Misplaced Pages

Ice blasting

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 203.208.80.250 (talk) at 02:35, 18 August 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 02:35, 18 August 2006 by 203.208.80.250 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Link title

Preemptive ice blasting on the Rideau River in Ottawa

IcBold text I n s e r t f o r m u l a h e r e {\displaystyle Insertformulahere} #REDIRECT Insert text#REDIRECT Insert text#REDIRECT Insert text

--203.208.80.250 02:35, 18 August 2006 (UTC) < m a t h >< m a t h >< m a t h >< m a t h >< m a t h >< m a t h > [ [ M e d i a : c o l l i d e c r e a t i n g a n [ [ i c e j a m ] ] c r e a t i n g a [ [ d a m ] ] a n d b l o c k i n g t h e r i v e r . T h e r i v e r , f i l l e d w i t h m e l t w a t e r , w i l l q u i c k l y [ [ f l o o d ] ] a n d o f t e n c a u s e d a m a g e n e a r b y s e t t l e m e n t s . T h u s i n m o s t n o r t h e r n a r e a s g o v e r n m e n t s q u i c k l y a c t t o b r e a k u p t h e i c e j a m s b e f o r e t h e y c a n d o m u c h d a m a g e . T h i s i s m o s t e a s i l y d o n e w i t h e x p l o s i v e s . T h e s e e x p l o s i v e s m a y b e p l a n t e d f r o m t h e s h o r e , o r i n s o m e c a s e s b y h e l i c o p t e r . I n t h e l a r g e r i v e r s o f t h e [ [ S i b e r i a ] ] t h e R u s s i a n a i r f o r c e i s s o m e t i m e s c a l l e d i n t o b o m b i c e j a m s . S o m e d i s t r i c t s , w h e r e f l o o d i n g i s e s p e c i a l l y c o m m o n , d o p r e e m p t i v e ] ] {\displaystyle <math><math><math><math><math><math>]creatinga]andblockingtheriver.Theriver,filledwithmeltwater,willquickly]andoftencausedamagenearbysettlements.Thusinmostnorthernareasgovernmentsquicklyacttobreakuptheicejamsbeforetheycandomuchdamage.Thisismosteasilydonewithexplosives.Theseexplosivesmaybeplantedfromtheshore,orinsomecasesbyhelicopter.Inthelargeriversofthe]theRussianairforceissometimescalledintobombicejams.Somedistricts,wherefloodingisespeciallycommon,dopreemptive]]} </math></math></math></math></math></math> e blasting is the use of explosives to break up ice in rivers, greatly aiding navigation systems. This is done during the spring when snow is melting and river ice is breaking up. There is always a chance that the ice flows could ice blasting. The city of Ottawa, Canada, for instance, blasts the Rideau River each spring to break up the ice.

Ice blasting has a number of disadvantages. It is expensive and dangerous requiring highly skilled explosives experts. When blasting is occurring the public must be warned to keep their distance. The blasting has negative environmental consequences. Fish and other river creatures are inevitably killed and the river bottom is scarred. Those who live near the rivers complain about the loud noise and some allege that the blasting causes structural damage to homes.

Category: