Icings, also known as aufeis, are groundwater fed sheet-layered ice bodies that normally forms in local depression or more often in low angled, shallow river beds. Understanding their distribution in the Mackenzie Valley corridor (N.W.T.) and adjacent Yukon (618,430 km2) provided important insights to groundwater discharge and recharge. This study aimed at; i) creating the first extensive map of icings in Northwestern Canada, using over 500 late-winter scene Landsat 5 and 7; and ii) assessing hydrographic parameters (streamflow, baseflow and winter contribution) and terrain factors (slope, permafrost, geology) on icing distribution at the watershed level. Results show that; 1) icings are likely to develop close to geological faults on carbonate foothills and mountainous terrain, where continuous permafrost is present and on slopes of less than 5 degrees; 2) in the continuous permafrost zone, the cumulative surface area of icings, winter discharge and winter contribution to total annual discharge have significant positive relations with watershed extents. Icings located at the southern boundary of continuous permafrost are more sensitive to degrading permafrost and the predicted increase in groundwater discharge which may lead to a later icing accretion and earlier ablation during the year.

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Water resource infrastructure in cold regions of the world can be significantly impacted by the existence of river ice. Major engineering concerns related to river ice include ice jam flooding, the design and operation of hydropower facilities and other hydraulic structures, water supplies, as well as ecological, environmental, and morphological effects. The use of numerical simulation models has been identified as one of the most efficient means by which river ice processes can be studied and the effects of river ice be evaluated. The continued advancement of these simulation models will help to develop new theories and evaluate potential mitigation alternatives for these ice issues. In this thesis, a literature review of existing river ice numerical models, of anchor ice formation and modeling studies, and of aufeis formation and modeling studies is conducted. A high level summary of the two-dimensional CRISSP numerical model is presented as well as the developed freeze-up model with a focus specifically on the anchor ice and aufeis growth processes. This model includes development in the detailed heat transfer calculations, an improved surface ice mass exchange model which includes the rapids entrainment process, and an improved dry bed treatment model along with the expanded anchor ice and aufeis growth model. The developed sub-models are tested in an ideal channel setting as somewhat of a model confirmation. A case study of significant anchor ice and aufeis growth on the Nelson River in northern Manitoba, Canada, will be the primary field test case for the anchor ice and aufeis model. A second case study on the same river will be used to evaluate the surface ice components of the model in a field setting. The results from these cases studies will be used to highlight the capabilities and deficiencies in the numerical model and to identify areas of further research and model development.

Water resource infrastructure in cold regions of the world can be significantly impacted by the existence of river ice. Major engineering concerns related to river ice include ice jam flooding, the design and operation of hydropower facilities and other hydraulic structures, water supplies, as well as ecological, environmental, and morphological effects. The use of numerical simulation models has been identified as one of the most efficient means by which river ice processes can be studied and the effects of river ice be evaluated. The continued advancement of these simulation models will help to develop new theories and evaluate potential mitigation alternatives for these ice issues. In this thesis, a literature review of existing river ice numerical models, of anchor ice formation and modeling studies, and of aufeis formation and modeling studies is conducted. A high level summary of the two-dimensional CRISSP numerical model is presented as well as the developed freeze-up model with a focus specifically on the anchor ice and aufeis growth processes. This model includes development in the detailed heat transfer calculations, an improved surface ice mass exchange model which includes the rapids entrainment process, and an improved dry bed treatment model along with the expanded anchor ice and aufeis growth model. The developed sub-models are tested in an ideal channel setting as somewhat of a model confirmation. A case study of significant anchor ice and aufeis growth on the Nelson River in northern Manitoba, Canada, will be the primary field test case for the anchor ice and aufeis model. A second case study on the same river will be used to evaluate the surface ice components of the model in a field setting. The results from these cases studies will be used to highlight the capabilities and deficiencies in the numerical model and to identify areas of further research and model development.

Icings are common hydrological phenomena in arctic and subarctic regions. Their bodies are made up of the accumulation of ice layers formed by the freezing of overflow water during the winter season. Icing formation is a process involving a complex system of thermodynamics and hydrodynamics. In this thesis, the formation mechanics of river icings and ground icings are studied in terms of both thermal and hydrological processes. / The energy exchange systems during icing layer formation involve two ice water interfaces and some intra-layer water flow. Using energy balance analysis, this research finds that the outgoing energy components can be ranked according to their importance, with sensible heat being the most important component, radiation heat loss being of secondary importance, and latent heat loss being the least important factor. Further, this research illustrates that the heat conduction between the underlying ice and a newly formed icing layer is time dependent. For example, during the first half cycle of icing layer formation, heat is conducted into the underlying ice, but during the second half of the cycle the heat is conducted in an opposite direction. / During icing layer formation, the energy input is supplied mainly by water and incoming solar radiation. Intra-layer running water provides a significant amount of energy when air temperatures are milder, but its significance decreases when air temperatures become colder. Solar radiation during the day may also play an important role in the energy supply regime. / River icing formation involves several hydrological processes. The location of a river icing is basically controlled by the channel slope. The damming effect of icing mass plays a significant role in the extension of the icing body, especially in the upstream direction. River icings grow slowly, and generally experience three stages of development, namely the 'freeze-up' stage, 'obstruction' stage and 'overflow' stage, the third stage dominating icing growth. The formation of each icing layer is virtually a small-scale reproduction of these three stages. The model simulation shows that the thickness of icing accumulation increases with an increase in the initial water depth in the channel, but simulation also shows that there is a limiting threshold. The thickness of icing accumulation decreases when the initial channel water depth exceeds this threshold. / The growth of an icing is an event-dominated discontinuous process. Even during one icing layer formation, simultaneous growth occurs only within a very limited distance. At a specific location, icing growth is related temporally only over a short period of time. As a discontinuous process, icing spreading and thickening during an overflow event depends entirely on the climatic and topographical conditions. / Even though icing layering is influenced by many variables, under small discharge rates, as in the case of ground icing growth, statistical analyses show that the mean spreading length of an overflow event can be described efficiently by five variables: discharge, the temperature of the water, the product of air temperature and wind speed, air temperature and the icing surface slope previous to overflow. The maximum spreading length, however, may only be controlled by four variables: discharge, water temperature, air temperature and the product of air temperature and wind speed. Under field conditions, when wind speed is not measured, this wind related variable may be dropped with only a small decrease in confidence level.