Session B.pdf - Clarkson University

17th International Symposium on Ice
Saint Petersburg, Russia, 21 - 25 June 2004
International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research
ICE PHENOMENA ON THE RIVER AMUR
Verhoglydov A.A. 1 , Debolsky V.K. 2 , Kozlov D.V. 1
ABSTRACT
The overwhelming majority of objects of the water industry of Russia are located in the
territories, which are characterized by minus temperatures of the winter period. Taking
the Amur river in the Khabarovsk area as an example it is possible to consider a number
of typical problems arising on rivers in the winter time. The current programs make it
possible to produce modeling of the most different processes occurring in waterways
(reservoirs) and fulfil calculations with a rather high degree of adequacy. The good
study and mastering of the regions where large bridges are located promote to the
clarification of the situation. Basic difficulties during construction and especially
reconstruction of main and strategic bridge structures are often connected with the
choice of possible variants of arrangement of supports, location of navigation and ice
passing spans. The most perspective way of solving this task can be development of
independent mathematical models of the given section on the basis of software
environment with further comparison of results and issuing final recommendations.
ICE SITUATION
Like the majority of rivers flowing in the latitudinal direction (from westward to
eastward) the Amur is characterized by a complicated ice situation. As a result of
location of the river whole length and most part of its large tributaries (Zeya, Bureya) on
approximately the same latitude, ice formation in autumn and its weakening in spring
take place almost simultaneously along the whole water way which causes scaled ice
drifting and provokes ice mixing and jams in places with a constrained current. The
situation becomes especially difficult during the years when ice on the tributaries breaks
before it breaks on the Amur (1924, 1962, 1974).
For protection from floods (including winter floods) there were constructed protective
dams which significantly reduced areas of flooding and underflooding ensuring a
proper protection from summer monsoon floods. But during catastrophic rises of levels
caused by ice phenomena there happen water overflows over protective structures
which leads to arising of an extreme situation. Besides the direct danger to the life of
people (there are known cases of people’s death) this leads to the direct threat of arising
1 Moscow State University of Environmental Engineering
2 Water problem institute of the RAS, Moscow, Russian
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