River Ice Jam Definition

Ice in lakes and rivers ice in lakes and rivers decay and ice jams.

River ice jam definition. Necessarily cause ice jams to occur they are a sign that there is a decrease in river flow speed along that stretch of the river thus making it more prone to ice jams. Flooding behind an ice jam can occur very quickly as water backs up. Defined by the international association of hydraulic research iahr working group on river ice hydraulics an ice jam is a stationary accumulation of fragmented ice or frazil that restricts flow on a river or stream. Ice jams occur when floating river ice accumulates at a natural or man made feature that impedes the progress of the ice downstream with the river current.

Ice jam wordreference english dictionary questions discussion and forums. Ice jam definition an obstruction of broken river ice in a narrow part of a channel. An ice jam or ice dam happens when chunks of ice clump together to block the flow of a river. The jam may effectively create a dam with an accumulation of anchor ice on the bottom of the river.

In late winter as air temperatures rise above the freezing point river ice begins to melt owing to heat transfer from above and to the action of the slightly warm water flowing beneath. Ice jams are large chunks of floating ice that form on a river and block its flow. An ice jam is an obstruction on a river formed by blocks of ice. Once an ice jam forms it will lock in place until there is enough water upstream to force it to release.

Ice jams are caused by melting snow and ice in the springtime. Ice jams typically form in the spring as snow melts and the river s volume and flow increase. Ice jam also called ice dam an accumulation of ice forming where the slope of a river changes from steeper to milder or where moving ice meets an intact ice cover as in a large pool at the point of outflow into a lake or on the edge of a glacier or ice sheet. Ice jams are caused by melting snow and ice in the springtime.

Ice jams can significantly reduce the flow of a river and cause upstream flooding sometimes called ice dams.