| Download | - View accepted manuscript: Characterization of ice coverage in the St. Lawrence River using satellite imagery and an operational ice status index (PDF, 4.0 MiB)
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| Author | Search for: Sudom, Denise1; Search for: MacMillan, Corwin; Search for: Soleymani, Armina; Search for: Qu, Yifan; Search for: Scott, K. Andrea |
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| Affiliation | - National Research Council of Canada. Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering
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| Format | Text, Article |
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| Conference | 23rd Workshop on the Hydraulics of Ice Covered Rivers, June 9-12, 2025, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
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| Subject | river ice; satellite imagery; freeze up; break up; St. Lawrence River |
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| Abstract | The St. Lawrence River is part of an important international shipping route, with numerous shoreline communities and major infrastructure such as dams and hydroelectric power generation stations. In winter, ice is a crucial consideration in water management decisions on the upper part of the St. Lawrence, from Lake Ontario to Montreal. The water management board and hydroelectric companies closely monitor river ice conditions at two key locations, Lake St. Lawrence and Beauharnois Canal. River flow is usually reduced to encourage the formation of a stable ice cover and prevent problematic ice jams; once this cover forms, flow may be increased. Since the year 2000, detailed observations have been made on ice cover presence and stability, and a numeric ice status index has been recorded for each day of the ice season. The availability of remotely-sensed data, such as satellite imagery, affords another way to monitor ice conditions. Satellite-based optical imagery was used to classify pixels on the St. Lawrence River as either ice or water. The percent coverage of the surface by ice was then calculated over each area for images from 2013 to 2022. This satellite-derived ice coverage was compared with the ice status indicator timeseries, and preliminary correlations were established. Several machine-learning methods for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery analysis were also tested and summarized. |
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| Publication date | 2025-06-09 |
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| Publisher | Committee on River Ice Processes and the Environment (CRIPE) |
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| In | |
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| Language | English |
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| Peer reviewed | Yes |
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| Export citation | Export as RIS |
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| Report a correction | Report a correction (opens in a new tab) |
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| Record identifier | b00ea7e2-d0a3-46d8-b242-bfc5b3c57fdd |
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| Record created | 2025-06-25 |
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| Record modified | 2025-06-30 |
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