Previous Event
October 22, 2006
"The Mathematics of Sea Ice: Helping to Assess the Impact of Climate Change"
by Ken Golden, University of UtahKenneth M. Golden serves the University of Utah Math Department as Director of Undergraduate Studies and as Coordinator for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program. He has published over 40 papers on mathematics of composite materials, sea ice, and phase transitions in scholarly journals in the fields of mathematics, physics, geophysics, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering, including the journal Science. Professor Golden has given over 200 invited lectures at universities and conferences on six continents, and has held visiting positions at Stanford and at institutions in France, Italy, Russia, Brazil, and Hong Kong. His sea ice research has taken him on four Antarctic expeditions, and on five trips to the Arctic..
“The polar sea ice packs in the Arctic and Antarctic play a critical role in earth's ocean-climate system, and are sensitive indicators of climate change. They also host algal and bacterial communities which support the extensive polar ecosystems. As a material, sea ice is a composite of pure ice with brine inclusions, which is similar in structure to many high-tech and biological composites. We'll describe how we've been using mathematics to study the fluid and electromagnetic transport properties of sea ice. These properties control a broad range of geophysical and biological processes, and play an important role in assessing the impact of global warming on the polar regions. Most of this work was done in collaboration with University of Utah undergraduates. Six of them have traveled to the Arctic for their sea ice research. My presentation will conclude with a short video of an Antarctic expedition.”
Suggested References and Resources:Websites: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20000812/toc.asp (click on Icy Math).Periodicals: "Meltdown in the North", M. Sturm, D. K. Perovich, and M. C. Serreze, Scientific American, vol. 289, No. 8, p. 60, 2003.Other useful links (added by FFQM) are RealClimate and The Threat to the Planet - an article by Jim Hansen in the New York Review.