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A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Ice on Peace River: Effects on Bank Morphology and Riparian Vegetation
Abstract: Ice cover occurs on Peace River, a northward flowing, boreal river, for four to six months, except close to the dams. Headwaters break up first, sometimes causing severe ice jams. Freeze‐up and midwinter ice jams may also be severe in the reach in westernmost Alberta, immediately downstream from open water sustained by dam release flows. Ice jams create the highest water stages experienced along the river. While regulation has significantly changed the ice regime near the dams, ice phenomena beyond the Smoky River confluence appear to be little changed. Maximum jam elevations and highest ice damage lines occur in the reach immediately downstream from that confluence. Shoving and gouging by moving ice have created distinctive local landforms and sedimentary features along the river banks and nearshore channel bed; however, there is no unequivocal field evidence that the overall geometry of the river channel is changed. Ice‐conditioned sedimentation along the channel margin has, however, created a distinctive “inner shelf” one to two meters below the mature floodplain level. Riparian vegetation is strongly affected by ice conditions, with shrub communities near river level being repeatedly damaged and destroyed. The front trees in the forest communities higher above the water are damaged but generally survive. These indications of vegetation damage provide the most common evidence for the elevations reached by ice along the river.
Ice on Peace River: Effects on Bank Morphology and Riparian Vegetation
Abstract: Ice cover occurs on Peace River, a northward flowing, boreal river, for four to six months, except close to the dams. Headwaters break up first, sometimes causing severe ice jams. Freeze‐up and midwinter ice jams may also be severe in the reach in westernmost Alberta, immediately downstream from open water sustained by dam release flows. Ice jams create the highest water stages experienced along the river. While regulation has significantly changed the ice regime near the dams, ice phenomena beyond the Smoky River confluence appear to be little changed. Maximum jam elevations and highest ice damage lines occur in the reach immediately downstream from that confluence. Shoving and gouging by moving ice have created distinctive local landforms and sedimentary features along the river banks and nearshore channel bed; however, there is no unequivocal field evidence that the overall geometry of the river channel is changed. Ice‐conditioned sedimentation along the channel margin has, however, created a distinctive “inner shelf” one to two meters below the mature floodplain level. Riparian vegetation is strongly affected by ice conditions, with shrub communities near river level being repeatedly damaged and destroyed. The front trees in the forest communities higher above the water are damaged but generally survive. These indications of vegetation damage provide the most common evidence for the elevations reached by ice along the river.
Ice on Peace River: Effects on Bank Morphology and Riparian Vegetation
Church, Michael (editor) / Uunila, Lars (author) / Church, Michael (author)
The Regulation of Peace River ; 115-140
2014-12-03
26 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
freeze‐up , ice damage , ice regime , boreal river , ice jam , breakup