10/1/2004

On Thin Ice

by Orson P. Smith, PE, Ph.D.1

Lakes and rivers are freezing again. Alaskas wilderness and scenic places open up in
new ways with the coming of cold weather. Rivers and lakes become snow-machine
highways. Cars, trucks, and even heavier vehicles are driven places impossible to reach
in warmer, wet conditions. If the ice fails, however, the winter season can bring tragedy.

Ice thickness is the measure of safety, as we all know, but how thick is thick enough?
This depends, of course, on the weight of your vehicle, passengers, and cargo. The
answer also depends on ice strength, which can vary according to how the ice was
formed.

A simple calculator formula for the minimum safe thickness of ice is:

t = 4 S f Wt ,

where t is the ice thickness in inches, Sf is a safety factor, and Wt is the square root of
the weight in tons (2,000 pounds per ton). The safety factor should be 2 if the ice is
white from many trapped small bubbles, or if the vehicle is to be parked in one spot more
than two hours. A safety factor less than 2 should be used only for clear, strong ice.
Always round the answer up, so the safety factor is never less than 1.

A snow machine and passenger with a combined weight of 500 pounds have an
equivalent weight of 500 2000 = 0.25 tons. The formula predicts a minimum safe ice
thickness, t, with a safety factor of 2:

t=4x2x 0.25 = 8 x 0.5 = 4 inches

For a safety factor of 2:

W = 400 - 500 pounds = 0.2 - 0.25 tons t = 4 inches

W = 3000 - 3500 pounds = 1.5 - 1.75 tons t = 10 - 11 inches

W = 3500 - 4000 pounds = 1.75 - 2.0 tons t = 11 - 12 inches

1
Orson P. Smith is a Professor and Chair of Arctic Engineering at the University of Alaska Anchorage,
School of Engineering and may be reached at afops@uaa.alaska.edu.

1
 10/1/2004

Various augers are available for drilling ice-fishing holes, but a carpenters brace and bit,
with an 18-inch-long, 1-inch-diameter drill bit, is a more portable personal tool for
checking ice thickness. This expedient ice auger is easy to carry on a snow machine and
requires only elbow grease to work.

A carpenters brace-and-bit is an efficient tool for quick checks of ice thickness.

Forging a new trail across a lake or a stream should be accomplished by checking ice
thickness every 150 feet, or more frequently if ice thickness and consistency appears to
vary. On rivers, ice thickness often varies at bends, riffles, shallows, and junctions with
tributaries. Ice thickness near river or lakeshores may be thinner due to groundwater
inflow or the insulation effect of thicker snow cover. It may be thinner on shores where
water levels have recently changed. Warm water springs may cause thin ice in isolated
areas of both lakes and rivers.

Travelers on ice should keep an eye out for frequent cracks and wet surface areas, then
avoid these areas, if possible. Otherwise, use a safety factor in the formula for safe ice
thickness of no less than 2. A serious cold snap with a rapid drop in temperatures will
cause existing ice to become brittle and less safe for a period of about 24 hours. Avoid
ice travel during this time or apply a safety factor of 3 - 4.

Convoys require special consideration. The distance in feet between vehicles should be
about 10 times the safe ice thickness in inches. For example, two 500-pound snow
machines should be about 4 x 10 = 40 feet apart. Two pickup trucks should be about 120
feet apart.

Removing snow from frequently traveled ice roads or ice bridges allows the ice to grow
faster and therefore increase its strength. Pumping water on an ice bridge also increases
its strength and safety, if the flooded area is at least half again as wide as the path
required and is allowed to freeze overnight. It is safest to make a new ice bridge at a
different location every week if the route is traveled by more than one vehicle daily.

Spring thawing conditions, or periods when the air temperature stays above freezing for
24 hours or more, call for extreme caution, since the ice rapidly loses its strength. The
formula at this point doesnt really apply any more and ice travel should be avoided
altogether.

For more information, visit the website of the Cold Regions Research and Engineering
Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire, at http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil.