Author(s): Randy D. Crissman
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and Ontario Hydro (OH) have developed and use an ice management program for their hydropower-generating stations on the Niagara River, which forms the boundary between New York State in the USA and the Province of Ontario in Canada. The effectiveness of the ice management program is dependent on the availability of real-time observations of ice conditions in the reaches of the river upstream of and in the vicinity of the power plant intakes. Much of the ice information is obtained from visual observations of personnel that continuously monitor ice conditions and report verbally to' operating personnel. In recent years, NYPA and OH have been evaluating alternative methods for "observing" ice conditions that rely less on human observation and interpretation. This paper describes the alternative methods; including a marine radar system, an upward-looking sonar system, and satellites equipped with synthetic aperture radar.
Year: 1996