Operational monitoring of river ice on the Churchill River, Labrador

• Main Authors: Lynch, Michael, Briggs, Robert, English, Jerry, Khan, Amir Ali, Khan, Haseen, Puestow, Thomas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Geophysical Union. Hydrology Section. Committee on River Ice Processes and the Environment 2021
• Subjects: Newfoundland; Churchill River; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=e135e4e5-00d7-46b7-bb27-24f5dabd4804; https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=e135e4e5-00d7-46b7-bb27-24f5dabd4804

Satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has been used to support river ice modeling and flood forecasting as part of an operational river ice service for the Churchill River since 2008. Satellite imagery collection started prior to the construction of the Muskrat Falls Hydroelectric dam to establish a baseline of ice conditions and continued throughout the construction and subsequent operations. SAR imagery acquired using a wide range of incidence angles are used in concert with optical satellite images, webcams, local knowledge, weather forecasts and in-situ observations. SAR image analysis results in three products; ice cover, ice classification, and ice cover changes. The SAR classifications are frequently assessed by a local River Watch Committee who provide qualitative feedback on the classification accuracy. In 2017, triggered by a need to provide ice thickness measurements, a helicopter-borne ground penetrating radar (GPR) system was developed to determine a transect of ice thickness along the river. Beginning in 2019, four Sea Ice Mass Balance Array (SIMBA) buoys were adapted for deployment on the river. The SIMBA buoys measure and transmit, via Iridium, an ice temperature profile from which ice thickness can be derived. The buoys are deployed at four key locations on the river once the ice is thick enough to safely support installation. Manual ice thickness measurements are acquired opportunistically to validate the ice thickness measurements. The data collected are of critical importance for the Water Resources Management Division (WRMD) of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and are used as inputs for river ice flood forecast models. The diverse temporal and spatial scales of data collection afforded by satellite SAR, airborne GPR and in-situ SIMBAs allow cost-effective surveillance of the river while minimizing risk to personnel. The data products are delivered through IceSight, C-CORE’s web-based platform, which offers additional analytics and facilitates inter- and intra-annual comparisons. NRC publication: Yes