The coastal landslides of Shetland

Colin K. Ballantyne, Sue Dawson, Ryan Dick, Derek Fabel, Emilija Kralikaite, Fraser Milne, Graeme F. Sandeman, and Sheng Xu

Date of deposit 18 04 2018

Document version Author’s accepted manuscript

Access rights © 2018 Royal Scottish Geographical Society. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version.

Citation for Ballantyne, C. K., Dawson, S., Dick, R., Fabel, D., Kralikaite, E., published version Milne, F., Sandeman, G. F., and Xu, S. (2018). The coastal landslides of Shetland. Scottish Geographical Journal, Latest Articles.

Link to published https://doi.org/10.1080/14702541.2018.1457169 version

Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/

Page 1 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 3 The coastal landslides of Shetland 4 5 6 7 ABSTRACT Little is known of hard-rock coastal landsliding in Scotland. We identify 128 8 9 individual coastal landslides or landslide complexes >50 m wide along the coasts of Shetland. 10 11 Most are apparently translational slides characterized by headscarps, displaced blocks and/or 12 debris runout, but 13 deep-seated failures with tension cracks up to 200 m inland from cliff 13 14 crests were also identified. 31 sites exhibit evidence of at least localized recent activity. 15 Landslide distribution is primarily determined by the distribution of coastal cliffs >30 m high, 16 For Peer Review Only 17 and they are preferentially developed on metasedimentary rocks. Analysis of 16 landslides on 18 19 Fetlar (NE Shetland) indicates that most are translational dip-slip failures; three represent deep- 20 seated failures; and several exhibit active frontal erosion attributable to basal sapping by storm 21 22 waves. As these landslides terminate in shallow water, failure was probably initiated when 23 rising sea level resulted in footslope erosion and upslope propagation of instability, causing 24 25 downslope displacement of landslide blocks on upper slopes. 10Be exposure dating of two 26 27 headscarps yielded ages of 4.8±0.2 ka and 4.4±0.2 ka, consistent with the onset of footslope 28 erosion as sea level rose. Our results suggest that landslides have played a hitherto 29 30 undocumented but important role in retreat of cliffed coastlines in Scotland. 31 32 33 KEY WORDS: coastal landslides; rock-slope failure; sea-level rise; arrested translational slides; 34 10 35 deep-seated failure; cosmogenic Be exposure dating 36

37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 1 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 2 of 40

1 2 Introduction 3 4 5 6 In this paper, the term landslide is used to refer to slope failure seated in bedrock, irrespective of 7 the mode of mass movement. Our use of this term therefore incorporates not only rockslides 8 9 sensu stricto, but also major rockfalls, toppling failures, cliff collapses, deep-seated slope 10 displacement, and complex rock-slope failures involving two or more types of movement. 11 12 13 14 Recent decades have witnessed considerable research into the distribution, age and causes of 15 rock-slope failures in the Scottish Highlands and Hebrides (Ballantyne 1986, 2013; Ballantyne 16 For Peer Review Only 17 & Stone 2013; Ballantyne et al. 2014a, 2014b; Cave & Ballantyne 2016; Jarman 2006, 2007), 18 19 but current understanding of landslides along the cliffed coasts of Scotland is very limited. For 20 Great Britain as a whole, a literature-based landslide inventory compiled by Jones & Lee (1994) 21 22 identified over 1300 coastal landslides, but the great majority relate to relatively weak 23 sedimentary rocks or unlithfied sediments, particularly in southern and eastern England. For 24 25 Scotland north of the Highland Boundary, almost all of the literature on coastal landslides 26 27 concerns those of the Tertiary Igneous Province on the islands of Skye, Raasay, Mull and Eigg 28 (Anderson & Dunham 1966; Bailey & Anderson 1925; Ballantyne 2016; Godard 1965; Lee 29 30 1920; Richards 1971). These landslides involve deep-seated (often rotational) failure of Jurassic 31 sedimentary rocks, usually under stacked Palaeogene lavas, and are therefore structurally and 32 33 lithologically unrepresentative of coasts elsewhere in Scotland. 34 35 36 There is also a dearth of information on the age of coastal landslides in Scotland. Several 37 38 authors have noted evidence of recent small-scale movements of some associated with 39 40 Palaeogene igneous rocks on Skye, Mull and Arran (Anderson & Dunham 1966; Bailey & 41 Anderson 1925; Worth 1956). Richards (1971) investigated the relationships between coastal 42 43 landslides in the Inner Hebrides and raised shorelines. He found that some apparently pre-date 44 Lateglacial shorelines, implying that failure occurred fairly soon after ice-sheet deglaciation, 45 46 whereas some pre-date only the highest Holocene shorelines, implying failure during the 47 48 Lateglacial or early Holocene; others appear to be of more recent (mid to late Holocene) age. 49 50 51 To investigate the nature and distribution of coastal landslides outside the Tertiary Igneous 52 53 Province we selected the Shetland Isles for analysis, primarily because of the wide range of rock 54 types present (Mykura 1976) and also because the Shetland coastline supports extensive areas of 55 56 high sea cliffs (Flinn 1974). The aims of the research reported here are (1) to establish the 57 58 59 2 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 3 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 distribution of moderate- to large-scale landslides on the coasts of Shetland and controls on their 3 4 distribution, and (2) to investigate in greater detail the nature, characteristics, age and evolution 5 6 of a subset of the Shetland landslides, through field investigations of those located along the 7 west coast of Fetlar, in NE Shetland. 8 9 10 Shetland: location, geology and Quaternary history 11 12 13 14 The Shetland archipelago (59°51'–60°51'N; 0°46'–1°46'W; Figure 1) represents the 15 northernmost part of the British Isles. The largest island (Mainland) is deeply indented by inlets 16 For Peer Review Only 17 and can be subdivided into NW Mainland (west of Sullom Voe), the Walls Peninsula in the 18 19 west, south Mainland (south of Lerwick) and central Mainland (north of Lerwick). To the NE of 20 Mainland lie the large islands of Yell, Unst and Fetlar (Figure 1) and numerous smaller islands 21 22 and skerries lie offshore from Mainland. Almost all of Shetland lies below 300 m OD. 23 24 25 Apart from a relatively limited outcrop of basement gneiss of probable Lewisian age, Shetland 26 27 consists of mainly ancient sedimentary rocks that were metamorphosed and intruded by igneous 28 rocks during the Caledonian Orogeny, and of Devonian sedimentary and volcanic rocks that 29 30 were emplaced and folded during the final stages of that orogeny (Mykura 1976; Mykura & 31 Phemister 1976). As in the Scottish Highlands, the metasedimentary rocks that underlie most of 32 33 Shetland (Figure 1) are highly variable in composition and include impure quartzites, gneisses, 34 35 psammites and pelites. The intrusive complexes are primarily granitic, the sedimentary 36 sequences are dominated by sandstones, often steeply inclined by later folding, and the limited 37 38 outcrop of volcanic rocks in western Shetland comprises basalts, andesites, rhyolites and 39 40 ignimbrites with interbedded tuffs and agglomerates. In Unst and Fetlar, a thrust fault separates 41 the metasedimentary sequence from an ophiolite complex of obducted oceanic crust of variable 42 43 composition, including layers of metaharzburgite, metadunite, metagabbro, phyllite and, in NE 44 Unst, granitic rock (Flinn 2014). 45 46 47 48 Shetland was completely ice-covered during the last (Late Devensian) glacial maximum of ~27– 49 19 ka. Interpretation of events during this period has polarized around two viewpoints: (1) that 50 51 the archipelago was over-run by ice moving westwards from the North Sea Basin, and 52 53 developed an independent ice cap only during ice-sheet retreat (Carr & Hiemstra 2013; Clark et 54 al. 2012; Golledge et al. 2008), and (2) that Shetland nourished an independent ice cap that 55 56 persisted throughout the last glacial maximum (Flinn 1977, 1978, 2009). Review of the 57 58 59 3 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 4 of 40

1 2 literature and field evidence by Hall (2013) strongly supports the latter view. Basal radiocarbon 3 4 ages from sites on Shetland imply that most of the archipelago was deglaciated between ~17 ka 5 6 and ~16 ka (Ballantyne & Small 2018). Shetland therefore experienced severe periglacial 7 conditions both during the final period of ice-sheet deglaciation (~17–16 ka to ~14.7 ka) and the 8 9 Loch Lomond (Younger Dryas) Stade of ~12.9–11.7 ka. During these periods permafrost 10 existed down to sea level and mean annual air temperatures at sea level fell to -6°C or lower 11 12 (Ballantyne 2018). During much of the Holocene (~11.7 ka to the present) climatic conditions 13 14 were similar to now, though 'average' temperatures may have oscillated by up to ± 2°C over 15 decades or longer (Briffa & Atkinson 1997). 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 Throughout the Holocene, sea level has been rising around the coasts of Shetland (Bondevik et 20 al. 2005; May & Hansom 2003; Shennan & Horton 2002; Figure 2). Flinn (1964, 1969, 1974, 21 22 1977, 2014) has described the characteristics of the Shetland coastline, drawing a distinction 23 between an 'inner coast' of valleys and low-lying areas that have been progressively drowned by 24 25 Holocene sea-level rise and an 'outer coast' of rock cliffs. He inferred that the present cliffs 26 27 originated as pre-Pleistocene landforms that have experienced very slow retreat due to wave 28 erosion and resultant cliff collapse during the Quaternary as sea levels fluctuated. He noted that 29 30 although some cliffs plunge to depths of up to 80 m, in many cases there is a distinct break of 31 slope at or just below the present intertidal zone, with the nearshore rockhead sloping away from 32 33 the base of cliffs at gentle gradients of around 6°, though rock platforms produced by cliff 34 35 retreat are generally narrow and localized, and raised beaches are absent. An implication of the 36 basal break of slope at the foot of many Shetland cliffs is that such cliffs may have terminated 37 38 downslope on dry land above the intertidal zone throughout much of the early and middle 39 40 Holocene, when sea level was lower than now (Figure 2) and hence were not subject to basal 41 erosion by wave action during this period. Alternatively, the gently-sloping rock ramp in the 42 43 nearshore may at least in part be the product of renewed coastal erosion and cliff retreat since 44 deglaciation. 45 46 47 48 The present tidal range around the coasts of Shetland is amongst the lowest in the British Isles 49 (0.75–1.0 m; Clayton et al. 2003), implying that wave action is normally limited to a narrow 50 51 zone at the foot of cliffs. However, the outer coasts of Shetland are exposed to storm waves that 52 53 rise high above the intertidal zone, particularly on the Atlantic coast, and these have been shown 54 to overtop coastal cliffs up to 40 m high, quarrying angular boulders from cliff crests and 55 56 depositing these as ridges or spreads of coarse debris inland from the cliff top (Hall et al. 2006, 57 58 59 4 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 5 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 2007; Hansom & Hall 2009). Such cliff-top storm deposits, however, are limited to plunging 3 4 cliffs that terminate in deep water, as storm wave heights are reduced where cliffs terminate at a 5 6 basal break of slope. 7 8 9 Distribution and characteristics of coastal landslides on Shetland 10 11 12 Current information on coastal landslides on Shetland is limited: the National Landslide 13 14 Database of the British Geological Survey records only eight coastal landslides on the 15 archipelago and provides only locational information for these. 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 Methods 20 21 The distribution of coastal rock-slope failures on Shetland was assessed by mapping the sites of 22 23 all landslides with headscarp or failure-plane widths greater than 50 m (across-slope) using high 24 resolution Google EarthTM imagery, which permits both vertical and oblique visualization from 25 26 all aspects. Diagnostic characteristics used to identify landslide sites included arcuate, irregular, 27 28 trapezoidal or V-shaped headscarps, planar or stepped failure planes, downslope-displaced 29 blocks located seaward of headscarps, accumulations of displaced blocks or large boulders on 30 31 steep coastal slopes or at the foot of cliffs, and tension cracks or scarplets parallel to the crest of 32 cliffs or steep coastal slopes (Figure 3). Equivocal or dubious sites were excluded, as were 33 34 numerous minor coastal slope failures and rockfall sites less than 50 m wide. Moreover, the 35 36 coastal cliffs and steep coastal slopes of Shetland are indented by numerous inlets (geos), often 37 arcuate in planform. Some of these probably represent landslide sites but were not included in 38 39 the inventory unless additional evidence (particularly displaced bedrock blocks) is present. Our 40 41 inventory of sites is therefore conservative; other possible landslide sites occur along the 42 Shetland coastline but have not been recorded here. A further complication is that at a number 43 44 of coastal locations a complex of two or more conjoint headscarps or failure planes occurs, and 45 it proved difficult to decide whether these represent a single landslide or multiple landslides, 46 47 possibly of different age. Such sites were identified as landslide complexes and recorded as a 48 49 single site, though the number of apparently independent slides within each complex was noted. 50 The outlying islands of Foula and Fair Isle were not included in our survey, though both exhibit 51 52 evidence for coastal landsliding. 53 54 55 All coastal landslide sites satisfying the diagnostic criteria outlined above were plotted on 56 57 1:25000 Ordnance Survey maps. For each site we recorded grid reference and underlying 58 59 5 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 6 of 40

1 2 lithology: metasedimentary rocks, granitic rocks, sandstones, basement gneiss, volcanic rocks 3 4 and ophiolite complex rocks. We also recorded maximum headscarp height above present sea 5 6 level, maximum across-slope width, slope aspect and evidence for recent activity in the form of 7 fresh scars, scarps or debris runout. Although the nature of rock-slope failure could not always 8 TM 9 be assessed from the Google Earth imagery, most sites have the characteristics of translational 10 (slope-parallel) rockslides or cliff collapses, locally modified by later minor slides or rockfall, or 11 12 by frontal erosion. At a small number of sites, however, deep-seated displacement of large rock 13 14 masses was evident in the form of arrays of across-slope tension cracks or scarplets located 60– 15 200 m inland from the crests of cliffs. Such sites were recorded as deep-seated gravitational 16 For Peer Review Only 17 slope deformations (DSGSDs). 18 19 20 Results 21

22 23 A total of 128 landslide sites were identified around the coast of Shetland using the criteria 24 outlined above: 28 on Unst, 16 on Yell, 23 on Fetlar, 36 on NW Mainland, 11 on the Walls 25 26 Peninsula, 13 on south Mainland and one on the island of Bressay, east of Lerwick (Figure 4). If 27 conjoint failure scarps within landslide complexes are counted as individual landslides, the total 28 29 rises to just over 200, though a precise figure cannot be given as the number of individual failure 30 31 scarps distinguishable in some complexes could not be determined. 32 33 34 With the exception of DSGSDs (where tension cracks, scarplets and/or large displaced rock 35 36 masses occur inland and upslope from cliff crests) all but two of the recorded landslide sites 37 represent full-slope failures that extend to, or nearly to, the crest of coastal cliffs, so that 38 39 landslide height is effectively almost identical to cliff height. Minimum and maximum landslide 40 heights range from ~30 m to ~275 m, with a median height of 80 m and interquartile range of 41 42 50–105 m; only small slope failures and localized rockfall were observed on cliffs < 30 m high. 43 44 This limit accounts for the absence of recorded landslides along the generally low-lying coast of 45 central Mainland, where coastal bluffs and cliffs rarely exceed 30 m in altitude. Excluding 46 47 landslide complexes and DSGSDs, the across-slope widths of recorded individual landslides 48 49 ranges from 50 m to 570 m, though, only four exceed 300 m; median width is 120 m and the 50 interquartile range is 80–150 m. Some landslide complexes and DSGSDs are much wider: the 51 52 cliffs of Valla Kames in NW Mainland [HU 300869] are interpreted as a landslide complex 53 ~1120 m wide and up to 165 m high, and the adjacent Stonga Banks landslide [HU 293856] is a 54 55 complex DSGSD ~805 m wide and up to 235 m high, with an array of tension cracks extending 56 57 ~200 m inland from the crest of the cliff; this is probably the largest coastal landslide on 58 59 6 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 7 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 Shetland. Individual landslides in metasedimentary rocks tend to increase in width with 3 4 increasing height, but those classified as DSGSDs tend to be markedly wider than those that 5 6 have involved translational sliding and slumping of blocks from the cliff crest (Figure 5). 7 8 9 The primary control on the distribution of the recorded landslides is the distribution of cliffs 10 >30 m high; most lower cliffs exhibit no evidence of collapse, or only small slides or rockfalls. 11 12 Although landslides occur on cliffs at all aspects, 60% have westerly aspects (SW, W and NW; 13 14 Figure 6), but as a similar percentage of cliffs > 30 m high also have westerly aspects, this bias 15 probably reflects the distribution of high coastal cliffs. It is notable, however that only 28% of 16 For Peer Review Only 17 recorded landslide sites occur in relatively sheltered locations where fetch is limited across 18 19 adjacent sounds, notably those on the east coast of NW Mainland facing Yell Sound, and those 20 on the west coast of Fetlar facing Colgrave Sound (Figure 4). Almost all other recorded 21 22 landslide sites are open to the Atlantic Ocean or North Sea and thus exposed to powerful storm 23 waves. 24 25 26 27 Classification of landslides by major lithological groups (metasedimentary rocks, granitic rocks, 28 sedimentary rocks (sandstones), ophiolite complex rocks, basement gneiss and volcanic rocks) 29 30 suggests that lithology exercises an important control on their distribution. The majority (71.9%) 31 of recorded landslides or landslide complexes are seated on metasedimentary rocks (Table 1). 32 33 This predominance might be expected given the extensive coastal outcrop of metasedimentary 34 35 lithologies (Figure 1). Much of the coastline underlain by metasedimentary rocks is low-lying, 36 however, and not susceptible to slope failure. When the frequency of landsliding on different 37 38 lithologies is compared with that of 'potential' landslide sites represented by cliffs > 30 m high 39 40 (Table 1), it is clear that landsliding on metasedimentary rocks is over-represented and that for 41 all other lithologies is under-represented. Collectively, the observed frequency for all lithologies 42 43 differs from the expected frequency ('potential' sites) at p < 0.001 (χ2 test), implying that 44 45 metasedimentary rocks have exhibited a significantly greater propensity for failure than others 46 represented in the coastal cliffs of Shetland, and it is notable that all but two of the 13 landslides 47 48 recorded as DSGSDs occur in metasedimentary rocks. Although not quantified, we also 49 observed that cliffs on other lithologies tend to be steeper than those on metasedimentary rocks, 50 51 also suggesting that the latter have been more prone to landsliding. 52 53 54 The occurrence of most coastal landslides on Shetland on metasedimentary rocks echoes the 55 56 situation in the mountainous parts of the Scottish Highlands, where the great majority of rock- 57 58 59 7 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 8 of 40

1 2 slope failures have also occurred on Neoproterozoic metasedimentary of Moine or Dalradian 3 4 age, particularly schists (Ballantyne 1986; Cave & Ballantyne 2016; Jarman 2006). Similarly, 5 6 Crosta et al. (2013) have shown that DSGSDs in the Alps occur preferentially on foliated 7 metamorphic rocks, and Saintot et al. (2011) have demonstrated that large rock-slope 8 9 instabilities in western Norway are mainly developed in phyllites, schists and foliated gneisses. 10 The high incidence of failure on metasedimentary rocks in the Highlands was attributed by 11 12 Watters (1972) and Holmes (1984) to their inherent weakness, relatively low friction angles and 13 14 propensity for failure at sites where bedding or foliation dips out of the slope, forming potential 15 failure planes. It is likely that similar factors are responsible for the relatively high density of 16 For Peer Review Only 17 coastal landslides on metasedimentary rocks in Shetland. 18 19 20 Recent activity in the form of fresh scarps, areas of stripped rock and accumulations of fresh 21 22 debris were recorded at 31 landslide sites (24%). In most cases this represents superficial 23 rockfall or shallow sliding of debris from cliffs or the fronts of detached landslide blocks 24 25 (Figure 3) but evidence of recent large-scale failure was detected at three sites, the most 26 27 prominent being the Saito landslide in northern Unst (Figure 3c), where a fresh headscarp and 28 sidescarp indicate recent slumping of landslide blocks across a 200 m wide section of coastline. 29 30 31 32 The west Fetlar coastal landslides: setting 33 34 35 Field-based investigations of a subset of coastal landslides were made along the west coast of 36 Fetlar in NW Shetland (60.62°N; 0.87°W; Figures 1 and 4). The west Fetlar landslides occupy a 37 38 2.8 km long stretch of cliffed coastline between Corbie Head [HU 582914] and Bresdale 39 40 [HU 598888]. The cliffs decline gradually in altitude southwards from 80–95 m OD to 30– 41 50 m OD, and are underlain by Valla Field Schists of Dalradian age (Flinn 2014). In this area 42 43 these are mainly coarse pelites interleaved with locally dominant bands of orthoquartzite and 44 impure quartzite up to ~4 m thick. These rocks are extensively fractured and dip steeply (up to 45 46 45°) westwards to southwestwards, outwards from the cliffs towards the sea. 47 48 49 The west coast of Fetlar is separated from the adjacent island of Yell by the 5 km wide Colgrave 50 51 Sound, which is less than 40 m deep 1.5 km offshore from west Fetlar and shallows eastwards, 52 53 so that the Fetlar landslides now terminate in tidewater no more than a few metres deep (Dick 54 2015). Shingle beaches occupy small inlets at the northern end [HU 584914], Grunni Geo 55 56 [HU 592902] south of Bratta Stack [HU 594889]. Though exposed shore platforms are absent, 57 58 59 8 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 9 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 there is a marked break of slope at the foot of the cliffs, either at or a few metres below present 3 4 sea level, and large submerged blocks of landslide debris are visible on the sea floor just below 5 6 the intertidal zone. During the early Holocene, when sea level was at least 10–15 m (and 7 possibly as much as 30 m) below present (Figure 2), the shoreline must have been located 8 9 offshore so that the west Fetlar cliffs mainly terminated on land. This scenario is consistent with 10 Flinn's (2014) view that the coastal cliffs of northern Shetland are essentially inherited features 11 12 that have merely been 'trimmed' by wave action and slope processes during the Holocene. 13 14 Moreover, the coastline of west Fetlar is relatively sheltered from high-energy storm waves. 15 Westerly fetch is limited to no more than 5 km by the width of the Colgrave Sound, and 16 For Peer Review Only 17 southerly fetch is limited to ~25 km by the island of Whalsay. As wave height is roughly 18 19 proportional to the square root of fetch (Sverdrup, 2006), this coastline is unlikely to have 20 experienced attack by extremely high-energy waves such as those that affect the western coasts 21 22 of Shetland, which are exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. 23 24 25 Geomorphology of the west Fetlar landslides 26 27 28 Landslides extend almost continuously along the studied area, making it one of the densest 29 30 concentrations of coastal landsliding on Shetland (Figure 4). Fifteen individual landslide sites 31 and one landslide complex were identified and numbered (NW to SE) F1–F16. 32 33 34 35 Most of the west Fetlar landslides (F4–F12 and F14) share common characteristics. These have 36 generally well-defined headscarps up to ~10 m high, downslope of which are one or more 37 38 displaced landslide blocks (Figures 7–9). At some sites these form a stepped profile, but at 39 40 others they are represented by small upslope-facing scarps (antiscarps). Although the arcuate or 41 bowl-shaped planform of some of these landslides (for example F5, F6 and F7) appears 42 43 consistent with rotational sliding, we found no convincing evidence for back-tilting of landslide 44 blocks indicative of an underlying curved failure plane. The alignment of displaced blocks 45 46 (Figure 9d,e) is consistent with those of arrested dip-slip translational (slope-parallel) sliding 47 48 along steep bedding or foliation planes, or joint sets guided by these structures. This 49 interpretation is supported by the presence at the toe of several of the landslides of a steeply 50 51 seaward-dipping (~35–45°) bedrock ramp that indicates the structural trend under the slipped 52 53 masses. It is also supported by the configuration of site F1 (Figure 9a) and the southern margin 54 of F4, which consist of steep, approximately planar surfaces flanked by cliffed sidewalls up to 55 56 30 m high, and are interpreted as the sites of former structurally-guided translational slides that 57 58 59 9 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 10 of 40

1 2 terminated below present sea level. A further example of a similar failure plane occurs at the 3 4 northern end of site F15; this site is interpreted as a landslide complex that incorporates two or 5 6 possibly three conjoined failure zones. Site F3 appears to represent a simple arrested 7 translational rockslide, but here the headscarp is degraded and indistinct, and there is no clear 8 9 evidence of block detachment. At two sites where the headscarp is exposed (F4 and F8) failure 10 appears to have taken place along the steeply-seaward-inclined contact between quartzite and 11 12 the underlying phyllites, but similar contacts could not be detected elsewhere because of lack of 13 14 exposure. 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 Three of the Fetlar landslides (F2, F13 and F16) are interpreted as deep-seated failures 18 19 (DSGSDs) on the grounds that scarps or tension cracks indicative of block detachment occur 20 100–130 m inland from the cliff crest (Figures 7 and 8). These sites exhibit contrasting degrees 21 22 of detachment. Displacement at site F2 (Figure 9b) is marked by an irregular headscarp 315 m 23 long that increases in height southward and marks the landward limit of a complex array of 24 25 detached blocks that have moved both vertically and horizontally from the headscarp; some are 26 27 tilted slightly seaward, producing small antiscarps. The inland extent of F13 is marked by peat- 28 covered tension cracks and scarplets (Figure 9f) that define a block 295 m wide, which appears 29 30 to have moved a very limited distance both horizontally and vertically, without fragmenting into 31 individual detached blocks. Finally, F16 is defined only by tension cracks, some of which are 32 33 occupied by small streams. These fractures indicate partial detachment of a block 310 m wide 34 35 with very limited or no vertical or lateral displacement. Degree of displacement appears to 36 reflect the height of the blocks: the highest part of the F2 headscarp reaches 93 m OD, the 37 38 rearmost tension cracks at F13 occur at 80 m OD, and the tension cracks defining the landward 39 40 extent of F16 are at only 45 m OD. 41 42 43 Most of the west Fetlar landslides have experienced post-sliding modification, some of it recent. 44 This takes two forms. Small-scale collapse of headscarps (Figure 9e) or the seaward edges of 45 46 slipped blocks (Figure 9c) has resulted in deposition of coarse rockfall debris at sites F5 and F8. 47 48 The freshness of such debris at these sites indicates recent scarp collapse, unrelated to the main 49 period of landsliding, but older rockfall debris is also evident at some other sites. Also common 50 51 is evidence for erosion of the foot zone at several sites (F6, F7, F9, F10, F14, F15), including the 52 53 three deep-seated failures (F2, F13 and F16). This takes the form of fresh scars extending up the 54 face of the landslides from sea level, and indicates superficial failure (rockfall, debris fall and 55 56 shallow sliding failure) caused by recent erosion of footslopes by storm wave action. However, 57 58 59 10 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 11 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 we observed no evidence of wave-eroded notches at the foot of any of the landslides: some 3 4 terminate at an intertidal or sub-intertidal break of slope, and the base of others is represented by 5 6 a steep, structurally-controlled bedrock ramp that has been stripped of sediment cover by wave 7 action. 8 9 10 Dating of the west Fetlar landslides and implications for causes of failure 11 12 13 14 The preservation of distinct headscarps and displaced blocks (Figures 7–9) demonstrates that the 15 west Fetlar landslides occurred after deglaciation at ~17–16 ka, though it is possible that the 16 For Peer Review Only 17 subdued landslide scar at F3 may pre-date over-running by glacier ice at the last glacial 18 10 19 maximum. To assess the timing of landsliding, we collected samples for cosmogenic Be 20 exposure dating from cliffed headscarps at sites F4 and F8. At both sites, two bedrock samples 21 22 were chiseled from impure quartzite at the top of small rock steps near the foot of the headscarp, 23 and topographic shielding (which reduces exposure to cosmic radiation) at each sampling site 24 25 was measured by compass and abney level. Site and analytical details are given in Table 2. 26 27 28 Exposure ages for each sample were calculated using versions 2.3 and 3 of the online exposure 29 30 age calculators formerly known as the CRONUS-Earth online exposure age calculators (Balco 31 et al. 2008) and CRONUScalc 2.0 (Marrero et al. 2016) and two 10Be production rates: the Loch 32 33 Lomond production rate (LLPR), based on 10Be concentration in samples from boulders on an 34 35 independently-dated moraine of Younger Dryas age near Loch Lomond in the Midland Valley 36 of Scotland (Fabel et al. 2012) and the global production rate of Borchers et al. (2016). We 37 38 assume post-exposure erosion (ε) of sampled surfaces of 1 mm ka-1; assumption of ε = 0 reduces 39 -1 40 ages by < 0.4% and assumption of ε = 2 mm ka increases ages by < 0.4%. We employed Lm 41 scaling of the CRONUS calculator to determine ages, as this has been employed in previous 42 43 research on the ages of rock-slope-failures in Scotland (Ballantyne et al. 2014a, b). Use of an 44 45 alternative (LSD) scaling scheme with LLPR produced ages ~100 years younger, and use of SA 46 scaling with CRONUScalc 2.0 produces ages 210–280 years younger. 47 48 49 50 The results (Table 3) are therefore reasonably robust irrespective of the assumptions made in 51 their calculation, and are remarkably consistent for both samples from each site. They indicate 52 53 that exposure of the headscarps occurred at ~4.5 ± 0.2 ka (F4) and ~4.8 ± 0.2 ka (F8). The two 54 ages are not significantly different (two-sample difference of means test) and could represent 55 56 either synchronous failure or failure separated by a few centuries. 57 58 59 11 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 12 of 40

1 2 3 4 The timing of these two landslides allows several possible causes of failure to be eliminated. As 5 6 they occurred over 11,000 years after deglaciation, they are clearly unrelated to glacial 7 debuttressing (removal of supporting ice from cliffs during ice-sheet retreat) or generation of 8 9 high cleft-water pressures during deglaciation. Similarly, thaw of permafrost ice in joints can be 10 ruled out as a trigger, as permafrost disappeared from low ground in Scotland shortly after the 11 12 Lateglacial-Holocene transition at ~11.7 ka (Ballantyne 2018). Various authors have shown that 13 14 coastal rock-slope failure may been triggered by seismic events (e.g. Komar & Shih 1993; 15 Hapke & Richmond 2002), and Ballantyne et al. (2014a,b) have demonstrated a temporal 16 For Peer Review Only 17 correspondence between the timing of postglacial rock-slope failure and the rate of glacio- 18 19 isostatic crustal uplift in Scotland, suggesting that many landslides in the Highlands and 20 Hebrides were triggered by earthquakes. However, by ~5 ka rates of crustal uplift had relaxed to 21 -1 22 low levels (< 5 mm a ) at locations close to the centre of uplift (Firth & Stewart 2000), and 23 were probably much lower in peripheral areas such as Shetland. It therefore seems extremely 24 25 unlikely that earthquakes triggered slope failure at sites F4 and F8. It is also notable that of 20 26 27 dated inland rock-slope failures on terrain deglaciated by the last ice sheet and not subsequently 28 reoccupied by glacier ice, all but one occurred prior to ~11.7 ka and all occurred before ~6.1 ka 29 30 (Ballantyne et al. 2014a). The timing of headscarp exposure at sites F4 and F8 indicates that 31 these landslides occurred much later, suggesting that different factors controlled the timing and 32 33 trigger of failure at these sites. 34 35 36 Interpretation 37 38 39 40 The geomorphological observations outlined above suggest that most of the west Fetlar 41 landslides are dip-slip translational slides that have involved arrested downslope displacement 42 43 of detached blocks of rock on upper slopes, apparently along steeply-dipping bedding planes, or 44 major joints sloping steeply seaward. At three sites (F1 and parts of F4 and F15) steep 45 46 rectilinear slopes with prominent sidewalls are interpreted as marking the sites of translational 47 48 slides that terminated offshore. Three sites are interpreted as deep-seated failures, with the 49 degree of block detachment being related to height above sea level. Many 'primary' landslides 50 51 have experienced subsequent modification by erosion of footslopes leaving fresh scars, and 52 53 some exhibit evidence of scarp collapse and rockfall farther upslope. 54 55 56 57 58 59 12 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 13 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 Our dating evidence shows that two of the west Fetlar landslides occurred in the mid to late 3 4 Holocene (~4.5 and ~4.8 ka), and though the representativeness of these ages is not known, they 5 6 demonstrate that at least localized failure occurred at these times, and suggest that the controls 7 on coastal landsliding differ from those affecting inland rock-slope failures. A probable 8 9 explanation is that coastal landsliding represents a response to storm wave erosion acting at the 10 foot of cliffs. As noted earlier, the west Fetlar landslides terminate downslope at the intertidal 11 12 zone or in shallow water no more than a few metres deep, implying that the antecedent (pre- 13 14 failure) slope terminated above sea level during the early Holocene. The sea-level curve for 15 Shetland (Bondevik et al. 2005; Figure 2) implies that at ~6.5 ka, sea-level was at least 10–16 m 16 For Peer Review Only 17 below present, implying that at that time much of toe of the antecedent slope was above sea 18 19 level. By ~4.5 ka (the approximate timing of the landslides at F4 and F8) sea-level was only 4– 20 5 m below present, implying that by this time much of the foot of the antecedent slope lay 21 22 within, just above or just below the intertidal zone. Moreover, after ~4.5 ka the rate of sea-level 23 rise slowed, so that the critical zone for wave erosion of the foot of the slope rose only very 24 25 slowly, at an average rate of only 1 m ka-1- (1mm per year), thus prolonging wave action within 26 27 a narrow zone at the foot of the cliffs (Kline et al. 2014; Trenhaile 2002a,b, 2010). These 28 considerations suggest that coastal landsliding at this site was initiated by rising sea level 29 30 allowing storm waves to access the foot of the antecedent slope, after which the critical zone of 31 slope-foot wave erosion rose only very slowly, permitting prolonged wave action to destabilize 32 33 the slope. An analogous situation has been described for landslides on the Isle of Wight by 34 35 Hutchinson et al. (1991), who attributed renewed movement of ancient landslide blocks to rising 36 Holocene sea level and consequent marine erosion. Similarly, Pánek et al. (2018) have shown 37 38 that major rockslides along the Crimean coast were associated with major transgressive episodes 39 40 affecting the Black Sea. 41 42 43 Storm waves impacting the foot of cliffs exert both hydraulic force through the processes of 44 wave quarrying, water hammer (shock pressure generated by breaking waves) and air 45 46 compression in open fractures, as well as mechanical abrasion where coarse sediment is 47 48 available at the cliff foot (Adams et al. 2005; Sunamura 1992; Trenhaile 1987; Williams et al. 49 1993). Most models of sea-cliff retreat, however, are based on the assumption that this occurs 50 51 through undercutting (notch development) and subsequent collapse of the undercut cliff (e.g. 52 53 Ashton et al. 2011; Belov et al. 1999; Kline et al. 2014) and take no account of structural 54 configuration. Modelling of the effects of rock structure by Allison & Kimber (1998), however, 55 56 has shown that the nature of sea-cliff failure is strongly determined by the dip of bedding and 57 58 59 13 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 14 of 40

1 2 the strike and dip of principal joint sets. In particular, their model indicates that steeply outward 3 4 dipping joints or beds are dominated by translational sliding failure, with displaced blocks 5 6 resting on the upper slope and cliff collapse on the lower slope. This situation corresponds 7 closely with the configuration of most of the west Fetlar landslides (F4–12 and F14). Detailed 8 9 field studies, moreover, have shown that sea cliffs are also subject to small-scale iterative 10 modification through overhang collapse, spalling, fragmentation, rockfall and debris fall 11 12 triggered by processes such as frost action, stress release and high cleft-water pressures (Allison 13 14 1989; Lim et al. 2010; Trenhaile 1997). Such a situation corresponds to that of the active 15 footslope erosion evident at the distal end of some west Fetlar landslides (F2, F6, F7, F9, F10, 16 For Peer Review Only 17 F13–16; Figures 7 and 8). 18 19 20 Based on our knowledge of the morphology and structure of the arrested translational landslides 21 22 on the west Fetlar coast (Figure 8), the timing of Holocene sea-level rise (Figure 2) and the mid- 23 to-late Holocene ages of the translational failures at sites F4 and F8 (Table 3), we propose a 24 25 sequence of postglacial landslide evolution (Figure 11). We take as a starting point (Figure 11a) 26 27 a 45° structurally-controlled bedrock slope terminating above sea-level, and buttressed by a 28 talus comprising Lateglacial rockfall debris (Hinchliffe & Ballantyne 1999, 2009). By mid-to- 29 30 late Holocene (Figure 11b), rapidly rising sea level permits storm waves to access the foot of the 31 slope, removing and comminuting the basal talus and eroding the slope foot, eventually 32 33 triggering sliding failure of the lower slope along a failure plane guided by the structural dip. 34 35 Subsequently (Figure 11c), instability progressively propagates upslope, causing downslope 36 displacement of landslide blocks and development of the stepped profile that characterizes many 37 38 of the west Fetlar landslides. The rate of upward progression of instability is not known; this 39 40 may have occurred concurrently with failure of the lower slope, or delayed by centuries or 41 millennia. Removal of the support of the lower slope segment must have increased the shear 42 43 stress operating along discontinuities in the upper slope, inducing progressive brittle failure 44 ('static fatigue'). At sites where there is evidence of full-slope translational sliding (F1, the 45 46 southern part of F4 and the northern part of F15) it is likely that failure of the entire slope was 47 48 instantaneous, generating catastrophic slides that terminated offshore. Conversely, displaced 49 upper slope blocks are interpreted as arrested sliding failures, suggesting that these moved more 50 51 gradually, stabilizing as asperities across the underlying shear planes 'locked', reducing or 52 53 terminating movement. Movement may also have been aided by enhanced cleft-water pressures, 54 which would have had the effect of reducing the effective normal stress holding blocks in place. 55 56 At present (Figure 11d), slipped blocks appear stable and the foot of many landslide sites is 57 58 59 14 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 15 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 represented by a structurally controlled bedrock ramp. However, as noted above, the footslope 3 4 zones of several landslides exhibit recent erosion, which is inferred to represent rockfalls, debris 5 6 falls and shallow slides triggered by storm wave erosion and subaerial processes (cf. Lim et al. 7 2010; Trenhaile 1997). Retreat of eroded footslopes may potentially trigger renewed gradual or 8 9 catastrophic displacement of displaced blocks perched above the zone of active erosion. 10 11 12 The reconstruction outlined in Figure 11 appears to account for the present morphology of most 13 14 of the west Fetlar landslides, but not the evidence for deep-seated movement evident at sites F2, 15 F13 and F16 (and other sites along the Shetland coastline). A possible explanation for such 16 For Peer Review Only 17 deep-seated movement is coastal slope retreat or steepening. Beneath flat land inland from the 18 19 coastal slope the principal stress (overburden weight) acts vertically. As the coastal slope is 20 approached, however, the principal stress becomes progressively curved towards the slope 21 22 (Figure 12). It has been shown that in an isotropic medium, a potential shear surface develops at 23 angle (α) to the direction of principal stress, expressed as α = [45° + (φ/2)], where φ is the angle 24 25 of internal friction, producing a curved potential shear plane under the slope and adjacent 26 27 ground (e.g. Jones & Lee 1994; Lambe & Whitman, 1969; Figure 12). Retreat of the slope face 28 (by translational landsliding, cliff collapse or coastal erosion), however, has the effect of both 29 30 debuttressing the rock mass farther inland and increasing the average slope of the shear plane, 31 32 potentially initiating deep movement. Rising sea level may also have contributed to rock-mass 33 shift by raising the water table, thereby increasing cleft-water pressures that reduce the effective 34 35 normal stress acting along the shear plane. The steeply-dipping rocks of west Fetlar, however, 36 are strongly anisotropic, and here rock-mass shift is likely to have occurred along pre-existing 37 38 structural discontinuities (bedding planes and related joint sets), rather than simple rotational 39 40 movement along a deep-seated failure plane. Thus it is possible that erosion and retreat of 41 coastal slopes (and possibly rising sea level) changed the state of stress within coastal rock 42 43 masses, permitting deep-seated rock-mass movement 100–200 m inland from cliff crests. This 44 45 interpretation appears consistent with the relationship between slope height and degree of deep- 46 seated displacement at sites F2, F13 and F16, as the curvature of principal stress increases with 47 48 slope height. 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 15 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 16 of 40

1 2 Discussion and wider implications 3 4 5 6 As outlined in the introduction, studies of coastal landsliding in Scotland have been almost 7 exclusively limited to accounts of large, deep-seated failures in the Tertiary Volcanic Province 8 9 of the Inner Hebrides. Here we demonstrate that moderate- and large-scale landslides have 10 played an important role in postglacial modification of coastal cliffs > 30 m high on a range of 11 12 lithologies in Shetland, and that such landslides have preferentially occurred in metasedimentary 13 14 rocks. Our results suggest that the role of landsliding in postglacial rock-coast evolution in 15 Scotland has been much greater than the present dearth of research suggests, particularly as 16 For Peer Review Only 17 many rock coasts in Scotland north of the Highland Boundary are underlain by dipping 18 19 metasedimentary rocks of Moine and Dalradian age, similar to those of Shetland. 20 21 22 Shetland is atypical, however, in that the archipelago has experienced apparently uninterrupted 23 (though slowing) sea-level rise throughout the Holocene, a characteristic that it shares only with 24 25 other peripheral areas such as Caithness, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides (Dawson & Smith 26 27 1997; Dawson & Wickham-Jones 2007; Jordan et al. 2010). Analysis of the nature and 28 distribution of coastal landslides in these areas would be rewarding, particularly as they are 29 30 underlain by different rock types: gently-dipping sandstones (Orkney and Caithness) and gneiss 31 (Outer Hebrides). Other Scottish coasts experienced initial submergence but net Holocene 32 33 emergence, often leaving relict cliffs isolated from the sea by raised shorelines, and in such 34 35 locations evidence of landsliding may be limited to such former sea cliffs. Even in areas of net 36 Holocene emergence, however, sea cliffs are widespread along the Scottish coast, and the 37 38 influence of landsliding (as opposed to cliff collapse and incremental rockfall) in cliff evolution 39 40 remains to be established. 41 42 43 Our study of the west Fetlar landslides indicates that the majority are essentially dip-slip 44 translational slides, with a steep frontal bluff succeeded upslope by displaced landslide blocks. 45 46 On Fetlar, his configuration appears to be conditioned by the steep seaward dip of the 47 48 underlying metasedimentary rocks, and corresponds closely with model predictions (Allison & 49 Kimber 1998). Many other coastal landslides on Shetland have a similar morphology, though it 50 51 remains to be determined if this also occurs independently of lithology and underlying structural 52 53 configuration, or whether it is conditioned primarily by the dip of bedding or that of the 54 principal joint sets (Williams et al. 1993). We suggest that large, deep-seated failures (DSGSDs) 55 56 reflect change in the state of stress due to cliff erosion and retreat, which debuttresses coastal 57 58 59 16 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 17 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 rock masses and increases shear stress at depth, but the role of rising sea level in raising the 3 4 water table and reducing effective principal stress is unknown. Such features deserve more 5 6 detailed investigation. 7 8 9 The mid-to-late Holocene timing of failure at two west Fetlar sites, the evidence for the rate sea- 10 level rise and downslope termination of the west Fetlar cliffs in shallow water suggests that 11 12 postglacial failure was initiated when rising seas accessed the foot of the cliffs, allowing storm 13 14 waves to erode the base of the cliffs and thus trigger instability that propagated upslope. 15 Whether this situation is exceptional remains to be determined. Our survey of Shetland 16 For Peer Review Only 17 landslides, however, indicated that the majority terminate in shallow water, confirming Flinn's 18 19 (1964, 1969, 1974, 1977) observation that the Shetland sea cliffs often terminate downslope at a 20 shallow break of slope, so that sapping by storm wave erosion affected such cliffs only when 21 22 rising Holocene sea level accessed the base of cliffs. This scenario, however, is inapplicable in 23 the case of plunging cliffs that extend up to 80 m below present sea level. At such locations 24 25 storm-waves may have affected coastline evolution during much or all of the period since ice- 26 27 sheet deglaciation (~17–16 ka), and the timing (and possibly nature) of postglacial landsliding at 28 these sites is likely to differ from those of cliffs that remained above the level of storm wave 29 30 erosion throughout the early Holocene. 31

32 33 Finally, our survey indicates that some coastal landslides exhibit evidence of recent activity. 34 35 This mostly takes the form of an actively-eroding footslope, characterized by storm-wave 36 erosion, small-scale collapse, rockfall and debris fall, though some sites also exhibit evidence of 37 38 recent scarp collapse on upper slopes and three sites on Shetland appear to have experienced 39 40 more extensive recent failure. These observations imply that future instances of large-scale 41 slope failure triggered by footslope sapping are likely. The hazard posed by future landslides 42 43 appears limited, however. In part this is because the characteristic mode of failure identified 44 here is arrested translational sliding (block displacement) rather than catastrophic failure, but 45 46 also because most landslide sites face the open sea, so displacement waves triggered by large 47 48 catastrophic failures are unlikely to affect settled parts of the archipelago. However, Bondevik et 49 al. (2005) have recorded three tsunami layers (sand layers within coastal fen and lake deposits) 50 51 at various sites on Shetland. The earliest, dated to ~8.1 ka, is attributable to the well- 52 53 documented Storegga submarine landslide west of Norway (Dawson et al. 1988). The two 54 younger tsunami events are estimated to have occurred at ~5.5 ka and ~1.5 ka. Sedimentary 55 56 evidence for the ~1.5 ka tsunami has been described for Basta Voe on the eastern coastline of 57 58 59 17 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 18 of 40

1 2 the adjacent island of Yell, facing the west Fetlar cliffs (Dawson et al. 2006). The source 3 4 mechanism for this tsunami has never been established and the possibility that was caused by 5 6 catastrophic landsliding cannot be ruled out. 7 8 9 Conclusions 10 11 1. We have identified at least 128 landslides or landslide complexes around the cliffed coasts 12 13 of Shetland from the evidence provided by headscarps, detached blocks and runout debris. 14 15 Most individual sites are less than 300 m wide, and sites >50 m wide appear to be restricted 16 to cliffs >30For m high. ThePeer majority ofReview sites involve arrested, Only apparently translational sliding 17 18 of landslide blocks, though tension cracks and scarplets up to 200 m from the cliff crest 19 20 suggest that at least 13 sites involved deep-seated movement. 21 22 2. Coastal landslides on Shetland, like major inland rock-slope failures, are preferentially 23 24 developed on metasedimentary rocks. Much smaller numbers were detected on granitic, 25 sandstone and gneissic rocks, or rocks of the ophiolite complex in Unst and Fetlar. 26 27 28 3. Detailed study of 16 coastal landslides on the west coast of Fetlar indicates that these 29 30 mainly consist of arrested dip-slip translational slides. We infer that these were triggered by 31 basal sapping of the slope foot and subsequent upslope propagation of instability, causing 32 33 block displacement on upper slopes. At three sites, deep-seated movement may have been 34 triggered by slope steepening or retreat due to translational sliding or cliff collapse, which 35 36 altered the state of stress in the adjacent rock mass. 37

38 10 39 4. The headscarps of two west Fetlar landslides yielded cosmogenic Be exposure ages of 40 ~4.5 ka and ~4.8 ka. These ages are consistent with failure occurring after sea-level rise 41 42 allowed storm waves to access the slope foot. As many Shetland landslides terminate in 43 shallow water, it is likely that Holocene sea-level rise was instrumental in instigating slope 44 45 failure at such sites. 46 47 48 Finally, this study has demonstrated the potential significance of postglacial landsliding as an 49 50 agent of coastal retreat and coastline modification along the hard-rock cliffed coasts of Scotland. 51 Further investigation of the role of landsliding on cliffed coasts that are underlain by different 52 53 lithologies and/or have experienced different histories of sea-level change is likely to provide 54 55 useful information on the age, nature and significance of coastal landslides, a research field that 56 has hitherto remained untilled. 57 58 59 18 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 19 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 3 4 References

5 6 Adams, P. N., Storlazzi, C. D., & Anderson, R. S. (2005). Nearshore wave-induced cyclic 7 flexing of sea cliffs. Journal of Geophysical Research, 110, F02002. 8 Allison, R. J. (1989). Rates and mechanisms of change in hard rock coastal cliffs. Zeitschrift für 9 10 Geomorphologie Supplement Band, 73, 125–138. 11 Allison, R. J., & Kimber, O. G. (1998). Modelling failure mechanisms to explain rock slope 12 change along the Isle of Purbeck Coast, UK. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 23, 13 14 731–750. 15 Anderson, F. W., & Dunham, K. W. (1966). The Geology of Northern Skye. Memoir of the 16 Geological SurveyFor the UnitedPeer Kingdom Review (Edinburgh: HMSO). Only 17 18 Ashton, A. D., Walkden, M. J. A., & Dickson, M. E. (2011). Equilibrium responses of cliffed 19 coasts to changes in the rate of sea level rise. Marine Geology, 284, 217–229. 20 21 Bailey, E. B., & Anderson, F. W. (1925). The geology of Staffa, Iona and Western Mull. 22 Memoir of the Geological Survey, Scotland (Edinburgh: British Geological Survey). 23 24 Balco, G., Stone, J. O., Lifton, N. A., & Dunai, T. J. (2008). A complete and easily accessible 10 26 25 means of calculating surface exposure ages or erosion rates from Be or Al measurements. 26 Quaternary Geochronology 3, 93–107. 27 28 Ballantyne, C. K. (1986). Landslides and slope failures in Scotland: a review. Scottish 29 Geographical Magazine, 102, 134–150. 30 Ballantyne, C. K. (2013). Lateglacial rock-slope failures in the Scottish Highlands. Scottish 31 32 Geographical Journal, 129, 67–84. 33 Ballantyne, C. K. (2016). Rock-slope failures on Skye. In C. K. Ballantyne, & J. J. Lowe (Eds.) 34 The Quaternary of Skye: Field Guide (pp. 77–88). London: Quaternary Research Association. 35 36 Ballantyne, C. K. (2018). After the ice: Lateglacial and Holocene landforms and landscape 37 evolution in Scotland. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of 38 Edinburgh. In press. 39 40 Ballantyne, C. K., & Harris, C. (1994). The Periglaciation of Great Britain (pp. 330). 41 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 42 43 Ballantyne, C. K., Sandeman, G. F., Stone, J. O., & Wilson, P. (2014a). Rock-slope failure 44 following Late Pleistocene glaciation on tectonically stable mountainous terrain. Quaternary 45 Science Reviews, 86, 144–157. 46 47 Ballantyne, C. K., & Small, D. (2018). The Last Scottish Ice Sheet. Earth and Environmental 48 Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, In press. 49 50 Ballantyne, C. K., & Stone, J. O. (2013). Timing and periodicity of paraglacial rock-slope 51 failure in the Scottish Highlands. Geomorphology, 186, 150–161. 52 Ballantyne, C. K., Wilson, P., Gheorghiu, D., & Rodés, À. (2014b). Enhanced rock-slope failure 53 54 following ice-sheet deglaciation: timing and causes. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 55 39, 900–913. 56 57 58 59 19 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 20 of 40

1 2 Belov, A. P., Davies, P., & Williams, A. T. (1999). Mathematical modeling of basal coastal 3 4 erosion in uniform strata: a theoretical approach. Journal of Geology, 107, 99–109. 5 Bondevik, S., Mangerud, J., Dawson, S., Dawson, A. G., & Lohne, Ø. (2005). Evidence for 6 three North Sea tsunamis at the Shetland Islands between 8000 and 1500 years ago. 7 8 Quaternary Science Reviews, 24, 1757–1775. 9 Borchers, B., Marero, S. M., Balco, G., Caffee, M., Goehring, B., Lifton, N., Nishiizumi, K., 10 Phillips, F. M., Schaefer, J. & Stone, J. O. (2015). Geological calibration of spallation 11 12 production rates in the CRONUS-Earth project. Quaternary Geochronology, 31, 188–198. 13 Briffa, K. R., & Atkinson, T. C. (1997). Reconstructing Late-glacial and Holocene climates. In 14 M. Hulme & E. Barrow (Eds.) Climates of the British Isles: Present, Past and Future (pp. 15 16 84–111). London:For Routledge. Peer Review Only 17 Carr, S. J., & Hiemstra, J. F. (2013). Sedimentary evidence against a local ice cap on the 18 Shetland Isles at the Last Glacial Maximum. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 124, 19 20 484–502. 21 Cave. J. A. S., & Ballantyne, C. K. (2016). Catastrophic rock-slope failures in NW Scotland: 22 23 quantitative analysis and implications. Scottish Geographical Journal, 132, 185–209. 24 Clark, C. D., Hughes, A. L. C., Greenwood, S. L., Jordan, C., & Sejrup, H. P. (2012). Pattern 25 and timing of retreat of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet. Quaternary Science Reviews, 44, 112– 26 27 146. 28 Clayton, K. M., Bird, E. C. F., & Hansom, J. D. (2003). The geomorphology of the coastal cliffs 29 of Great Britain. In V. J. May, & J. D. Hansom (Eds.) Coastal Geomorphology of Great 30 31 Britain (pp. 31–53). Geological Conservation Review Series No 23. Peterborough: Joint 32 Nature Conservation Committee. 33 Crosta, G.B., Frattini, P., & Agliardi, F. (2013). Deep seated gravitational slope deformations in 34 35 the European Alps. Tectonophysics, 605, 13–33. 36 Dawson, A. G., Dawson, S., & Bondevik, S. (2006). A Late Holocene Tsunami at Basta Voe, 37 Yell, Shetland Isles. Scottish Geographical Journal, 122, 100–108. 38 39 Dawson, A. G., Long, D., & Smith, D.E. (1988). The Storegga Slides: evidence from eastern 40 Scotland for a possible tsunami. Marine Geology, 82, 271–276. 41 42 Dawson, S. & Smith, D. E. (1997). Holocene Relative Sea Level Changes on the margin of a 43 glacio-isostatically uplifted area: an example from northern Caithness, Scotland. The 44 45 Holocene, 7, 59–77. 46 Dawson S. & Wickham-Jones C. R. (2007). Sea-level change and the prehistory of Orkney. 47 48 Antiquity, 81, 312. 49 Dick, R. (2015). The tsunamigenic potential of rock-slope failures in a coastal setting as a 50 51 possible source mechanism for the mid- or later Holocene tsunamis in Shetland. Unpublished 52 MSc thesis, University of Dundee. 53 Fabel, D., Ballantyne, C. K., & Xu, S. (2012). Trimlines, blockfields, mountain-top erratics and 54 55 the vertical dimensions of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet in NW Scotland. Quaternary 56 Science Reviews, 55, 91–102. 57 58 59 20 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 21 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 Firth, C. R., & Stewart, I. S. (2000). Postglacial tectonics of the Scottish glacio-isostatic uplift 3 4 centre. Quaternary Science Reviews, 19, 1469–1493. 5 Flinn, D. (1964). Coastal and submarine features around the Shetland Isles. Proceedings of the 6 Geologists' Association, 75, 321–340. 7 8 Flinn, D. (1969). On the development of coastal profiles in the north of Scotland, Orkney and 9 Shetland. Scottish Journal of Geology, 5, 393–399. 10 11 Flinn, D. (1974). The coastline of Shetland. In R. Goodier (Ed.) The Natural Environment of 12 Shetland (pp. 13–23). Swindon: Nature Conservancy Council. 13 14 Flinn, D. (1977). The erosion history of Shetland: a review. Proceedings of the Geologists' 15 Association, 88, 129–146. 16 Flinn, D. (1978).For The most Peer recent glaciation Review of the Orkney-Shetland Only channel and adjacent 17 18 regions. Scottish Journal of Geology, 14, 109–123. 19 Flinn, D. (2009). The omission of conflicting evidence from the paper by Golledge et al. (2008). 20 Geografiska Annaler, 91A, 253–256. 21 22 Flinn, D. (2014). Geology of Unst and Fetlar in Shetland. Memoir for 1:50 000 geological sheet 23 131 (Scotland). Keyworth: British Geological Survey. 24 25 Godard, A. (1965). Récherches de Géomorphologie en Écosse du Nord-Ouest. Paris: Masson. 26 Hall, A. M. (2013). The last glaciation of Shetland: local ice cap or invasive ice sheet? 27 Norwegian Journal of Geology, 93, 28 229–242. 29 Hall, A. M., Hansom, J. D., & Jarvis, J. (2007). Patterns and rates of erosion produced by high 30 energy wave processes on hard rock headlands: The Grind of the Navir, Shetland, Scotland. 31 32 Marine Geology, 248, 28–46. 33 Hall, A. M., Hansom, J. D., Williams, D. M., & Jarvis. J. (2006). Distribution, geomorphology 34 and lithofacies of cliff-top storm deposits: examples from the high-energy coasts of Scotland 35 36 and Ireland. Marine Geology, 232, 131–155. 37 Hansom J. D., & Hall, A. M. (2009). Magnitude and frequency of extra-tropical North Atlantic 38 cyclones: a chronology from cliff-top storm deposits. Quaternary International, 195, 45–52. 39 40 Hapke, C. J., & Richmond, B. M. (2002). The impact of climatic and seismic events on the 41 short-term evolution of seacliffs based on 3-D mapping: northern Monterey Bay, California. 42 Marine Geology, 187, 259–278. 43 44 Hinchliffe, S., & Ballantyne, C. K. (1999). Talus accumulation and rockwall retreat, Trotternish, 45 Isle of Skye, Scotland. Scottish Geographical Journal, 115, 53–70. 46 47 Hinchliffe, S., & Ballantyne, C. K. (2009). Talus structure and evolution on sandstone 48 mountains in NW Scotland. The Holocene, 19, 471–480. 49 50 Holmes, G. (1984). Rock Slope Failure in Parts of the Scottish Highlands. Unpublished PhD 51 thesis, University of Edinburgh. 52 Hutchinson, J. N., Bromhead, E. N., & Chandler, M. P. (1991). Investigations of landslides at St 53 54 Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight. In R. J. Chandler (Ed.) Slope Stability Engineering: 55 Developments and Applications (pp. 169–178). London: Institute of Civil Engineers. 56 57 58 59 21 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 22 of 40

1 2 Jarman, D. (2006). Large rock-slope failures in the Highlands of Scotland: characterization, 3 4 causes and spatial distribution. Engineering Geology, 83, 161–182. 5 Jarman, D. (2007). Introduction to the mass movements in the older mountain areas of Great 6 Britain. In R. G. Cooper (Ed.) Mass movements in Great Britain (pp. 33–56). Geological 7 8 Conservation Review Series No. 33. Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee. 9 Jones, D. K., & Lee, E. M. (1974). Landsliding in Great Britain. London: HMSO. 10 11 Jordan, J. T., Smith, D. E., Dawson, S. & Dawson, A. G. (2010). Holocene relative sea level 12 changes in Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK. Journal of Quaternary Science, 25, 115– 13 134. 14 15 Kline, S. W., Adams, P. N., & Limber, P. W. (2014). The unsteady nature of sea cliff retreat due 16 to mechanicalFor abrasion, Peerfailure and comminution Review feedbacks. Only Geomorphology, 219, 53–67. 17 18 Komar, P. D., & Shih, S. M. (1993). Cliff erosion along the Oregon coast: a tectonic sea level 19 imprint plus local controls by beach processes. Journal of Coastal Research, 9, 747–765. 20 Lambe, T. W., & Whitman, R. V. (1969). Soil Mechanics. Chichester: Wiley. 21 22 Lee, G. W. (1920). The Mesozoic rocks of Applecross, Raasay and NE Skye. Memoir of the 23 Geological Survey, Scotland. Edinburgh: British Geological Survey. 24 25 Lim, M., Rosser, N. J., Allison, R. J., & Petley, D. N. (2010). Erosional processes in the hard 26 rock coastal cliffs at Staithes, North Yorkshire. Geomorphology, 114, 12–21. 27 28 Marrero, S. M., Phillips, F. M., Borchers, B., Lifton, N., Aumer, R. & Balco, G. (2016). 29 Cosmogenic nuclide systematics and the CRONUScalc program. Quaternary 30 Geochronology, 31, 160–187. 31 32 May, V. J., & Hansom, J. D. (2003). Coastal Geomorphology of Great Britain. Geological 33 Conservation Review, Joint Nature Conservancy Council. Norwich: HMSO. 34 Mykura, W. (1976). British Regional Geology: Orkney and Shetland. Edinburgh: HMSO. 35 36 Mykura, W. & Phemister, J. (1976). The Geology of Western Shetland. London: HMSO. 37 Nishiizimui, K., Imamura, M., Caffee, M. W., Southon, J. R., Finkel, R. C. & McAninch, J. 38 39 (2007). Absolute calibration of 10Be AMS standards. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in 40 Physics Research Section B: Beam Interaction with Materials and Atoms, 258, 403–413. 41 42 Pánek, T., Lenart, J., Hradecky, J., Hercman, H., Braucher, R., Silhán, K. & Skarpich, V. 43 (2018). Coastal cliffs, rock-slope failures and Late Quaternary transgressions of the Black 44 Sea along southern Crimea. Quaternary Science Reviews, 181, 76–92. 45 46 Richards, A. (1971). The evolution of marine cliffs and related landforms in the Inner Hebrides. 47 Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Wales at Aberystwyth. 48 Saintot, A., Henderson, I.H.C., & Derron, M-H. (2011). Inheritance of ductile and brittle 49 50 structures in the development of large rock slope instabilities: examples from western 51 Norway. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 27–78. 52 Shennan, I., & Horton, B. P. (2002). Holocene land- and sea-level changes around Great Britain. 53 54 Journal of Quaternary Science, 17, 511–526. 55 Sunamara, T. (1992). The Geomorphology of Rocky Coasts. Chichester: Wiley. 56 57 Sverdrup, K. A. (2006) Fundamentals of Oceanography. 5th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. 58 59 22 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 23 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 Trenhaile, A. S. (1987). The Geomorphology of Rock Slopes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 3 4 Trenhaile, A. S. (2002a). Rock coasts, with particular emphasis on shore platforms. 5 Geomorphology, 48, 7–22. 6 7 Trenhaile, A. S. (2002b). Modelling the Quaternary evolution of marine terraces on tectonically 8 mobile rock coasts. Marine Geology, 185, 341–361. 9 Trenhaile, A. S. (2010). The effect of Holocene changes in relative sea level on the morphology 10 11 of rocky coasts. Geomorphology, 114, 30–41. 12 Watters, R. J. (1972). Slope stability in the metamorphic rocks of the Scottish Highlands, 13 14 Unpublished PhD thesis, University of London. 15 Williams, A. T., Davies, B., & Bomboe, P. (1993) Geometrical simulation studies of coastal 16 cliff failures inFor Liassic strata,Peer south Wales, Review U.K. Earth Surface Only Processes and Landforms, 18, 17 18 703–720. 19 Worth, D. H. (1956). Some aspects of the geomorphology of the Isle of Arran. Unpublished MSc 20 thesis, University of London. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 23 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 24 of 40

1 2 Captions to Figures 3 4 5 Figure 1 Location and generalized geology of Shetland. 6 7 8 Figure 2 Preliminary sea-level curve for Shetland (grey band), constrained by radiocarbon 9 10 dates. Adapted from Bondevik et al. (2005) and reproduced with permission from Elsevier. 11 12 TM 13 Figure 3 Google Earth oblique images of coastal landslides in metasedimentary rocks on 14 15 Shetland. (a) Ler Wick landslide, Yell [HU 442922] showing the headscarp, large displaced 16 blocks and fringeFor of large Peer boulders at Review the slope foot. Fresh Only debris below the central gully 17 18 indicates recent cliff collapse. (b) South Floin landslide complex, Yell [HU 455960] showing 19 three or four conjoint headscarps, displaced blocks, basal fringe of landslide debris and scarplets 20 21 extending 110 m inland from the cliff crest. (c) Saito landslide, NW Unst [HP 596157]; the 22 23 light-tone of the headscarp and the freshly detached blocks at the cliff crest indicate recent slope 24 failure. (d) Pund of Grevasand landslides, Ness of Hillswick, NW Mainland [HU 270757], 25 26 illustrating tension cracks at and inland from the cliff crest, slipped blocks and large blocks 27 deposited in the nearshore zone. 28 29 30 31 Figure 4 Distribution of coastal landslides ≥ 50 m wide in Shetland. Each dot represents 32 either a single landside or a complex of up to five slide scars with conjoint headscarps. The 33 34 absence of coastal landslides in central Mainland reflects a lack of cliffs > 30 m high. 35 36 37 Figure 5 Width to height relationships for individual landslides seated on metasedimentary 38 39 rocks. Landslide complexes are excluded. Translational rockslides exhibit a moderate positive 40 relationship between width and height, but deep-seated failures (squares) are generally much 41 42 larger than other landslides. 43 44 45 Figure 6 Frequency of landslides plotted against aspect. Landslides occur on all aspects, but 46 47 westerly aspects dominate. 48 49 50 Figure 7 Google EarthTM images of the west Fetlar coastal landslides. (a) Landslides F2–F7. 51 52 F2 is classified as a complex DSGSD. F4–F7 are typical translational failures, with arcuate or 53 cuspate headscarps displaced blocks and localized evidence of recent rockfall or erosion. (b) 54 55 Landslides F12–F16. F13 and F16 are classified as DSGSDs; both exhibit recent frontal erosion. 56 57 58 59 24 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 25 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 F12 and F14 are translational rockslides. F15 is a landslide complex with evidence of recent 3 4 localized rockfall and slope failure. 5 6 7 Figure 8 Geomorphology of the coastal landslides of west Fetlar. 8 9 10 Figure 9 (a) Site F1, showing the northern sidescarp and failure plane of an offshore- 11 12 terminating translational failure, and seaward dip of principal joints. (b) Site F2 viewed from the 13 14 SE, showing displaced blocks dipping gently seaward. The headscarp extends ~120 m from the 15 crest of the cliff, indicating deep-seated failure. (c) Site F5, showing a recent rockfall sourced 16 For Peer Review Only 17 from a displaced landslide block. (d) Site F7, showing the degraded, partly-vegetated arcuate 18 19 headscarp and two prominent displaced blocks. (e) Headscarp of site F8 (foreground), beyond 20 which is a recent rockfall. In the background is the arcuate headscarp and displaced blocks of 21 22 site F10. (f) Subdued, peat-filled trenches marking the sites of tension cracks at the rear of Site 23 13. These trenches and similar features at site F16 occur ~110-130 m from the cliff crest, and 24 25 indicate limited deep-seated seaward shift of large rock masses. 26 27 28 Figure 10 Sampling sites for 10Be exposure dating near the foot of the headscarp at site F8. (a) 29 30 Sample F8.1, from rock protrusion left of the hammer. (b) Sample F8.2, from near the foot of a 31 buttress; chisel (circled) rests on sample location. 32 33 34 35 Figure 11 Schematic sequence of landslide evolution on the west Fetlar coastline. (a) Early 36 Holocene: antecedent rock slope and basal talus; sea level is depicted below the level of the 37 38 slope foot. (b) Mid-Late Holocene: rising sea level allows wave action to erode the basal talus 39 40 and the slope foot, triggering failure along steeply-dipping structural discontinuities. (c) Late 41 Holocene: instability propagates upslope causing translational sliding of blocks on the upper 42 43 slope. (d) Present: detached and slipped blocks occupy upper slope, and an actively-eroding face 44 (at some sites) surmounts a structurally-controlled bedrock ramp. 45 46 47 48 Figure 12 Schematic depiction of the increased seaward curvature of principal stress, and 49 alignment of a potential curved shear plane. Steepening of the antecedent slope (from AB to 50 51 AC) or retreat of the antecedent slope (from AB to DC) debuttresses the rock mass farther 52 53 inland and increases the average gradient of the potential shear plane. Both effects may instigate 54 deep-seated displacement of rock over 100 m inland from the slope crest. 55 56 57 58 59 25 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 26 of 40

1 2 Table 1 Recorded landslide frequency on different lithologies 3 4 ______

5 Lithology: Metasedimentary Granitic Sandstones Ophiolite Basement Volcanic 6 rocks rocks complex gneiss rocks 7 8 ______

9 Recorded landslides1: 92 16 10 8 2 0 10

11 12 Percentage: 71.9 12.5 7.8 6.2 1.6 0.0 13 14 Cliffs > 30m high (%) 48.9 21.3 14.8 9.4 2.0 3.6 15 ______16 For Peer Review Only 17 1 Recorded landslides (n = 128) includes individual sites, landslide complexes and DSGSDs 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 27 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 Table 2 Sample location and 10Be analytical data 3 4 Sample Sample 5 OS Grid Latitude Longitude Altitude Shielding [10Be]b Sample thickness density a -1 6 Reference (°N) (°W) m OD -3 factor atom g 7 mm g cm

8 F4 landslide 9 F4-1 HU58959090 60.597 0.925 75 21 2.65 0.496 9777±503 10 F4-2 HU58959090 60.597 0.925 70 24 2.65 0.496 10007±533 11 12 F8 landslide 13 F8-1 HU59169040 60.593 0.922 58 23 2.67 0.638 13421±558 14 F8-2 HU59169040 60.593 0.922 61 22 2.66 0.638 13426±1143 15

16 For Peer Review Only 17 a Calculated using the online exposure age calculators formerly known as the CRONUS-Earth online 18 exposure age calculators (Balco et al. 2008). b 19 Normalised to the ‘07KNSTD’ standardization of Nishiizumi et al. (2007) and corrected for a procedural 10 20 chemistry background of 49630±9596 Be atoms. Uncertainties (±1σ) include all known sources of 21 analytical error. 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 28 of 40

1 2 Table 3 10Be exposure ages 3 4 5 Sample AMS ID LLPR, Lm scaling CRONUScalc, Lm scaling Exposure Internal External Internal External 6 Exposure age age uncertainty uncertainty uncertainty uncertainty 7 (years) 8 (years) (years) (years) (years) (years) 9 Fetlar 4 rockslide 10 11 F4-1 b9702 4366 226 249 4410 228 410 12 F4-2 b9705 4533 241 264 4580 244 430 13 F4 weighted mean 4444 165 196 4489 167 385 14 15 Fetlar 8 rockslide 16 F8-1 b9749For 4792 Peer 200 Review 231 Only 4810 201 430 17 F8-2 b100110 4774 409 424 4790 410 560 18 F8 weighted mean 4789 180 213 4806 180 422 19 20 σ 10 21 Internal uncertainties (±1 ) reflect analytical uncertainties on sample processing and Be 22 measurements. External uncertainties (±1σ) incorporate in addition uncertainties in the calibration and -1 23 scaling procedure. Calculated exposure ages assume a post-exposure erosion rate (ε) of 1 mm ka . 24 Calculation of ages for zero erosion (ε = 0) reduces the above ages by <0.4% and calculation for ε = 2 25 mm ka-1 increases the above ages by <0.4%. 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 29 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Figure 1 Location and generalized geology of Shetland. 46 47 163x252mm (600 x 600 DPI) 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 30 of 40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Figure 2 Preliminary sea-level curve for Shetland (grey band), constrained by radiocarbon dates. Adapted 39 from Bondevik et al. (2005) and reproduced with permission from Elsevier. 40 41 75x73mm (600 x 600 DPI) 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 31 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Figure 3 Google EarthTM oblique images of coastal landslides in metasedimentary rocks on Shetland. (a) Ler 30 Wick landslide, Yell [HU 442922] showing the headscarp, large displaced blocks and fringe of large boulders 31 at the slope foot. Fresh debris below the central gully indicates recent cliff collapse. (b) South Floin landslide 32 complex, Yell [HU 455960] showing three or four conjoint headscarps, displaced blocks, basal fringe of 33 landslide debris and scarplets extending 110 m inland from the cliff crest. (c) Saito landslide, NW Unst [HP 34 596157]; the light-tone of the headscarp and the freshly detached blocks at the cliff crest indicate recent slope failure. (d) Pund of Grevasand landslides, Ness of Hillswick, NW Mainland [HU 270757], illustrating 35 tension cracks at and inland from the cliff crest, slipped blocks and large blocks deposited in the nearshore 36 zone. 37 38 128x88mm (300 x 300 DPI) 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 32 of 40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Figure 4 Distribution of coastal landslides ≥ 50 m wide in Shetland. Each dot represents either a single 46 landside or a complex of up to five slide scars with conjoint headscarps. The absence of coastal landslides in 47 central Mainland reflects a lack of cliffs > 30 m high. 48 49 163x252mm (600 x 600 DPI) 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 33 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Figure 5 Width to height relationships for individual landslides seated on metasedimentary rocks. Landslide complexes are excluded. Translational rockslides exhibit a moderate positive relationship between width and 36 height, but deep-seated failures (squares) are generally much larger than other landslides. 37 38 107x92mm (600 x 600 DPI) 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 34 of 40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Figure 6 Frequency of landslides plotted against aspect. Landslides occur on all aspects, but westerly aspects 30 dominate. 31 32 33x22mm (600 x 600 DPI) 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 35 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Figure 7 Google EarthTM images of the west Fetlar coastal landslides. (a) Landslides F2–F7. F2 is classified 27 as a complex DSGSD. F4–F7 are typical translational failures, with arcuate or cuspate headscarps displaced 28 blocks and localized evidence of recent rockfall or erosion. (b) Landslides F12–F16. F13 and F16 are 29 classified as DSGSDs; both exhibit recent frontal erosion. F12 and F14 are translational rockslides. F15 is a 30 landslide complex with evidence of recent localized rockfall and slope failure.

31 128x75mm (300 x 300 DPI) 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 36 of 40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Figure 8 Geomorphology of the coastal landslides of west Fetlar. 46 47 163x251mm (600 x 600 DPI) 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 37 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 Figure 9 (a) Site F1, showing the northern sidescarp and failure plane of an offshore-terminating translational failure, and seaward dip of principal joints. (b) Site F2 viewed from the SE, showing displaced 45 blocks dipping gently seaward. The headscarp extends ~120 m from the crest of the cliff, indicating deep- 46 seated failure. (c) Site F5, showing a recent rockfall sourced from a displaced landslide block. (d) Site F7, 47 showing the degraded, partly-vegetated arcuate headscarp and two prominent displaced blocks. (e) 48 Headscarp of site F8 (foreground), beyond which is a recent rockfall. In the background is the arcuate 49 headscarp and displaced blocks of site F10. (f) Subdued, peat-filled trenches marking the sites of tension 50 cracks at the rear of Site 13. These trenches and similar features at site F16 occur ~110-130 m from the cliff crest, and indicate limited deep-seated seaward shift of large rock masses. 51

52 128x147mm (300 x 300 DPI) 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 38 of 40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Figure 10 Sampling sites for 10Be exposure dating near the foot of the headscarp at site F8. (a) Sample 31 F8.1, from rock protrusion left of the hammer. (b) Sample F8.2, from near the foot of a buttress; chisel (circled) rests on sample location. 32 33 128x90mm (300 x 300 DPI) 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Page 39 of 40 Scottish Geographical Journal

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Figure 11 Schematic sequence of landslide evolution on the west Fetlar coastline. (a) Early Holocene: 26 antecedent rock slope and basal talus; sea level is depicted below the level of the slope foot. (b) Mid-Late 27 Holocene: rising sea level allows wave action to erode the basal talus and the slope foot, triggering failure 28 along steeply-dipping structural discontinuities. (c) Late Holocene: instability propagates upslope causing translational sliding of blocks on the upper slope. (d) Present: detached and slipped blocks occupy upper 29 slope, and an actively-eroding face (at some sites) surmounts a structurally-controlled bedrock ramp. 30 31 70x38mm (600 x 600 DPI) 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Scottish Geographical Journal Page 40 of 40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 For Peer Review Only 17 18 Figure 12 Schematic depiction of the increased seaward curvature of principal stress, and alignment of a 19 potential curved shear plane. Steepening of the antecedent slope (from AB to AC) or retreat of the 20 antecedent slope (from AB to DC) debuttresses the rock mass farther inland and increases the average gradient of the potential shear plane. Both effects may instigate deep-seated displacement of rock over 100 21 m inland from the slope crest. 22 23 24x8mm (600 x 600 DPI) 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rsgj E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]