A comprehensive field investigation of the dynamic break-up processes on the Chaudière River, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

The Chaudière River in Quebec, Canada, is well known for its frequent ice jam flooding events. As part of a larger watershed research program, an extensive field campaign has been carried out during the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 winter seasons to quantify the spatiotemporal characteristics of the break-up processes along the Chaudière River. The results showed that mid-winter ice jams have formed in the Intermediate Chaudière and persisted until spring break-up. Spring break-ups were initiated in the Upper Chaudière, and then, almost simultaneously, in the Intermediate and Lower Chaudière reaches. The break-up in the Intermediate Chaudière usually lasts longer than the rest of the river since the slope is much milder, and the occurrence of mid-winter ice jams has been seen to delay the ice clearing. A reach-by-reach characterization of the cumulative degree day of thawing and discharge thresholds for the onset of break-up has been identified. During the field campaign, 51 ice jams were documented together with their location, length, date of formation, and the morphological feature triggering jam formation. Break-up patterns, hydrometeorological thresholds of ice mobilization, and ice jam sites identified in this study can serve as a basis for the implementation of an early warning system.