Microscopic simulations of sea ice

Research Project, 2025 – 2028

Sea-ice behavior affects heat and mass exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean in polar regions, playing an important role in global climate and ocean ecosystems. This projects aims at simulating the microscopic heat and mass transport phenomena of sea ice and at understanding the internal brine dynamics during melting and growing. I leverage a lattice Bolztmann numerical framework to model conjugate heat transfer, phase-change, and brine percolation processes simultaneously at the pore-scale. Compared to present models, based on continuum approaches and limiting macroscopic variables, such simulations will allow the precise quantification of the onset/end of brine convection to the ocean, taking into account the dynamics of sea-ice microstructure.