Applied Math Seminar
Monday, October 18, 1999, 4:00pm, 120 Physics
Ken Golden (University of Utah)
Mathematics of Sea Ice
Abstract:- Sea ice undergoes a marked transition in its transport properties
at a critical temperature of around -5 C. Above this temperature,
the sea ice is porous, allowing percolation of brine, sea water,
nutrients, biomass, and heat through the ice. In the Antarctic,
this critical behavior plays a particularly important role in
air-sea-ice interactions, mixing in the upper ocean, in the
life cycles of algae living in the sea ice, and in the
interpretation of remote sensing data on the sea ice pack.
Recently we have applied percolation theory to model the transition
in the transport properties of sea ice. We give an overview of these
results, and how they explain data we have taken in the Antarctic.
We will also describe recent work in developing inverse algorithms
for recovering the physical properties of sea ice remotely
through electromagnetic means, and how percolation processes
come into play. At the conclusion of the talk, we will show
a short video on a recent winter expedition into the Antarctic
sea ice pack.
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