{"id":36612,"date":"2021-02-09T08:11:37","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T08:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.agu.org\/landslideblog\/?p=36612"},"modified":"2021-02-09T08:11:37","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T08:11:37","slug":"southannan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.agu.org\/landslideblog\/2021\/02\/09\/southannan\/","title":{"rendered":"Southannan: a major railway landslide in Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Southannan: a major railway landslide in Scotland<\/h4>\n

The United Kingdom has seen a prolonged period of heavy rainfall and, at times, snowfall in recent weeks.\u00a0 This has led to reports of landslides from around the country, including substantial numbers on coastal cliffs.\u00a0 Perhaps the most significant event however has happened close to Southannan in Ayrshire, in SW Scotland.\u00a0 This landslide, and another smaller event, have affected the railway line<\/a> between Ardrossan and Largs.<\/p>\n

Network Rail Scotland has tweeted out an image that provides a really good overview of the landslide<\/a>:-<\/p>\n

\"The

The landslide at Southannan in SW Scotland. Image tweeted by Network Rail Scotland<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

This is a classic translational slope failure, with a failure plain that is quite deep, in weathered soil and regolith.\u00a0 It has reportedly blocked the line for a distance of about 50 metres.\u00a0 Note the large amounts of water on the surface of the landslide.\u00a0 I’m also interested by the surface water at the crown of the slide.\u00a0 It appears that water has flowed down the track from the top of the image, and there is then a puddle right at the head of the landslide (alongside some inquisitive sheep).\u00a0 Is it possible that water was being fed into the slope at this point, triggering the failure?<\/p>\n

The Largs and Millport Weekly News website has a report about this landslide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The other landslide has occurred on a slope below the railway line.\u00a0 There is a video in a tweet by Network Rail Scotland:-<\/p>\n

\n

This is the other landslip we're dealing with, between Ardrossan and West Kilbride. You can see the signalling cable and the troughing which normally holds it suspended in the air. <\/p>\n

We'll be speaking to the team who'll reopen the railway again at lunchtime for an update. pic.twitter.com\/MAN8cgHBLz<\/a><\/p>\n

— Network Rail Scotland (@NetworkRailSCOT) February 8, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n