The Aura River Ice Jam in Turku, March 1903

Authors

Abstract

Ice jams are as intrinsic to the climate history of Turku as are spring ice breakups. Ice jams and the flood events they initiate are hard to anticipate because they are caused by sudden and intense rains, and when the mechanical strength of the ice is high, the breakup can cause great havoc once the ice starts moving and gains momentum. One of the most intense events in the 1900s was the breakup in March 1903.

Author Biography

Stefan Norrgård, Åbo Akademi University, Finland

Stefan Norrgård holds a PhD in history from Åbo Akademi University, Finland. His current research focuses on historical climate variability and societal impacts of spring ice break-ups in Aura River, Turku, 1749–2018. His research interests are climate impact, historical climate variability, and early meteorological observations.

Photograph of an "ice jam."

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Published

2020-03-09

Issue

2020

Section

Spring

License

Copyright (c) 2020 CC BY 4.0 Stefan Norrgård

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.