Hazardous Ice Phenomena In Rivers Of The Russian Arctic Zone Under Current Climate Conditions And The Safety Of Water Use

Svetlana A Agafonova,Alexander N Vasilenko

doi:10.24057/2071-9388-2020-12

Svetlana A Agafonova, Alexander N Vasilenko

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.24057/2071-9388-2020-12

Copy DOI

Abstract

The ice regime of the Russian Arctic rivers and its hazardous manifestations under current climate conditions are characterized. The ice phenomena in rivers in the region determine the conditions of navigation, water supply, hydropower station (HPS) operation, and the construction of temporary ice bridges and roads. Data of more than 100 hydrological gages over period from 1936 to 2016 were used to compile various cartographic materials and to analyze the spatial variations of the dates of ice phenomena, the duration of ice-free and ice cover periods, and the maximal ice thickness. Special attention is paid to the characteristics of level regime in periods with ice phenomena. Data on the frequency of floodplain inundation during spring ice run, the hazard of ice jams, and the seasonal features of the passage of maximal annual water level are generalized.The observed changes in ice regime characteristics and ice hazard are analyzed. The years of the start of statistically significant shift of the periods of ice phenomena, caused by both climate changes and anthropogenic impact, are identified. The increase in the duration of the ice-free period was found to be not greater than 3–4 days for East Siberian rivers, 5–6 days for the Middle and West Siberian rivers, and up to 10–12 days for the rivers in the European part. A decrease in the maximal ice thickness is most pronounced in the rivers of the Northern European Russia, where it is 10–15 cm. The frequency of floodplain inundation during spring ice run remains constant.

Highlights

Studying the present-day trends in changes in the ice regime of arctic rivers and its hazardous manifestations is an important scientific and practical problem
The time and duration of ice phenomena determine the periods of summer navigation, and the conditions of water supply, the operation of hydropower station (HPS), and temporary ice bridges and roads
The collected data included the dates of ice phenomena, their duration, the recurrence of jams, maximal water levels during spring ice run and jam formation, the maximal ice thickness since 1936 or from the start of observations until 2016

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Studying the present-day trends in changes in the ice regime of arctic rivers and its hazardous manifestations is an important scientific and practical problem. The major rivers in the territory are the Northern Dvina, Pechora, Ob, Yenisei, Khatanga, Olenek, Lena, Yana, Indigirka, and Kolyma, which belong to the basin of the Arctic Ocean. In the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), for example, the route of the Northern Delivery of Freight runs downstream the Lena River toward the mouths of the Khatanga, Anabar, Olenek, Yana, Indigirka, and Kolyma and further upstream these tributaries on shallow-draft vessels. By the early XX century, only general data, mostly of descriptive character, were available on the ice regime of the major arctic rivers of Russia. Active studies of this region started in the 1930s, mostly to meet the needs of the developing navigation through the Northern Sea Route. This article, generalizes the data on the ice regime and its hazardous manifestations for the entire Arctic zone and nearby territories

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Findings

CONCLUSIONS