Dynamics of ice phenomena on the lake shores based on ice scars method – study from the Southern Baltic Sea coast

ress Oceanologia, uncorrected, in press Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Oceanology Open access article under the CC BY license https://doi.org/10.5697/ZVAO7632 Dynamics of ice phenomena on the lake shores based on ice scars method – study from the Southern Baltic Sea coast Józef P. Girjatowicz, Tomasz A. Łabuz, Małgorzata Świątek Abstract This paper analyses how ice pile-ups affect lake shores, how far ice thrusts reach and the height of ice pilings, while also determining the regions that are most vulnerable to the destructive impact of ice on reservoirs located in a coastal zone. This was achieved by a field survey examining ice scars on trees growing along the lakes of the southern Baltic Sea. The ice scars were mainly measured in terms of elevation and length, the distance of the damaged trees from the shore, geographic coordinates, the geographic direction the scars were facing and the elevation of the ground above the water level. A t-test was used to determine whether the tree scars on the individual lakes varied from the average in elevation or distance from the shore. The furthest traces of ice pile-ups observed on trees were 38 m inland, while the maximum height of the ice piles was 3.8 m. These maximum scores were found at lakes located further east, on their northeastern shores, probably because the most frequent and strongest winds tend to be westerly. Based on the research findings, some conclusions can be drawn about the dynamics of ice phenomena, especially in areas where systematic observations of this type were not carried out. The results can be used to design shore protection and may be relevant for investment plans for municipal housing, transport and recreational infrastructure