EFFECTS OF CLIMATE ON MID-WINTER ICE JAMS

Breakup of ice in Canadian rivers and the relationship between the event and the aquatic ecosystem in terms of both habitat and life cycle. Breakup processes are highly sensitive to wheather conditions and there is a potential effect of changing climatic patterns of the ice-jam regime and thus on the stream ecology and local economy. Comparison of the mid-winter jams with the spring ones. Small perturbations in winter temperature can produce major changes in the incidence of breakup and ice jams. Analysis of the comportment of the Saint John river in the past 80 years.