A Doppler Radar for Continuous Remote Measurement of River Ice Velocity,
Abstract
River ice velocity measurements are fundamental to analyses of river ice dynamics. Ice velocity measurement with a continuous-wave Doppler radar system having real-time data acquisition and digital signal processing capability was evaluated during a river breakup and a frazil run on the Connecticut River. This system can be rapidly deployed, requires minimal operator interaction, will continuously acquire, process, store, and display ice velocity data and does not depend on visibility conditions. In parallel, video records of ice motion were obtained at the same location for later manual processing and comparison with the radar results. We describe the Doppler radar system and obtain bounding estimates of possible measurement errors. The principal error in Doppler ice velocity measurement is due to the beam width of the radar antenna, and an analytical method is developed to minimize this error. Measured ice velocities ranged from 1 to 2.5 m/s during the river breakup and from 0.5 to 0.65 m/s in the frazil run. Quantitative comparisons between the radar and video results show fundamental agreement between these measurement methods, and demonstrate that Doppler radar is an effective, efficient, and precise tool for obtaining river ice velocities over the full range of possible ice and velocity conditions. (MM)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA305808
Entities
People
- David F. Nelson
- Michael G. Ferrick
- Norbert E. Yankielun
Organizations
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory