Bottom ice in historical perspective

Abstract

The article describes the history of the study of anchor ice attached to bottoms of the rivers of the European part of Russia and Siberia. Having analysed a large number of publications, the author of the current research attempts to collect, summarize and analyse the results of observations of anchor ice from the first mentions to the beginning of its study in natural and laboratory conditions. For the first time, this phenomenon was found on the bottoms of Siberian rivers at the end of the XVIII century; most of the observations relate to the Angara River. On the rivers of the European part of Russia, the beginning of the study of bottom ice dates back to the end of the XIX century and is associated with the needs of navigation and water supply. The article considers the contribution of the shipping inspector L.L. Vladimirov to the study of this phenomenon. He was the first to establish the dependence of ice jams in winter and flooding resulted from bottom ice melting. The article also estimates the role of the commission for the study of bottom ice, which revealed its widespread distribution almost throughout the country, as well as the role of scientists such as M.F. Tsyonglinskiy, L.A. Yachevsky and V. Ya. Altberg. The latter is the author of a theory of bottom ice formation.