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This is the first of two volumes devoted to earthquakes and multi-hazards around the Pacific Rim. The circum-Pacific seismic belt is home to roughly 80% of the world's largest earthquakes, making it the ideal location for investigating earthquakes and related hazards such as tsunamis and landslides. Gathering 16 papers that cover a range of topics related to multi-hazards, the book is divided into three sections: earthquake physics, earthquake simulation and data assimilation, and multi-hazard assessment and earthquake forecasting models. The first section includes papers on laboratory-derived rheological parameters as well as seismic studies in the Gulf of California and China. In turn, the second section includes papers on improvements in earthquake simulators as well as the statistical methods used to evaluate their performance, automated methods for determining fault slip using near-field interferometric data, variabilities in earthquake stress drops in California, and the use of social media data to supplement physical sensor data when estimating local earthquake intensity. The final section includes a paper on probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment, several papers on time-dependent seismic hazard analysis around the Pacific Rim, and a paper on induced and triggered seismicity at the Geysers geothermal field in California. Rapid advances are being made in our understanding of multi-hazards, as well as the range of tools used to investigate them. This volume provides a representative cross-section of how state-of-the-art knowledge and tools are currently being applied to multi-hazards around the Pacific Rim. The material here should be of interest to scientists involved in all areas of multi-hazards, particularly seismic and tsunami hazards. In addition, it offers a valuable resource for students in the geosciences, covering a broad spectrum of topics related to hazard research.

The subject of this NATO Advanced Study Institute was seismic monitoring under a nuclear test ban - an application of scienti­ fic knowledge and modern technology for a political purpose. The international political objective of a comprehensive nuclear test ban provided in turn the motivation for our technical and scientific discussions. In order to obtain a historical perspec­ tive on the progress of the work towards a comprehensive test-ban treaty (CTB), it is necessary to go back to 1958, when a confer­ ence of scientific experts in Geneva made the first steps toward an international seismic monitoring system. However, agreement on actual capabilities of a monitoring system for verifying compliance with such a treaty was not achieved, and thus the conference did not lead to immediate political results. After the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, which banned nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, outer space and under the seas, renewed interest in the seismological verification of a CTB took place. A number of countries initiated large-scale research efforts toward detecting and identifying underground nuclear explosions, and it was in this context that the large­ aperture seismic arrays NORSAR and LASA were established. This type of development resulted in excellent seismic data in digital form and was thus of great irnprotance to the seismological com­ munity.