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Physical measurements of river ice jams
Author(s) -
Calkins Darryl J.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr014i004p00693
Subject(s) - pancake ice , geology , sea ice , pressure ridge , breakup , sea ice thickness , arctic ice pack , antarctic sea ice , fast ice , geomorphology , climatology , mechanics , physics
River ice jam measurements have always been relatively difficult to obtain because of the uncertain stability of the floating ice mass. But recently two ice jams resolidified for about 3 weeks, allowing the ice thickness to be measured at several cross sections along their longitudinal profiles. The size distribution of surface ice floes in one of the jams was also evaluated from low‐level aerial photography. The ice jams were found to be thickest at the downstream end, of the order of 4–5 times the thickness of the ice cover before breakup, and decreased almost linearly in thickness upstream. The largest surface ice floes measured in one ice jam ranged from 0.27 to 0.05 of the river's average width (∼45 m). The largest floes were at the downstream end, and floe size decreased progressively with distance upstream.