Advances in river ice hydrology 1999–2003

Abstract

AbstractIn the period 1999 to 2003, river ice has continued to have important socio‐economic impacts in Canada and other Nordic countries. Concurrently, there have been many important advances in all areas of Canadian research into river ice engineering and hydrology. For example: (1) River ice processes were highlighted in two special journal issues (Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering in 2003 and Hydrological Processes in 2002) and at five conferences (Canadian Committee on River Ice Processes and the Environment in 1999, 2001 and 2003, and International Association of Hydraulic Research in 2000 and 2002). (2) A number of workers have clearly advanced our understanding of river ice processes by bringing together disparate information in comprehensive review articles. (3) There have been significant advances in river ice modelling. For example, both one‐dimensional (e.g. RIVICE, RIVJAM, ICEJAM, HEC‐RAS, etc.) and two‐dimensional (2‐D; www.river2d.ca) public‐domain ice‐jam models are now available. Work is ongoing to improve RIVER2D, and a commercial 2‐D ice‐process model is being developed. (4) The 1999–2003 period is notable for the number of distinctly hydrological and ecological studies. On the quantitative side, many are making efforts to determine streamflow during the winter period. On the ecological side, some new publications have addressed the link to water quality (temperature, dissolved oxygen, nutrients and pollutants), and others have dealt with sediment transport and geomorphology (particularly as it relates to break‐up), stream ecology (plants, food cycle, etc.) and fish habitat.There is the growing recognition, that these types of study require collaborative efforts. In our view, the main areas requiring further work are: (1) to interface geomorphological and habitat models with quantitative river ice hydrodynamic models; (2) to develop a manager's toolbox (database management, remote sensing, forecasting, intervention methodologies, etc.) to enable agencies to intervene better at the time of ice‐jam‐induced floods; and (3) finalize ice‐jam prevention methods on the St Lawrence River to safeguard its $2 billion commercial navigation industry. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.