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Ground and infrastructure stability are important for our technologically based civilization. Infrastructure projects take into consideration the risk posed by ground displacement (e.g., seismicity, geological conditions and geomorphology). To address this risk, earth scientists and civil engineers employ a range of measurement technologies, such as optical/laser leveling, GNSS and, lately, SAR interferometry. Currently there is a rich source of measurement information provided in various formats that covers most of the industrialized world. Integration of this information becomes an issue that will only increase in importance in the future. This work describes a practical approach to address and validate integrated stability measurements through the development of a platform that could be easily used by a variety of groups, from geoscientists to civil engineers and also private citizens with no training in this field. The platform enables quick cross-validation between different data sources, easy detection of critical areas at all scales (from large-scale individual buildings to small-scale tectonics) and can be linked to end-users from various monitoring fields and countries for automated notifications. This work is closing the gap between the specialized monitoring work and the general public, delivering the full value of technology for societal benefits in a free and open manner. The platform is calibrated and validated by an application of SAR interferometry data to specific situations in the general area of the Romanian Carpathians and their foreland. The results demonstrate an interplay between anthropogenically induced changes and high-amplitude active tectono–sedimentary processes creating rapid regional and local topographic variations.

Apart from the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), mid-lithospheric discontinuities (MLDs) in thick and old continental lithospheres appear to play an important role in global plate tectonics. Initiation of intra-continental subduction, delamination of the lower continental lithospheric mantle and removal of cratonic roots are likely to occur along MLDs. Here we introduce the ‘pargasosphere’ hypothesis which could account for the origin of both boundaries. The observation that pargasitic amphibole is stable even at very low bulk ‘water’ concentration (~a few hundreds ppm wt.) implies that the solidus of the shallow upper mantle (

The Sarajevo-Zenica Basin of Bosnia-Herzegovina was part of the Dinaride Lake System, a large network of Miocene long-lived freshwater basins in southeastern Europe. The basin contains a thick sedimentary succession of carbonates, coals and mixed siliciclastic deposits that reflects the paleoclimatic and tectonic evolution of the region. In this study, we present novel integrated (magneto- bio)stratigraphic and sedimentological data and reconstruct the paleoenvironmental evolution of the Sarajevo-Zenica Basin during its two main evolutionary phases (thrusting and extension). The basal “Oligo-Miocene” freshwater paleoenvironments are characterized by alternating palustrine, shallow lacustrine and distal fluvial phases. The base level fluctuations are largely controlled by syn- sedimentary pulses of tectonic loading during the final phase of thrusting in the Internal Dinarides. The majority of this succession is considered early Miocene in age, which contrasts with previous Oligocene age estimates. The subsequent extensional phase initiated not later than ~18.4 Ma. This coarsening upward sequence of lacustrine carbonates, silts, sands and conglomerates is correlated between 17.2 and 15 Ma (C5Cr-C5Br) by means of integrated bio-magnetostratigraphy. During this upper extensional phase, subsidence and sediment influx was generally controlled by activity along the basin bounding normal fault, overruling smaller scale climatic influences. We conclude that the existence of the long- lived Sarajevo lake is coeval with other Dinaric and southern Pannonian lakes, and overlaps in time with the Miocene Climatic Optimum. Sedimentation in the Sarajevo-Zenica basin terminated at ~15–14 Ma which concurs with both the end of the climatic optimum as well as the cessation of extension in the Dinarides. These results will help to better quantify the paleoclimatic changes in the Dinaride Lake System as well as the regional tectono-sedimentary events, such as potential migrations of deformation across the Dinarides.

Fluvial morphology is affected by a wide range of forcing factors, which can be external, such as faulting and changes in climate, or internal, such as variations in rock hardness or degree of fracturing. It is a challenge to separate internal and external forcing factors when they are co-located or occur coevally. Failure to account for both factors leads to potential misinterpretations. For example, steepening of channel network due to lithologic contrasts could be misinterpreted to be a function of increased tectonic displacements. These misinterpretations are enhanced over large areas, where landscape properties needed to calculate channel steepness (e.g. channel concavity) can vary significantly in space. In this study, we investigate relative channel steepness over the Eastern Carpathians, where it has been proposed that active rock uplift in the Southeastern Carpathians gives way N- and NW-wards to ca. 8 Myrs of post-orogenic quiescence. We develop a technique to quantify relative channel steepness, the relative steepness index, based on a wide range of concavities, and show that the main signal shows an increase in relative steepness index from east to west across the range. Rock hardness measurements and geological studies suggest this difference is driven by lithology. When we isolate channel steepness by lithology to test for ongoing rock uplift along the range, we find steeper channels in the south of the study area compared to the same units in the North. This supports interpretations from longer timescale geological data that active rock uplift is fastest in the southern Southeastern Carpathians.

Reconstructing orogenic systems made up dominantly by sediments accreted in trenches is challenging because of the incomplete lithological record of the subducted oceanic domain and its attached passive continental margin thrusted by collisional processes. In this respect, the remarkable ~600 km long continuity of sediments exposed in the Eastern Carpathian thin-skinned thrust and fold belt and the availability of quantitative reconstructions for adjacent continental units provide excellent conditions for a paleogeographical study by provenance and sedimentological techniques constraining sediment routing and depositional systems. These sediments were deposited in the Ceahl?u-Severin branch of the Alpine Tethys Ocean and over its European passive continental margin. We report sedimentological, paleomagnetic, petrographic, and detrital zircon U-Pb data of Lower Cretaceous sediments from several thin-skinned tectonic units presumably deposited in the Moldavides domain of the Eastern Carpathians. Sedimentological observations in the innermost studied unit demonstrate that deposition took place in a deepwater basin floor sheets to sandy turbidite system. Detrital zircon age data demonstrate sourcing from internal Carpathian basement units. The sediment routing changes in more external units, where black shales basin floor sheets to sandy mud turbidites were sourced from an external, European continental area. Although some degree of mixing between sources located on both margins of the ocean occurred, constraining a relatively narrow width of the deep oceanic basin, these results demonstrate that the internal-most studied unit was deposited near an Early Cretaceous accretionary wedge, located on the opposite internal side relative to the passive continental margin domain of other Moldavides units.

We provide lithological, sedimentological and micropalaeontological descriptions of 39 sections and boreholes crossing the upper Miocene deposits of the Rifian Corridor. These deposits represent the sedimentary remnants of the marine gateway that connected the Atlantic to the Mediterranean in the late Miocene. Results from these 39 sites were adopted to reconstruct the palaeogeographic evolution of the gateway presented in the associated research article (Capella et al., 2018) [1]. For each outcrop we present a synthesis of field observations, lithofacies, key sedimentological features, planktic and benthic assemblages.

Extensional basins often show along-strike variability in terms of fault geometries, basement structures, subsidence, and thermal evolution. This is particularly pronounced when extension reactivates preexisting suture zones with opposing dip directions, that is, opposite polarities, which creates wide strike-slip transfer zones. We have studied this extensional variability by means of thermomechanical lithospheric-scale 3-D numerical modeling. We conducted a series of experiments to model the extension of a thick lithosphere simulating a young orogenic area containing segmented suture zones inherited from former opposing subduction polarities, implemented as rheologically weak inclined layers with opposite dips. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the initial subduction sutures are reactivated by two long-lived lithospheric-scale detachment faults, which remain active until the onset of oceanic spreading. The opposite polarity of these faults causes their migration toward each other by asymmetric mantle lithosphere extension and thermal accretion. Crustal kinematics shows the formation of extensional detachment faults and high-offset listric normal faults. These structures undergo gradual tilting during their footwall exhumation, while the rheological weak suture layers are redistributed beneath the crust. The results demonstrate an active interaction along the strike of the system between the two opposite dipping weak zones, where fault segments mechanically interact. During extension, the maximum horizontal fault offset switches the apparent sense of shear in the separating strike-slip transfer zone. This kinematics explain the rapid change in the sense of shear in major strike-slip transfer zones or transform faults, such as observed during the extension of the Pannonian back-arc basin.

In contractional (subduction/collisional) settings, convergence is accommodated by the formation of thin- and thick-skinned thrust and fold belts. The transmission of such deformation over larger distances into orogenic foreland areas is influenced by the inherited rheological characteristics of continental lithosphere. Lateral rheological variations parallel to the strike of continental foreland areas creates contrasting geometries and sequences of deformation that interact during orogenic build-up. We investigate the far-field transmission of strain within a continental lithosphere characterized by a laterally variable rheology through physical analogue modelling. Rheological weak crustal zones were introduced at distance from an advancing backstop to study the progressive along strike linkage and interference of structures during contraction. The results reveal that rheologically weak crustal zones localise far-field contractional deformation. When the size of weak zones, by means of their horizontal extend to depth ratio, is large, deformation localises at the boundaries of the weak zone where they lead to the formation of large-offset faults. Subsequently the faults migrate along-strike into areas that are rheologically stronger. When the size of the weak zone is reduced, a large-scale contractional step-over forms in orogenic forelands, where rheologically contrasting domains transmit out-of-sequence deformation by a gradual migration of thrust offsets and fold amplitudes along their strike. These results show that crustal scale orogenic step-overs do not always reflect variations in the geometry of the plate boundary (indenter) or along-strike gradients in shortening rates. Such features may also form in response to variations in rheology, as the ones created by inherited extensional basins situated at large distances from plate boundaries in the orogenic foreland.

The Rifian Corridor was one of the Mediterranean–Atlantic seaways that progressively restricted and caused the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). Many key questions concerning the controls on the onset, progression and termination of the MSC remain unanswered mainly because the evolution of these seaways is poorly constrained. Uncertainties about the age of restriction and closure of the Rifian Corridor hamper full understanding of the hydrological exchange through the MSC gateways: required connections to sustain transport of salt into the Mediterranean for the primary-lower gypsum and halite stages. Here we present integrated surface-subsurface palaeogeographic reconstructions of the Rifian Corridor with improved age-control. Information about age and timing of the closure have been derived from high-resolution biostratigraphy, palaeoenvironmental indicators, sediment transport directions, and the analysis of published onshore subsurface (core and seismic) datasets. We applied modern taxonomic concepts to revise the biostratigraphy of the Rifian Corridor and propose astronomically-tuned, minimum-maximum ages for its successions. Finally, we summarise the palaeogeographic evolution in four time slices corresponding to the middle Tortonian (10.57–8.37), late Tortonian (8.37–7.25 Ma), early Messinian (7.25–6.35 Ma), and late Messinian (6.35–5.33 Ma). Several successions record the closure of the corridor via a continuous marine to continental-lacustrine transition. The youngest dated marine sediments represent a good approximation of the age of seaway closure. The closure of the South Rifian Corridor is constrained to 7.1–6.9 Ma; that of the North Rifian Corridor is more uncertain and ranges from 7.35 to ca. 7 Ma. We conclude that the Rifian Corridor was already closed in the early Messinian and did not contribute to the restriction events that resulted in the MSC. Because the Betic Corridor is also closed by the early Messinian, the modern Gibraltar Straits remain the sole option in the Western Mediterranean as last Messinian seaway that was open during the MSC. Our results imply that the Gibraltar Straits could have been established as the exclusive Mediterranean-Atlantic portal already in the late Miocene, and therefore we suggest that future field and drilling campaigns should target the Alboran Sea and the Gibraltar region to investigate water exchange before and during the Messinian Salinity Crisis and its impact on Atlantic circulation and global climate.

An overview on the tectono-stratigraphic framework of the Arabian plate indicates obvious differences between two distinct areas: the hydrocarbon-prolific sector and non-hydrocarbon-prolific sector. These differences resulted from the interplay of a variety of factors; some of which are related to the paleo-geographic configuration (eustatic sea level fluctuations, climatic conditions, and salt Basins), others to differential subsidence (burial) and structural inversions. During the Paleozoic, the regional compression was caused by far field effects of the Hercynian orogeny. This led to major folded structures in central and eastern Saudi Arabia (e.g. Ghawar anticline). During the Mesozoic, the most important tectonic factor was the stretching of the crust (extension), accompanied with the increase in temperature, resulting in an increase of the accommodation space, and thicker sedimentary successions. Regional unconformities are mostly found where folded structures are dominant, and they acted as a carrier systems for the accumulation of hydrocarbon and groundwater. A good understanding of the stratigraphy and tectonic evolution is, thus, required to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) and to design efficiently enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in both sectors. Oil and gas reservoirs offer geologic storage potential as well as the economic opportunity of better production through CO2-EOR. The world greatest hydrocarbon reservoirs mainly consist of Jurassic carbonate rocks, and are located around the Arabian Basin (including the eastern KSA and the Arabian Gulf). The Cretaceous reservoirs, which mainly consist of calcarenite and dolomite, are located around the Gotnia salt Basin (northeast of KSA). Depleted oil and gas fields, which generally have proven as geologic traps, reservoirs and seals, are ideal sites for storage of injected CO2. Each potential site for CO2-EOR or CCS should be evaluated for its potential storage with respect to the containment properties, and to ensure that conditions for safe and effective long term storage are present. The secured deep underground storage of CO2 implies appropriate geologic rock formations with suitable reservoir rocks, traps, and impermeable caprocks. Proposed targets for CCS, in the non-hydrocarbon-prolific sector, are Kharij super-aquifer (Triassic), Az-Zulfi aquifer (Middle Jurassic), Layla aquifer (Late Jurassic), and Wasia aquifer (Middle Cretaceous). Proposed targets for EOR are Safaniya oil field (Middle Cretaceous) (Safaniya, Wara and Khafji reservoirs), Manifa oil field (Las, Safaniya and Khafji reservoirs) (Late Jurassic), and Khuff reservoir (Late Permian-Early Triassic) in central to eastern KSA.

The architecture of sedimentary basins reflects the relationship between accommodation space and sediment supply, their rates and localization being variable during basin evolution. The mechanisms driving the interplay between tectonics and sedimentation in extensional back-arc basins overlying rheological weak zones inherited from an earlier orogenic evolution are less understood. A typical example is the Pannonian back-arc basin of Central Europe. It is floored by continental lithosphere and was affected by large amounts of extension driven by the subduction rollback that took place in the Carpathians and/or Dinarides. A novel kinematic and seismic sequence stratigraphic interpretation calibrated by wells allows the quantification of the link between the formation of half grabens and coeval sedimentation in the Great Hungarian Plain part of the basin. While the lower order tectonic-induced cycles characterize the main phases of extension in various subbasins, the higher-order cyclicity and associated unconformities define individual moments of fault (re)activation. Our novel interpretation of a temporal and spatial migration of extension during Miocene times explains the contrasting present-day strike of various subbasins as a result of their gradual clockwise rotation. Incorporating the observed asymmetry, in particular the associated footwall exhumation, infers that the amount of extension is much larger than previously thought. The quantitative link between tectonics and sedimentation has allowed the definition of a novel model of sedimentation in asymmetric basins that can be ported to other natural scenarios of similarly hyperextended back-arc basins observed elsewhere.

During the last decade, the interaction of deep processes in the lithosphere and mantle with surface processes (erosion, climate, sea-level, subsidence, glacio-isostatic readjustment) has been the subject of heated discussion. The use of a multidisciplinary approach linking geology, geophysics, geodesy, modelling, and geotechnology has led to the awareness of coupled deep and surface processes. Deep earth dynamics (topography, erosion, tectonics) are strongly connected to natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis; sedimentary mass transfers have important consequences on isostatic movements and on georesources, geothermal energy repartitions. The ability to read and understand the link between deep Earth dynamics and surface processes has therefore important societal impacts. Ground-truthing at carefully-selected sites of investigation is imperative to better understand these connections. Due to its youth (, The work in the Gulf of Lion and long-term drilling project, including offshore cruises, has been supported by CNRS, IFREMER, IFPEN, BRGM, EDROME, IUEM, the french alliance (Allenvi and Ancre), CNFH (Commission National de la Flotte Hauturi ere Française) and different national and international Programs: Actions Marges, MISTRALS-Termex, Labex Mer (ANR-10-LABX-19), CNRS-INSU SYSTER, CNRS-INSU INTERRVIE, ARTEMIS, MAGELLAN þ European Program, TOPO-EUROPE and ILP (International Lithosphere Program), TECLA CGL2011-26670, RCMNS, IODP-France, ECORD, JSPS, JAMSTEC and CDEX and IODP

The relationship between magma generation and the tectonic evolution of orogens during subduction and subsequent collision requires self-consistent numerical modelling approaches predicting volumes and compositions of the produced magmatic rocks. Here, we use a 2D magmatic-thermomechanical numerical modelling procedure to analyse rapid subduction of a narrow ocean, followed by Mediterranean style collision, which is characterized by the gradual accretion of lower plate material and slab migration towards the orogenic foreland. Our results suggest that magmatism has a large-scale geodynamic effect by focusing deformation throughout the entire subduction and collision process. The rheological structure and compositional layering of the crust impose a key control on the distribution of magmatic rocks within the orogen. Compared to previous simplified homogeneous crustal models, a compositionally layered crust causes an increase in felsic material influx during continental collision and results in shallower magmatic sources that migrate with time towards the foreland. Changes in the deformation style may be locally driven by magma emplacement rather than by slab movement. Our modelling also demonstrates that the migration pattern of the deformation front and the magmatic arc relative to the location of the suture zone may be driven by lower crustal indentation in the overriding plate during early stages of collision. The modelling predicts a gradual change in magma source composition with time from typical calc-alkaline to ones associated with relamination and eduction during subduction, collision and slab detachment. This transition explains the compositional changes of magma their temporal and spatial migration, as well as the observed link with deformation in the Dinarides orogen of Central Europe selected as a case study.

The Vrancea region of the south-eastern Carpathians is a remarkable site of intra-continental intermediate- depth seismicity. A large set of geological, geophysical, and geodetic observations has been accumulated for the last few decades and utilised to improve our knowledge of the shallow and deep structures beneath Vran- cea, the crustal and mantle dynamics, and the linkage between deep and surface processes in the region. In this article we review geology and tectonics of the Vrancea region including post-collisional to recent deforma- tions, syn- to post-collisional magmatism, and orogenic exhumation along the East and South Carpathians. The regional seismicity is analysed, and the recent seismic studies including reflection, refraction, body and surface wave tomography are reviewed. We discuss new geodetic measurements of horizontal and vertical movements in the region, geoelectric studies, density/gravity and thermal modelling. Qualitative and quanti- tative (including retrospective) geodynamic models developed for Vrancea are analysed. The knowledge of re- gional tectonics, geodynamics, seismicity, lithospheric deformation, and stress regime in the Vrancea earthquake-prone region assists in an assessment of strong ground motion, seismic hazard and risk. The earth- quake simulation, seismic hazard, and earthquake forecasting models have also been reviewed providing a link between deep geodynamic processes and their manifestation on the surface. Finally we discuss unre- solved problems in Vrancea in order to improve our understanding of the regional evolution, present tecton- ics, mantle dynamics, intermediate-depth seismicity, and surface manifestations of the lithosphere dynamics and to enhance our ability to forecast strong earthquakes in the Vrancea region. The problems to be solved in- clude: (i) the origin of the high-velocity body revealed by seismic tomography studies (oceanic versus conti- nental); (ii) the lithospheric scale mechanism driving the Miocene subsidence of the Transylvania basin; (iii) sub-crustal structure between 40 and 70 km; (iv) contemporary regional horizontal and vertical move- ments; and (v) a comprehensive seismic hazard assessment in the region.

A source to sink system describes the natural link between mountains, plains and deltas, by analysing the (re)distribution of material at shallow crustal depth and at the Earth's surface, exploring the links between coupled tectonic and surface processes. Sediment fluxes are the product of erosion and movement of material in and from sources (mountains), the transport and movement of sediments and solutes by river systems to the plains, and deposition and storage in sink zones. The ESF-EUROCORES TOPO-EUROPE SourceSink programme is a fully integrated research effort to significantly advance our predictive capabilities on the quantitative analyses of coupled active and past drainage systems by means of step-wise 4D reconstructions of sediments mass transfer, integrating geophysics, geology, geomorphology, state of the art high-resolution dating, and numerical and analogue modelling. The area selected for this programme is the Danube River Basin–Black Sea source to sink system, a world-class natural laboratory that is uniquely suited in the heart of Europe's topography, covering almost half of its surface, providing opportunities for excellent field sites to study in integration surface and subsurface data that cover the complete chain of source, carrier and sink. Quantifying and modelling the complete system in relation to the controlling parameters has resulted in significant understanding of forcing factors and linking temporal and spatial scales across multiple orogen and basin systems. This research has provided the opportunity to widen the geographical scope to other natural scenarios, where a number of mountain chains with similar geodynamic genesis separate sedimentary basins with comparable evolution.

The large number and distribution of rollback systems in Mediterranean orogens infer the possibility of interacting extensional back-arc deformation driven by different slabs. The formation of the Pannonian back-arc basin is generally related to the rapid Miocene rollback of a slab attached to the European continent. A key area of the entire system that is neglected by kinematic studies is the connection between the South Carpathians and Dinarides. In order to derive an evolutionary model, we interpreted regional seismic lines traversing the entire Serbian part of the Pannonian Basin. The observed deformation is dominantly expressed by the formation of Miocene extensional detachments and (half) grabens. The extensional geometries and associated synkinematic sedimentation that migrated in time and space allow the definition of a continuous and essentially asymmetric early to late Miocene extensional evolution. This evolution was followed by the formation of few uplifted areas during the subsequent latest Miocene–Quaternary inversion. The present-day extensional geometry changing the strike across the basin is an effect of the clockwise rotation of the South Carpathians and Apuseni Mountains in respect to the Dinarides. Our study infers that the Carpathian rollback is not the only mechanism responsible for the formation of the Pannonian Basin; an additional middle Miocene rollback of a Dinaridic slab is required to explain the observed structures. Furthermore, the study provides constraints for the pre-Neogene orogenic evolution of this junction zone, including the affinity of major crustal blocks, obducted ophiolitic sequences and the Sava suture zone.

Sedimentary basins are affected by a large number of forcing factors during their evolution and as a result, it is often difficult to isolate the contribution of each individual factor. Many forcing factors are temporally and spatially heterogeneous; they do not affect all parts of the basin in the same way and at the same time. We show that this heterogeneity can be used to identify the contributions of forcing factors by comparing various parts of a basin. This approach is applied to the Pannonian Basin, a back-arc basin located in Central Europe. In the basin, the amounts of crustal extension, tectonic inversion and sediment influx varied in space and time, while the connection with the marine realm fluctuated. In this study we focus on two currently unresolved issues: firstly, we establish by what processes and from what directions the basin was filled in, and secondly, we investigate whether the basin was affected by the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The analysis of seismic and well data in the previously less studied SE part of the basin demonstrate that progradation occurred from the southern and eastern basin margins, complementing the previously described progradation from the northwestern and northern basin margins. Elsewhere in the basin, an unconformity observed in the progradational basin infill is intensely debated to be the result of either the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) or basin inversion. Having the advantage of minor Pliocene–Quaternary amounts of inversion in the studied part of the basin we show that no regional unconformity is present in the studied stratigraphic interval, which implies that the effects of the MSC on the basin were minor. We infer that being aware of the fact that the effects of relative sea/lake-level fluctuations may vary significantly across a basin is critical for understanding the evolution of semi-enclosed basins.

A 2D gravity and magnetic data model has been constructed along a 71 km densely observed profile, called DACIA PLAN GRAV MAN's. The profile crosses part of the nappe pile of the south-eastern Carpathians and includes the seismically active Vrancea Zone and was acquired with the objective to illuminate the basement structure and affinity in this area. The modelling approach was to create an initial model from well constrained geological information, integrate it with previous seismic ray tracing and tomographic models and then alter it outside the a priori constraints in order to reach the best fit between observed and calculated potential field anomalies. The results support a realignment of the position of the TTZ (Tornquist-Teisseyre Zone), the profound tectonic boundary within Europe that separates Precambrian cratonic lithosphere of the East European Craton (EEC) from younger accreted lithosphere of Phanerozoic mobile belts to its west. The TTZ is shown to lie further to the south-west than was previously inferred within Romania, where it is largely obscured by the Carpathian nappes. The crust of the EEC beneath the south-eastern Carpathians is inferred to terminate along a major crustal structure lying just west of the Vrancea seismogenic zone. The intermediate depth seismicity of the Vrancea Zone therefore lies within the EEC lithosphere, generally supporting previously proposed models invoking delamination of cratonic lithosphere as the responsible mechanism.

Understanding the interactions between surface and deep Earth processes is important for research in many diverse scientific areas including climate, environment, energy, georesources and biosphere. The TOPO-EUROPE initiative of the International Lithosphere Program serves as a pan-European platform for integrated surface and deep Earth sciences, synergizing observational studies of the Earth structure and fluxes on all spatial and temporal scales with modelling of Earth processes. This review provides a survey of scientific developments in our quantitative understanding of coupled surface-deep Earth processes achieved through TOPO-EUROPE. The most notable innovations include (1) a process-based understanding of the connection of upper mantle dynamics and absolute plate motion frames; (2) integrated models for sediment source-to-sink dynamics, demonstrating the importance of mass transfer from mountains to basins and from basin to basin; (3) demonstration of the key role of polyphase evolution of sedimentary basins, the impact of pre-rift and pre-orogenic structures, and the evolution of subsequent lithosphere and landscape dynamics; (4) improved conceptual understanding of the temporal evolution from back-arc extension to tectonic inversion and onset of subduction; (5) models to explain the integrated strength of Europe's lithosphere; (6) concepts governing the interplay between thermal upper mantle processes and stress-induced intraplate deformation; (7) constraints on the record of vertical motions from high-resolution data sets obtained from geo-thermochronology for Europe's topographic evolution; (8) recognition and quantifications of the forcing by erosional and/or glacial-interglacial surface mass transfer on the regional magmatism, with major implications for our understanding of the carbon cycle on geological timescales and the emerging field of biogeodynamics; and (9) the transfer of insights obtained on the coupling of deep Earth and surface processes to the domain of geothermal energy exploration. Concerning the future research agenda of TOPO-EUROPE, we also discuss the rich potential for further advances, multidisciplinary research and community building across many scientific frontiers, including research on the biosphere, climate and energy. These will focus on obtaining a better insight into the initiation and evolution of subduction systems, the role of mantle plumes in continental rifting and (super)continent break-up, and the deformation and tectonic reactivation of cratons; the interaction between geodynamic, surface and climate processes, such as interactions between glaciation, sea level change and deep Earth processes; the sensitivity, tipping points, and spatio-temporal evolution of the interactions between climate and tectonics as well as the role of rock melting and outgassing in affecting such interactions; the emerging field of biogeodynamics, that is the impact of coupled deep Earth – surface processes on the evolution of life on Earth; and tightening the connection between societal challenges regarding renewable georesources, climate change, natural geohazards, and novel process-understanding of the Earth system.