Monitoring and modelling landslides in Scotland

Landslides can cause potentially costly damage and disruption to Scottish road infrastructure. Debris-flows, a fast-moving torrent of solids mixed with water, are by far the most frequent cause and are capable of wide-reaching impacts, due to their high mobility. Many debris flow events have been recorded across Scotland, particularly at the highly active A83 Rest and be Thankful (RabT). This report builds on previous work on debris flows in Scotland. It demonstrates the potential of Terrestrial Laser Scanning and modelling to enable a better understanding of the hazards, particularly runout. A key finding of the monitoring has been the segregation of slope failure processes into either the modification of existing hillslope gully systems (producing net deposition or scour), or the development of new channels or channel regions. Both effects are significant, as they may result in the release of otherwise consolidated/poorly consolidated sediment stores.