Author: Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.)

Publisher:

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13:

This initial study of the ice-covered Tanana River, near Fairbanks, Alaska, attempted to 1) establish field methods for systematic and repetitive quantitative analyses of an ice-covered river's regime, 2) evaluate the instruments and equipment for sampling, and 3) obtain the initial data of a long-term study of ice cover effects on the morphology, hydraulics and sediment transport of a braided river. A methodology was established, and detailed measurements and samplings, including profiling by geophysical techniques, were conducted along cross sections of the river. A small, portable rotary drill rig equipped with a 356-mm (14-in.) ice auger was used to cut large diameter holes in the ice cover for through-the-ice measurements. Portable heat sources and a heated shelter were required to continuously thaw and dry equipment for the repetitive measurements. Measurements included ice cover thickness, water level, water depth, temperature, flow velocity, suspended load and bed load, frazil ice distribution and bed material composition. Remotely gathered data included apparent resistivity and subsurface radar profiling. The various techniques, sampling gear and problems encountered during use in the subfreezing cold are described in detail in this report.