The impact of climate and climate change on infrastructure slopes, with particular reference to southern England

Climate interacts with infrastructure slopes and their associated vegetation to cause changes in porewater pressures and shear strength with time. Extreme events may ultimately lead to slope failure as a result of increases in porewater pressure and/or decreases in strength. In addition, certain weather conditions may also cause serviceability problems owing to excessive movements. This paper uses network-level studies of infrastructure earthwork performance, site-specific data and numerical modelling to explore the relationships between climate, geological conditions and the performance of the UK's earthworks. Key factors for understanding earthwork behaviour are identified, including plasticity and permeability. How climate change may affect UK infrastructure slopes is then considered, assessing how different failure mechanisms may become more prevalent in the future and hence the relative risk at different sites may change.

• Authors:
  • LOVERIDGE, F A
  • SPINK, T W
  • O'BRIEN, A S
  • BRIGGS, K M
  • BUTCHER, D
• Publication Date: 2010-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 461-472
• Serial:
  • QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY & HYDROGEOLOGY
  • Volume: 43
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY (UK)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Failure; Hazards; Mathematical models; Safety; Strength of materials
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 5520: Failure; 6473: Mathematical model; 9150: Risk; 1665: Safety; 5544: Strength (mater); 8119: United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors; I40: Soils and Rocks;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01336613
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: TRL
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Apr 15 2011 4:09PM