Internal structure and sources of selected ice jams on the lower Vistula River |
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| Authors: | Bogus?aw Paw?owski |
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| Affiliation: | Department of Hydrology and Water Management, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Toruń, Poland |
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| Abstract: | The lower stretch of the Vistula is the most ice‐jammed river section on the North European Plain. Since 1982, the structure of hanging dams has been studied by means of a mechanical non‐core sampler. In this article, a selected of field research results of the hanging dams' structure and the degree of filling of the cross section with ice obtained during surface ice‐jam events in the years 1995–2014 are presented, along with an explanation of their causes. Surface ice jams occurred during spring snowmelt surges and ice breakups and also during freeze‐up and ice‐covered periods. Their main cause was changes in the river flow and was also those affected by anthropogenic sources. A characteristic feature of the analysed cross sections was the considerable share of the underhanging ice dam's firm accumulation with ice floes, when the cross section would be filled with ice in excess of 70%. In most cases, due to low river discharge, there was no substantial flooding damage. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | floods hanging dams ice jams lower Vistula |
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