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Frazil crystals immersed in supercooled conditions and high velocity are driven deep into the <br />water column, and attach to submerged objects, forming anchor ice on the river bottom and <br />associated structure, e.g., rocks, vegetation, bridge foundations, intake screens (Ashton 1979). Anchor <br />ice is capable of transporting bottom materials, such as large stones, when buoyancy of the ice mass <br />exceeds the weight or adhesive force of the object. <br />Wilson et al. (1987) modeled instream temperature and ice formation processes, and predicted <br />that construction of a two dam hydroelectric project on the Susitna River in Alaska would result in <br />warmer than natural winter releases that would alter ice processes. This alteration would delay <br />formation of an ice cover, and relocate the upstream end of the ice front. One dam would delay <br />formation of an ice cap by 2 to 6 weeks, two dams would delay formation by 4 to 7 weeks. One dam <br />would relocate the ice edge 16 to 47 km further downstream than under normal conditions. They <br />also predicted that the most significant effect of project operations would be a change in timing of <br />seasonal warming and cooling, with river temperatures warming later in summer and cooling later in <br />fall than normal. <br />Water Temperatures Associated With Ice Cover and Frazil Ice <br />Water flowing immediately beneath ice cover or within Frazil ice usually does not vary more <br />than a few hundredths of a degree from freezing, but can vary one or more degrees as a cooling <br />gradient in proximity to ice masses. Temperature of flowing water under ice cover is usually constant, <br />but a temperature gradient is often present near submerged ice masses, with supercooled water often <br />mixed with jam ice or Frazil ice (Calkins 1984). <br />Carlson et al. (1978) found that ice cover in northern rivers prevents both evaporative heat <br />transfer and direct cooling, greatly reducing conduction-convection heat exchange with low- <br />temperature air. Ice cover actually represents an equilibrium condition, and any excess heat added <br />to the river will most likely result in open stretches of ice (Carlson et aL 1978). <br />Growth Of Ice Cover <br />The growth of ice cover results Gom heat loss to the atmosphere, and thickening of the cover <br />is often related to accumulated temperature degree-days of freezing (along with a correction factor <br />for geographic setting or insulating snow layers). Ice cover typically originates along the margins of <br />streams and rivers, where slower water velocity and shoreline cohesion are favorable for formation. <br />Growth of the ice cover and thickness can be predicted by using an equation involving factors <br />responsible for surface ice formation (Calkins 1979). <br />33 <br />