River Water Temperature and Ice Phenomena Modeling and Forecasting

Dear Colleagues,

River water temperature and ice phenomena are good indicators of climate variability and change, as well as of the control of processes occurring in river ecosystems. Studies conducted in many parts of the world confirm the multidirectional trends of changes in the air and river water temperature. The climatic factor is being recognized as being of decisive importance for the changes in the water thermal characteristics and icing processes of the majority of rivers. Changes in water temperature are mainly in terms of surface heat exchange with the atmosphere, as well as the turbulent mixing of water of different temperatures. It is forecasted that river water temperature will continue to rise along with the increases in air temperature, ultimately leading to a change in the processes occurring in rivers that are of decisive significance for their run-off, icing, and thermal regimes.

Studies on the relationships between water temperature, ice phenomena, air temperature, and large-scale atmospheric circulation are being carried out in order to evaluate the long-term trends of their changes and the possibility of their predictions. For this purpose, linear and non-linear regression models; more complex parametric and nonparametric methods; process-based deterministic models; and, during the past two decades or so, artificial neural networks and other machine learning methods, are used. Most contemporary applications and hybrid models are used in forecasting the geophysical, meteorological, and hydrological time series, often in situations where there is an unknown relationship between the set of input factors and the outputs.

This Special Issue aims to discuss and present the main river water temperature and ice phenomena approaches and research methods. All topics related to river thermal and ice regime modeling and forecasting in relation to climate change are welcome. The identification of the spatial and temporal water temperature and ice cover dynamics, as well as their tendencies of change, are necessary for the optimal management of river water resources in order to achieve environmental objectives and facilitate adaptation to climate change.

Dr. Renata Graf
Dr. Toamasz Kolerski
Dr. Senlin Zhu
Guest Editors

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