Author(s): Philip H. Burgi

Linked Author(s): Philip H. Burgi

Keywords: No Keywords

Abstract: Ice jams frequently occur on rivers in the western United States. Many of the jams are small and may even go unnoticed in sparsely populated areas. Some occur infrequently and are caused by unusual meteorological conditions or temporary unsteady river hydraulics. However, others reoccur on a somewhat frequent basis and in the same locality. Although there are many factors involved, there are several that play a major role in creating an ice jam. These major factors include control sections in a river such as a channel constriction or a lake or reservoir, ice-covered river systems where the ice in the headwaters melts before the downstream river ice melts, and river reaches where large quantities of frazil ice are produced. The major objective of the study was to develop a structure capable of containing the slush ice upstream from a small residential area west of Casper, Wyoming, affected by ice jams. The operation of the ice boom was expected to trigger an artificial ice cover by capturing slush ice thus creating an ice cover which would progress upstream from the boom in an area where a flood easement was established.

DOI:

Year: 1975