich and LILE-poor series show signatures of fluid-rich and fluid-poor slab-melt mantle metasomatism, furnished by hot slab subduction. The slab was more hydrated in the northern segment of the study area, where the LILE-rich series dominates. The third series rich in incompatible trace elements, the ITE-rich series, indicates the input of asthenosphere as well.

We assessed the poro–perm relations of both host rocks and fault rocks of Mesozoic carbonate rocks, by integrating a laboratory petrophysical study with a digital image analysis. Three different protocols were employed to compute permeability: (i) Effective Medium Theory on laboratory data, (ii) constant crack aperture and (iii) crack density values from 2D images. Carbonate host rocks did not show a clear poro–perm trend due to the presence of stiff, sub-rounded pores and of small vugs.

This study applies low-temperature thermochronology, combined with thermal history modelling, to precisely characterize the differential exhumation and cooling history along the central-northern western margin of the Ordos Basin. Results reveal that multiple Mesozoic exhumation phases were closely linked to the Yanshanian orogeny, while rapid Cenozoic exhumation was driven by the Himalayan tectonics.

The manuscript re-analyses seismic data from the UPPLAND profile in the Fennoscandian Shield, focusing on P- and S-wave velocity models. Significant differences between prior and present models emerge in the lower crust and mantle and in the Moho depth. The new model suggests ca. 7.1 km s^-1 in the lower crust and 8.05 km s^-1 in the upper mantle, with Moho at 43–50 km. Two tectonic interpretations are proposed to explain these findings, emphasising the complexities of seismic data interpretation.