Author(s): Steven F. Daly; Carrie Vuyovich
Linked Author(s): Steven F. Daly
Keywords: River ice; St Clair River; Great Lakes; Data assimilation; Kalman filter
Abstract: Ice covers increase river stages via an additional rough boundary, which increases channel wetted perimeter, reduces channel hydraulic radius, and increases effective channel roughness. The hydraulic roughness of the river ice cover can vary throughout the winter and yearly, which can affect simulation models used to forecast near term conditions or estimate rivers flows. This paper presents a hydraulic model that applies a Kalman filter, using observed stages and the position of the upstream leading edge of the ice cover, to efficiently estimate optimal river ice and hydraulic conditions in the St. Clair River, an uncontrolled connecting channel between Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair. Estimating ice conditions in the St Clair River is complicated because ice can form in the river itself or flow out of Lake Huron, and there is no direct observation of discharge in the river. Hydraulic roughness is estimated for several different approaches over one winter season.
Year: 2006