Landslides and slope failures in Scotland: A review

Ballantyne, Colin K.

doi:10.1080/00369228618736667

Cited by 58 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…Havenith et al, 2003), presumably for reasons of rock structure and local topography. This morphology is not unusual in UK - Ballantyne (1986) and Jarman (2006) note that approximately half the c. 600 rock slope failures in Scotland are semi-intact arrested translational slides with similar deformation and disaggregation to those of Threlkeld Knotts. Another possible explanation for the morphology of Threlkeld Knotts is that the failure took place while the Vale of St Johns contained stagnant or slow-moving ice towards the close of the last glaciation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…The existence of numerous rock-slope failures (RSFs) in the uplands of Britain has long been known (Clough, 1897;Ballantyne, 1986), but systematic investigations are still in their infancy (Jarman, 2003(Jarman, , 2006Wilson et al, 2004). However, recent studies in Scotland (Ballantyne, 2002;Jarman, 2002Jarman, , 2006 and the Lake District (Wilson, 2003;Clark and Wilson, 2004;Wilson, 2005;Wilson and Smith, 2006) recognize mass movements as significant geomorphic events in the glaciated landscapes of upland Britain (Cooper, 2007).…”

Section: Rock Slope Failures In the Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A large landslide event in a post‐glacial landscape: rethinking glacial legacy

Davies

Warburton

Dunning

et al. 2013

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Threlkeld Knotts (c. 500 m above sea level) in the English Lake District has hitherto been considered to be a glacially‐modified intrusion of microgranite. However, its surface features are incompatible with glacial modification; neither can these nor the subsurface structures revealed by ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) be explained by post‐glacial subaerial processes acting on a glacially‐modified microgranite intrusion. Here we re‐interpret Threlkeld Knotts as a very large post‐glacial landslide involving the microgranite, with an estimated volume of about 4 × 107 m3. This interpretation is tested against published and recent information on the geology of the site, the glacial geomorphic history of the area and newly‐acquired GPR data. More than 60 large post‐Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) rock–slope failures have significantly modified the glaciated landscape of the Lake District; this is one of the largest. Recognition of this major landslide deposit in such a well‐studied environment highlights the need to continuously re‐examine landscapes in the light of increasing knowledge of geomorphic processes and with available technology in currently active or de‐glaciating environments. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Rock Slope Failures In the Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

A large landslide event in a post‐glacial landscape: rethinking glacial legacy

Davies

Warburton

Dunning

et al. 2013

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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“…In the mountains of Great Britain, a small number of rock-slope failures are known to have occurred during the Late Devensian Lateglacial, during the interval between ice-sheet deglaciation and the beginning of the Holocene (e.g. Ballantyne, 1986b;Shakesby and Matthews, 1996), but surface exposure dating using cosmogenic isotopes has shown that other major landslides occurred much later. A major rockslide at The Storr on the Isle of Skye occurred at 6.5 AE 0.5 ka (Ballantyne et al, 1998), a massive rock avalanche on Beinn Alligin in the NW Highlands has been dated to 4.0 AE 0.3 ka (Ballantyne and Stone, 2004) and a rock avalanche near Glencoe has been dated to ca.…”

Section: Paraglacial Landscape Modificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure dating and reinterpretation of coarse debris accumulations (‘rock glaciers’) in the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland

Ballantyne

Schnabel

2008

J Quaternary Science

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Relict rock glaciers have considerable potential for contributing to palaeoclimatic reconstruction, but this potential is often undermined by lack of dating control and problems of interpretation. Here we reinvestigate and date four proposed 'rock glaciers' in the Cairngorm Mountains and show that the morphology of only one of these appears consistent with that of a true rock glacier produced by creep of underlying ice or ice-rich sediment. All four features comprise rockslide or rock avalanche runout debris, and the possibility that all four represent unmodified runout accumulations cannot be discounted. Surface exposure dating of the four debris accumulations using cosmogenic 10 Be produced uncertainty-weighted mean ages of 15.4 AE 0.8 ka, 16.2 AE 1.0 ka, 12.1 AE 0.6 ka and 12.7 AE 0.8 ka. All four ages imply emplacement under cold stadial conditions, two prior to the Windermere Interstade of ca. 14.5-12.9 cal. ka BP and two during the Loch Lomond Stade of ca. 12.9-11.5 cal. ka BP. The above ages indicate that paraglacial rock-slope failure on granite rockwalls occurred within a few millennia after deglaciation. The mean exposure ages obtained for runout debris at two sites -Strath Nethy (16.2 AE 1.0 ka) and Lairig Ghru (15.4 AE 0.8 ka) -are consistent with basal radiocarbon ages from Loch Etteridge, 22 km to the southwest (mean ¼ 15.6 AE 0.3 cal. ka BP) and imply widespread deglaciation of the Cairngorms and adjacent valleys before 15 ka and possibly 16 ka.

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“…Over 600 sites of rock-slope failure (RSF) have been recorded in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (Ballantyne, 1986a;Jarman, 2007a), and others remain to be identified. Jarman (2006) has documented 140 rock-slope failures exceeding 0.25 km 2 in area on the Scottish Mainland, and classified these into five types ( Figure 5).…”

Section: Models Of Paraglacial Sediment Yieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the mainland, the great majority of RSFs are associated with Moine and Dalradian metasediments, particularly in areas of steep relief, but the distribution of RSFs on such terrain is uneven, with distinct clusters in some areas such as Kintail, Lochaber and the Arrochar region (Ballantyne, 1986a;Jarman, 2006;Figure 12). Proposed explanations for these clusters in terms of former glacier limits and palaeoseismicity (e.g.…”

Section: Distribution and Timing Of Rock-slope Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

After the Ice: Holocene Geomorphic Activity in the Scottish Highlands

Ballantyne

2008

Scottish Geographical Journal

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A rich variety of processes have modified the glacial landscape of the Scottish Highlands since the last glaciers disappeared 11,500 years ago. Many of these processes can be described as paraglacial (glacially-conditioned): retreat of glacier ice has resulted in exposure of metastable sediment sources (rock slopes, drift-mantled slopes and valley-floor glacigenic deposits) that have been reworked over a range of timescales. Much of the reworked sediment has been deposited in paraglacial sediment stores (talus accumulations, debris cones, alluvial fans, valley fills, river terraces and deltas). The trajectory of paraglacial sediment transfer can be approximated by an exhaustion model. A corollary of this model is that all sediment stores eventually undergo a change from net accumulation to net erosion, reflecting the non-renewable nature of sediment sources. This concept helps to explain why most talus accumulations, debris cones and alluvial fans in the Highlands are now relict, and why many floodplains appear to have experienced an initial period of aggradation followed by later river incision and terrace development. Since deglaciation, rock slopes have experienced paraglacial stress release due to differential deglacial unloading. Many rock slopes have remained stable or experienced gradual adjustment through intermittent rockfall. At over 600 sites, however, large-scale rock-slope failure has occurred, either in the form of catastrophic failure with complete or arrested debris runout, or as major slope deformations. Modification of drift-mantled slopes has been dominated by rainstorm-generated debris flows activity, which have stripped sediment from slopes and redeposited it in debris cones. Radiocarbon dating of buried organic horizons shows that debris flows have occurred intermittently throughout the Holocene. Snow avalanches have played only a localized role in paraglacial sediment transfer. The Holocene alluvial history of the Highlands is poorly understood. Some alluvial fans formed during a few exceptional flood events, and there is evidence that postglacial floodplain aggradation peaked in the late Holocene and was succeeded by floodplain incision and terrace development, possibly reflecting upstream reduction in paraglacial sediment supply. Other processes have operated independently of glacial conditioning. The effects of wind action are dominant in the coastal zone, forming dunefields through aeolian reworking of beach sand, and on plateaux in the form of deflation surfaces and sand sheets. Extensive erosion of plateau-top sands and aeolisols occurred in the period AD 1550-1700, a period of exceptional storminess. Small-scale periglacial processes have also been active on high ground throughout the Holocene, including granular weathering of exposed rock surfaces, the development of small-scale frost-sorted patterned ground on unvegetated terrain, and slow downslope movement of solifluction sheets, solifluction lobes and ploughing boulders.

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Landslides and slope failures in Scotland: A review

Cited by 58 publications

References 21 publications

A large landslide event in a post‐glacial landscape: rethinking glacial legacy

A large landslide event in a post‐glacial landscape: rethinking glacial legacy

Exposure dating and reinterpretation of coarse debris accumulations (‘rock glaciers’) in the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland

After the Ice: Holocene Geomorphic Activity in the Scottish Highlands

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