Peat slides in Teesdale and Weardale, northern pennines, july 1983: Description and failure mechanisms

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Abstract
Peat landslides that occurred in Upper Teesdale and Weardale in 1983 are described. The slides occurred after thunderstorm rainfall of a very rare intensity and return period. The slope geomorphological features and the vegetation associated with the slide areas are detailed.Baseline geotechnical data are used in a simple retrospective stability analysis, treating the peat slides as shallow translational slips. The analysis demonstrates the probable important role played by open moor drains, natural soil pipes, and prior cracking of the peat (owing to dessication or slow mass movement) in the rapid transfer of water to the failure zone within an impervious sensitive clay beneath the peat.The frequency of peat landslides and the visual persistence of sites is considered briefly in relation to substratum and peat stability within a context of climatic change. It is suggested that there may be a gradation of type from the classic Irish bog‐burst, through failures of intermediate character, to peat slips involving rigid peat blocks. Antecedent conditions and the mechanism of failure need not be similar for mass movements at either end of this spectrum.

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