Talus rock glaciers in Scotland: Characteristics and controls on formation

ABSTRACT

Talus rock glaciers produced by creep of internal ice are common in mountains underlain by permafrost. In Scotland, relict talus rock glaciers of inferred Loch Lomond Stadial age are rare, despite widespread former permafrost. In part this reflects occupation of favourable sites by glacier ice. Outside the glacierized area, rock glacier formation was constrained by debris thickness. The debris in most of the rock glaciers studied appears to have been supplied by rock-slope failure, suggesting that steady-state rockfall accumulation was generally insufficient to initiate rock-glacier creep.

KEYWORDS:

• Loch Lomond Stadial
• Permafrost
• Rock slope failure
• Talus rock glacier
• Scotland