Advances in Geohazard Mitigation and Adaptation

Dear Colleagues,

The impressing challenges of climate change and the global shift toward clean, low‑carbon energy are driving unprecedented transformations in how we design, construct, and maintain critical infrastructure. As extreme weather intensifies and renewable‑energy technologies expand, geotechnical systems are being pushed into new environments and deeper geological settings, creating fresh challenges for hazard resilience and sustainable development.

These geotechnical systems may include urban tunnelling for resident mobility, large-scale excavations for critical minerals and energy storage, deep tunnelling for transport and hydro energy, deep wellbore for geothermal exploitation, subsea foundation for offshore wind development, and coastal adaptation infrastructure, all of which interact with complex geological and climate conditions. These interactions may manifest as rainfall‑triggered landslides, slope failures, tunnelling‑induced ground movement or collapse, deep‑excavation‑related microseismicity and rockbursts, geothermal wellbore breakout, hydraulic‑fracturing‑induced earthquakes, sea‑level‑rise‑driven coastal erosion, offshore foundation instability, and even cryospheric hazards such as Antarctic ice‑shelf fracture and instability. Understanding these evolving geohazards and developing robust mitigation and adaptation strategies are essential for ensuring the safety, resilience, and long‑term performance of critical infrastructure in a rapidly changing world.

This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting‑edge research, innovative technologies, and interdisciplinary approaches that enhance our ability to assess, monitor, model, and manage geohazards in the context of climate change and clean‑energy development. We welcome contributions including, but not limited to, the following topics:

1. Climate‑Driven Geohazards

• Rainfall‑induced landslides and debris flows.
• Slope instability under extreme weather and hydrological shifts.
• Permafrost degradation and associated ground hazards.
• Coastal erosion, shoreline retreat, and deltaic instability under sea‑level rise.

2. Geohazards in Clean‑Energy and Decarbonisation Projects

• Geotechnical risks in deep geothermal systems (wellbore breakout, induced seismicity, etc).
• Rockburst and microseismicity associated with deep excavation.
• Geomechanical challenges in underground hydrogen, CO₂, or compressed‑air storage.
• Hydraulic‑fracturing‑induced seismicity and reservoir deformation.
• Offshore wind turbine foundation stability and seabed–structure interaction.

3. Urban Infrastructure‑Related Geohazards

• Urban tunnelling‑induced settlement, ground movement, and collapse.
• Excavation‑related instability in megaprojects.
• Ground–structure interaction under dynamic or cascade hazard conditions.
• Early‑warning systems for underground construction hazards.

4. Cryosphere and Polar Geohazards

• Ice‑shelf fracture mechanics and large‑scale instability.
• Glacier‑related hazards and their downstream impacts.
• Geotechnical challenges in polar infrastructure development.

5. Modelling, Simulation, and Data‑Driven Approaches

• Numerical modelling of dynamic rock fracture and extreme events.
• Multiphysics simulation of coupled hydro‑thermal–mechanical processes.
• AI/ML‑enabled hazard prediction, clustering, and early‑warning algorithms.
• Digital twins for geohazard‑prone infrastructure.
• Probabilistic hazard assessment and uncertainty quantification.

Dr. Hongyuan Liu
Dr. Xianhui Feng
Dr. Haoyu Han
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Geosciences 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 1800 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.

• geohazards
• climate change
• urban tunnelling-induced settlement and collapse
• landslides and slope instability
• deep tunnelling-induced microseismicities and rockbursts
• coastal erosion
• geothermal systems
• offshore foundation stability
• hazard mitigation and adaptation
• iceshelf fracture and instability