Decoding Earthquake Complexity: From Earthquake Ruptures and Slip Styles to Seismic Sequences and Faulting
A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Complexity".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editors
2. National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), Rome, Italy
Interests: earthquake physics; seismic hazard; earthquake forecasting; earthquake predictability; statistical seismology; tectonophysics; physics of faulting
2. Institute of Physics of the Earth’s Interior and Geohazards, Solid Earth Physics and Geohazards Risk Reduction, Hellenic Mediterranean University Research Center, Crete, Greece
Interests: non-extensive statistical mechanics; fractals; self-similarity; earthquakes; statistical seismology; nonlinear geophysics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: statistical seismology; physics of earthquakes; induced seismicity; earthquake forecasting; nonlinear dissipative complex systems; geomechanics; earthquake clustering and aftershocks; machine learning in earthquake seismology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Modern geophysical networks are now able to capture fault system behavior with unprecedented resolution, revealing complex interactions between seismic ruptures, slow slip events, and aseismic creep. These observations consistently challenge existing physical models, demanding new theoretical frameworks and analytical approaches to understand nonlinear fault zone processes across temporal and spatial scales.
Understanding complexity in seismicity and faulting is crucial for improving our knowledge of the physics of faulting and, above all, of how large earthquakes emerge in previously stable fault systems from the whole spectrum of fault slip styles, with an outstanding future impact on next-generation physics-based earthquake forecasting. To better understand emergent phenomena in seismology (e.g., preparatory processes of large earthquakes) and the complexity of seismicity and faulting, innovative and interdisciplinary research is needed that can handle large amounts of data with more accurate physical, computational, and AI-enhanced models that are able to investigate the chaotic and nonlinear nature of fault systems across multiple scales, from microfractures to global tectonic settings.
This Special Issue aims to highlight interdisciplinary studies that go beyond phenomenological descriptions to reveal the fundamental mechanics governing fault system behavior. We particularly encourage contributions demonstrating how new observations can constrain physical models to embrace complexity in earthquake occurrences.
Dr. Davide Zaccagnino
Prof. Dr. Filippos Vallianatos
Prof. Dr. Robert Shcherbakov
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- fault system behavior
- complexity in seismicity
- earthquake clustering
- earthquake triggering
- preparatory processes
- complexity in faulting
- fault slip styles
- fractality
- synchronization
- earthquake cycle-related crustal deformation
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
