RIVICE—A Non-Proprietary, Open-Source, One-Dimensional River-Ice Model

Karl-Erich Lindenschmidt

doi:10.3390/w9050314

Abstract

Currently, no river ice models are available that are free and open source software (FOSS), which can be a hindrance to advancement in the field of modelling river ice processes. This paper introduces a non-proprietary (conditional), open-source option to the scientific and engineering community, the River Ice Model (RIVICE). RIVICE is a one-dimensional, fully-dynamic wave model that mimics key river ice processes such as ice generation, ice transport, ice cover progression (shoving, submergence and juxtapositioning) and ice jam formation, details of which are highlighted in the text. Three ice jam events at Fort McMurray, Alberta, along the Athabasca River, are used as case studies to illustrate the steps of model setup, model calibration and results interpretation. A local sensitivity analysis reveals the varying effects of parameter and boundary conditions on backwater flood levels as a function of the location of ice jam lodgment along the river reach and the location along the ice jam cover. Some limitations of the model and suggestions for future research and model development conclude the paper.

Highlights

River ice can be a major influence on the fluvial hydraulics and geomorphology of northern, high-latitude rivers
Surveyed water level elevations attained at the peak of each ice jam flood event were included to guide the calibration of the remaining river ice parameters and assess model performance
December and February of the Athabasca River at Fort McMurray is 174 m3 /s but the model has been successfully applied to rivers with mean January to February flows as high as 1123 m3 /s, such as at the Town of Peace River on the Peace River and as low as 4 m3 /s for the upper Qu’Appelle River in Saskatchewan

Summary

Introduction

River ice can be a major influence on the fluvial hydraulics and geomorphology of northern, high-latitude rivers. Rubble or slush ice has the potential to jam and dam up a river section, causing even more backwater staging and river banks and levees to overflow and flood the surrounding floodplain. Many floodplain and wetland ecosystems require such periodic flooding for their replenishment of moisture, sediment and nutrients, especially in perched ponds and lakes of inland deltas such as, for example in Canada, the Peace-Athabasca Delta in Alberta [1], the Slave River Delta in the Northwest Territories [2,3] and the Saskatchewan River Delta along the Saskatchewan/Manitoba boundary [4,5]. Ice jams and the flooding they induce can pose threats to, and wreak damage on, many communities located along these rivers. Floods account for the greatest number of hydrological/meteorological natural disaster events in Canada [12] and, for most Canadian rivers, the annual peak water levels are due to ice jams [13].

Results

Discussion

Conclusion