The A83 Loch Shira landslide, Scotland
The A83 Loch Shira landslide, Scotland
The A83 Loch Shira landslide has been active since the early-1990s, and this paper will present a brief history of this mass movement. Significant movements are evident in the bund immediately adjacent to the road, narrowing the verge from around 2m in 1995 to effectively zero in places. Movement is also apparent in the cut slope above the bund and evidenced clearly by the significant distortion of a catch pit, the date of installation of which, while post-1995, is unknown. The movement of the landslide is driven by groundwater, specifically water from rockhead at the interface with the superficial deposits. This drives movement downslope to the stiffer complex formed by a retaining wall, the road and the rockfill bund adjacent to the road. In 1995 it was postulated that this stiffer complex could store energy and potentially lead to a catastrophic failure. The movement of the bund and the cut slope above seems likely to be a manifestation of a limited pressure (or energy) release and the current state of the landslide is of concern. The potential adverse influences of climate change on the landslide include increased water in the system from both direct rainfall and recharged groundwater, storm effects on the retaining wall and erosion of the slope above the retaining wall from increased road runoff.
Mike G. Winter; Tanja Waaser; George Fiddes
18th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ECSMGE2024)
B - Geohazards
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