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Guy F. Atkinson Distinguished Lecture Series: "Climate Change and the Mathematics of Fluid Transport in Sea Ice".

What Event
When 2009-01-22
from 15:30 to 17:00
Where INSCC Auditorium
Contact Phone 581-7162
Guest Speaker:

Ken Golden
University of Utah
Dept. of Mathematics

Abstract:
Sea ice is both an indicator and agent of climate change. It also serves  as a primary habitat for algal and bacterial communities sustaining life 
in the polar oceans. Fluid flow through porous sea ice mediates a broad  range of processes, such as the growth and decay of seasonal ice, the 
evolution of ice pack reflectance, and biomass build-up. A new, mathematical  understanding of the fluid permeability of sea ice, and the thermal  evolution of its microstructure, promises to improve forecasts of how  global warming will affect earth's ice packs, and how polar ecosystems may  respond. Related work on electrical properties will help in monitoring ice thickness. Video from a 2007 Antarctic expedition where we measured  fluid and electrical transport in sea ice will be shown.
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Department of Geology and Geophysics
115 S. 1460 E, Room 383 • Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0102 • Phone: (801) 581-7062
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