Radar Monitoring of Ice on the Upper Niagara River

A standard marine radar was used during the winter of 1987-88 to evaluate its potential to monitor the presence and movement of ice in the Grass Island Pool area of the upper Niagara River. During much of the winter, analog data were recorded every 15 minutes on standard video tape and, for some periods, on digital tape. The radar system provided clear images of ice in the river under a wide range of meteorological and ice conditions. Analyses of the results revealed that the radar could detect the presence of ice in the river and discriminate between moving and stationary or grounded ice and between areas of thin and thick ice, as determined by the surface roughness.