Boylan, NoelNoelBoylanLong, Michael (Michael M.)Michael (Michael M.)Long2011-10-202011-10-20Royal Iris2010-12Biology and Environment : Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy0791-7945 (Print)2009-003X (Online)http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3256Although peat slope failures have occurred in Ireland for many thousands of years their causal factors and the triggering mechanisms involved are poorly understood. A particular barrier to quantitative assessment of the risk of failures is the lack of knowledge of the geotechnical properties of peat and its role in failures. In order to advance the understanding of these issues case history data is invaluable. This paper describes a case study from the Wicklow mountains where a desk and remote sensing based study was used to identify peat slope failures. Subsequently detailed field studies were carried out at two failure locations. It was found that although the full causal factors at the time of failure are unknown, a common factor was that the failure took place in a zone of highly decomposed and relatively low fibre content peat. A revision of the standard test method for fibre content for use in peat soils is proposed.502837 bytesapplication/pdfenPeatBogflowPeat failureRemote sensingFibre contentSlopes (Soil mechanics)--StabilityPeat bogs--Ireland--WicklowPeat--TestingJournal Article110B317318410.3318/BIOE.2010.110.3.173https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/