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Advances in River Ice Science and Its Environmental Implications
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Advances in River Ice Science and Its Environmental Implications

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 5175

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Spyros Beltaos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Water Research Institute of Environment Canada, Burlington, ON L7R 4A6, Canada
Interests: climate change; floods; hydrology; ice jams; ice processes; rivers; sediment transport
Brian C. Burrell

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Hilcon Limited, Fredericton, NB E3B 3P7, Canada
Interests: river-ice engineering; hydrology; water-resources engineering and management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ice formation, growth, and breakup in rivers modify flow configuration and hydrodynamic forces in ways that can impact aquatic life, water quality, and sediment transport, as well as cause the flooding of riverside communities and damage to infrastructure. River ice can also interfere with road transportation and navigation. Field and laboratory observations and measurements enhance the understanding of physical processes, which in turn, leads to the development of predictive tools such as quantitative relationships and mathematical models. The importance of such knowledge is underscored by ongoing global warming, given the sensitivity of river ice processes to climatic variables. Despite the significant advances that have been made in recent decades, many aspects of river ice processes and their environmental implications are not fully understood. This Special Issue aims to gather high-quality papers that will improve the state-of-the-art. Submitted papers will undergo a peer-review process performed by independent reviewers. Original research papers and reviews are invited to the Special Issue.

Relevant topics include:

  • Hydroclimatic aspects of freeze-up, winter, and breakup processes;
  • River ice impacts on stream ecology, including floodplains and deltas;
  • Ice-affected water quality and sediment transport;
  • Ice jam flooding potential, including forecasting, remediation, and risks to infrastructure;
  • Hydrodynamic processes resulting from ice jam releases.

Dr. Spyros Beltaos
Brian C. Burrell
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • breakup
  • flood risk
  • freeze-up
  • hydroclimate
  • ice cover
  • ice jam
  • river ice
  • water quality
  • winter ecology

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 14054 KiB  
Article
Experimental Analysis on Hanging Dam Formation and Evolution
by Randula Senarathbandara, Shawn P. Clark and Karen Dow
Water 2023, 15(24), 4242; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15244242 - 11 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1697
Abstract
Hanging dams are thick accumulations of frazil ice beneath an existing ice cover that are formed during the freeze-up period at locations where a fast-flowing river section enters a section with relatively low velocity. Hanging dams can have a substantial impact on the [...] Read more.
Hanging dams are thick accumulations of frazil ice beneath an existing ice cover that are formed during the freeze-up period at locations where a fast-flowing river section enters a section with relatively low velocity. Hanging dams can have a substantial impact on the hydraulics of an ice-covered river. This paper presents an experimental study on hanging dam formation and evolution conducted using a laboratory physical model of a river issuing water into a relatively large reservoir using simulated frazil ice and a simulated ice cover. The incoming ice supply rate and the approach Froude number of the river are the two parameters that have an impact on the hanging dam formation with respect to several physical characteristics of the hanging dam. Hanging dam erosion was observed by increasing the approach Froude number of the river after a hanging dam had already formed. Both the formation and erosion of the hanging dam were qualitatively compared with field observations of hanging dam occurrences using satellite imagery and hydrometric data to support the applicability of the experimental results to a field scenario. The results presented in this paper comprise the first published qualitative laboratory data on hanging dam formation, helping to improve our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of hanging dam formation and evolution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in River Ice Science and Its Environmental Implications)
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15 pages, 5516 KiB  
Article
Sediment Transport Beneath a Simulated Partial Ice Cover: Effects of Asymmetric Border Ice
by Mina Rouzegar and Shawn P. Clark
Water 2023, 15(23), 4153; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15234153 - 30 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1351
Abstract
With the onset of winter in cold regions, border ice begins to form, impacting sediment transport rate and distribution. Understanding the effect of ice cover is crucial in regions with prolonged sub-freezing temperatures, as water bodies remain frozen for a considerable part of [...] Read more.
With the onset of winter in cold regions, border ice begins to form, impacting sediment transport rate and distribution. Understanding the effect of ice cover is crucial in regions with prolonged sub-freezing temperatures, as water bodies remain frozen for a considerable part of the year. While the existing literature includes many studies on sediment transport in open channel flow and several studies on completely ice-covered flow, there is limited research on sediment transport in partially ice-covered channels. Addressing this gap, the current study conducted laboratory experiments in a rectangular flume at the Hydraulics Research and Testing Facility, University of Manitoba, Canada. The investigation focused on examining the influence of asymmetric border ice, varying coverage ratios in asymmetric partially ice-covered flow, and changing flow strengths on bedload transport rate and distribution. Additionally, a comparison was made with symmetric partially ice-covered flow conditions. The findings indicate that the presence of asymmetric border ice indeed affected the bedload transport distribution within the channel, causing non-uniform bedload transport distribution across the channel width, with peak values concentrated in the center of the open flow section. Increased asymmetry in border ice leads to greater asymmetry in bedload transport rate distribution. Despite these pronounced differences in bedload transport rate across the channel width, the cross-section-averaged bedload transport rate could still be estimated utilizing the conventional equations, used for open channel flow, fully ice-covered flow, and symmetric partially ice-covered flow, with the effect of ice cover accounted for by incorporating an additional boundary in the calculation of the wetted perimeter, leading to adjustments in the flow strength. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in River Ice Science and Its Environmental Implications)
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15 pages, 2169 KiB  
Article
Using Logistic Regression to Identify the Key Hydrologic Controls of Ice-Jam Flooding near the Peace–Athabasca Delta: Assessment of Uncertainty and Linkage with Physical Process Understanding
by Spyros Beltaos
Water 2023, 15(21), 3825; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15213825 - 1 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1350
Abstract
The Peace–Athabasca Delta (PAD) in northern Alberta is one of the world’s largest inland freshwater deltas and is home to many species of fish, mammals, and birds. Over the past five decades, the PAD has experienced prolonged dry periods in between rare floods, [...] Read more.
The Peace–Athabasca Delta (PAD) in northern Alberta is one of the world’s largest inland freshwater deltas and is home to many species of fish, mammals, and birds. Over the past five decades, the PAD has experienced prolonged dry periods in between rare floods, accompanied by a reduction in the area comprised of lakes and ponds that provide a habitat for aquatic life. In the Peace sector of the PAD, this likely resulted from a reduced frequency of spring flooding caused by major ice jams that form in the lower Peace River. There is debate in the literature regarding the factors that promote or inhibit the formation of such ice jams, deriving from physical process studies, paleolimnological studies, and—recently—statistical analysis founded in logistic regression. Logistic regression attempts to quantify ice-jam flood (IJF) probability, given the values of assumed explanatory variables, involve considerable uncertainty. Herein, different sources of uncertainty are examined and their effects on statistical inferences are evaluated. It is shown that epistemic uncertainty can be addressed by selecting direct explanatory variables, such as breakup flow and ice cover thickness, rather than through more convenient, albeit weak, proxies that rely on winter precipitation and degree-days of frost. Structural uncertainty, which derives from the unknown mathematical relationship between IJF probability and the selected explanatory variables, leads to different probability predictions for different assumed relationships but does not modify assessments of statistical significance. The uncertainty associated with the relatively small sample size (number of years of record) may be complicated by known physical constraints on IJF occurrence. Overall, logistic regression corroborates physical understanding that points to breakup flow and freezeup level as primary controls of IJF occurrence. Additional influences, related to the thermal decay of the ice cover and the flow gradient during the advance of the breakup front towards the PAD, are difficult to quantify at present. Progress requires increased monitoring of processes and an enhanced numerical modelling capability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in River Ice Science and Its Environmental Implications)
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