Landslides triggered by Storm Desmond at the A83, Rest and Be Thankful, Scotland

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Storm Desmond produced intense and prolonged rainfall which resulted in extensive flooding in the U.K. A number of landslides were also triggered, many of which damaged infrastructure and the transport network in particular. We are in a unique position, holding pre-event, and during event data for slopes that failed during and after Storm Desmond (Figs. 1, 2) at the most 'at risk' trunk road in Scotland1-3, the A83 Rest and Be Thankful (RABT), Argyll and Bute, which is a key arterial route. Since 2007 at least 13 debris flows have occurred, with road closures causing annual estimated losses of £286,300 to the local economy1-3. Existing monitoring (Fig. 1) has been invaluable in defining post-event conditions and sediment dynamics with instruments often installed after events, but there are no complete (pre- and post-) data on a single large event. This is essential in refining and validating physical and numerical modelling approaches, which can be used for enhanced management of the problem, and the design/refinement of appropriate monitoring and mitigation strategies that our project partners are responsible for putting into operation. Our proposal is to collect transient post-event data to allow follow-on funding proposals to answer the outstanding science questions, which are relevant for multiple sites beyond the RABT, and to document the transience of key evidence to inform how 'urgently' we do need respond to future large events to adequately quantify them.