With the continuous advances in geotechnical engineering, especially in deep underground areas, geo-engineers are faced with increasingly complex geomaterials and geotechnical environments. In recent years, the construction of railway and water conservancy facilities has been carried out in increasingly high-altitude areas. High in-situ stress in long tunnels, high seepage pressure of groundwater, and multi-field coupling of dynamic loads are all leading to new characteristic scientific phenomena in the engineering response of deep rock mass.

Based on continuum mechanics and phenomenological methodologies, conventional mechanics encounters many difficulties when describing the complicated behavior of rock mass or soil mass, such as discontinuous responses, large deformation and failure, and the impacts of complex environments. Geomechanics, from micro to macro, starts from particle-scale characterization of soils or rocks and upscales to its macroscopic behavior. In this way, the microscopic mechanisms can be revealed to better understand the complex behavior of problematic soils or rocks. The multi-scale theories and methodologies established can then solve the key problems in geomechanics and geotechnical engineering and finally upgrade engineering designs. Soft rock is easily destroyed by accelerated creep under high in-situ stress. Dynamic water pressure has a significant influence on rock mass hydraulic fracturing. Multi-field coupling of high geostress, high seepage pressure, and dynamic load are all factors that can lead to water inrush, large deformation of soft rock, and rockburst disaster, the mechanisms of which are all important in geotechnical engineering. Facing these challenges, scholars from different disciplines need to work together to improve disaster prevention and control methods to ensure the safety of engineering and construction projects.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect original research and review articles that discuss the mechanisms and control of geological disasters in deep engineering under coupled high geostress, high altitude, high seismic intensity, high temperature, and high water pressure. We welcome submissions related to field investigations and monitoring, theoretical derivation, laboratory tests, and numerical and physical modeling at various scales. We welcome both original research and review articles.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Stability control of soft rock tunnels
• Nonlinear mechanical characteristics of deep rock mass
• Macroscopic and microscopic damage behaviour of deep rock mass
• Multi-field coupling failure mechanisms of deep rock mass
• Mechanisms and processes of water gushing under high stress and high seepage pressure
• Applications of numerical methods in geotechnical and geological disasters
• Dynamic responses of geotechnical and geological disasters under strong earthquakes
• In-site survey methods and procedures for engineering geology and hydrogeology
• Monitoring of complex rock slope in high geostress areas
• Big data-driven hazard assessment
• Theoretical analysis of natural hazards
• New techniques and materials for disaster risk reduction