Summer solifluction and distributary formation

Baird, P.D.; Lewis, W. V.

doi:10.1080/00369225708735674

Cited by 30 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Rock sagging or 'Sackung', the large-scale deformation of rock slopes without a continuous failure plane necessarily forming, was first identified even more recently by Holmes (1984;Holmes and Jarvis, 1985). Although debris flows have long been recognised in Scotland (Barrow and Cunningham Craig, 1912;Common, 1954;Baird and Lewis, 1957), the term itself is of much more recent usage. Table 1.…”

Section: Landslide Types and Frequency Of Documentationmentioning

confidence: 96%

Landslides and slope failures in Scotland: A review

Ballantyne

1986

Scottish Geographical Magazine

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Section: Landslide Types and Frequency Of Documentationmentioning

confidence: 96%

Landslides and slope failures in Scotland: A review

Ballantyne

1986

Scottish Geographical Magazine

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“…Hillslope flows tend to be most common on slopes mantled by sediment with a cohesionless sandy matrix, and are therefore particularly widespread on sandstone and granite mountainsides (Innes, 1983b(Innes, , 1986. Hillslope flows occur on talus (Hinchliffe et al, 1998;Hinchliffe, 1999) and regolith derived from weathered bedrock (Innes, 1986;Reid & Thomas, 2006), but are most widespread on glacigenic deposits mantling valley-side slopes (Baird & Lewis, 1957;Brazier et al, 1988;Brazier & Ballantyne, 1989, Ballantyne & Benn, 1996Curry 2000aCurry , 2000b; Figure 15). The characteristic landforms produced by drift reworking are deep driftcut gullies feeding coalescing debris cones with surface gradients averaging 10-258.…”

Section: Paraglacial Modification Of Drift-mantled Slopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within gullies, however, flood torrents may be transformed into debris flows by the addition of sediment from gully walls and floors (Bovis & Dagg, 1992) or failure of debris dams (van Steijn et al, 1988). In all cases, debris flows are initiated when a build-up of porewater (Common, 1954;Baird & Lewis, 1957;Jenkins et al, 1988;Luckman, 1992). At sites that are prone to recurrent debris-flow activity, such as the Lairig Ghru or Drumochter Pass, the present recurrence interval between debris flow events is of the order of 10-50 years (Ballantyne, 2002d).…”

Section: Paraglacial Modification Of Drift-mantled Slopesmentioning

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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“…becoming cooler and/or wetter) or an increase in the frequency of intense rainstorms that generate extreme flood events is open to debate, although research on the effects of recent extreme storms in upland valleys in Scotland (e.g. Baird and Lewis, 1956;Acreman, 1983Acreman, , 1991McEwen and Werritty, 1988) seems to suggest that the latter is more probable. Recent work by Rumsby and Macklin (1994) on the association between episodes of floodplain incision and decadal-scale climate change in northern England also suggests that the higher frequency of large floods during periods of cooler and wetter climate is critical in causing floodplain incision.…”

Section: Causes Of Valley Floor Incisionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…growing amount of evidence to support the high geomorphic impact of localized convective storms in small catchments with coarse sediment sizes and high entrainment thresholds' (e.g. Baird and Lewis, 1956;Acreman, 1983Acreman, , 1991McEwen and Werritty, 1988), which suggests that such storms may represent the dominant formative events in some upland catchments. Support for the extreme event hypothesis is also provided by the observations of Harvey (1986) and Wells and Harvey (1987) on the effects of an extreme storm in 1982 in northwest England.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%