Spatial variability of characteristics of the ice cover of the Rybinsky reservoir in winter 2022

Abstract

The paper presents the results and a brief analysis of in-situ measurements of thickness and other characteristics of the ice cover of the Rybinsky reservoir, which took place during two expeditions in February and April 2022. In expeditions, 49 ice cores were taken, which provide enough information to evaluate the heterogeneity of the ice cover. The most accurate data were obtained for two profiles, which cross the reservoir from the north to the south and from the southwest to the northeast and coincide with two tracks of the satellite altimeter Jason-3. In 2022 ice cover of the Rybinsky reservoir was heterogeneous and made up several different ice layers. Combination and thickness of these layers were distributed unevenly over the surface of the reservoir and were changing over time. The most uneven distribution was observed in the winter: near the shore and in the southwest part of the reservoir ice cover consisted of black ice, central part of the reservoir was made of black ice and frazil ice and east part of the reservoir was made up black ice and white ice. In the spring, ice cover became much more homogeneous and consisted of thick layers of white ice and black ice.