ABSTRACT
The Yellow River, located in the Northern part of China, is the second longest river in China after the Yangtze River, and the sixth longest river in the world. Being the cradle of Chinese civilization and at the centre of China's current political, economic and social development, the river is known as the 'Mother River of China'. Four types of floods occur in the Yellow River basin: summer floods; autumn floods; ice floods; and peach floods. This chapter focuses on the study area, data availability, field campaign measurements including data analysis of ice regime characteristics, and data used for model setup, parameter calibration and verification. It addresses the state-of-the-art theoretical knowledge and the available modelling techniques about ice regimes and ice floods. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
