The identification of meso-scale phenomena – occurring between microscopic and continuum length scales – has been one of the most exciting developments in rock mechanics in the last decade. Meso-scale phenomena are considered as the bridge between the two length scales in understanding shear between material interfaces as well as particulate systems and in studying material response. Examples are the initiation of seismic slip along fault planes at great depths at rates nearing shock conditions, and the initiation and rapid runout of landslides near the earth’s surface. Additionally, the basic physics of thermo-poro-mechanical coupling can be elucidated through a meso-scale mechanics approach as a means of understanding the loss of shearing resistance when water and heat are trapped inside almost impervious clay layers under great pressure.

This book presents a collection of 21 current, peer-reviewed articles on shear physics at the meso-scale in earthquake and landslide mechanics, authored by leading international experts in the field. Contributions are grouped in 5 chapters, discussing (1) the dynamics of frictional slip, (2) fault gauge mechanics, (3) experimental fault zone mechanics, (4) granular shear and liquefaction, and (5) landslides’ dynamics.

This research area has broad applications to the fields of earth sciences and geoengineering, with immediate bearing on our understanding of both earthquake and landslide mechanics, two geological processes that pose great risk to man kind worldwide.