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Stefano Ottolenghi: Towards tackling ice sheets-ocean interactions with Finite Element Methods

Time: Wed 2020-04-22 14.00

Location: Zoom: stockholmuniversity, Meeting ID: 65341844109

Participating: Stefano Ottolenghi

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Abstract

To predict future ice sheet melting and ocean circulation it is important to understand the way ice sheets and ocean interact with each other. The implementations of coupled ice/ocean models that are available up to date are suboptimal, with input/output data being sent back and forth between two separate codes. The long term goal of this PhD project is to instead fully couple ice and ocean in one single numerical framework.
In this talk I will go through the mathematics and geophysics involved in the project. Specifically, we will first have a look at the Navier-Stokes equations which govern fluid dynamics, and the meaning they carry; then explore the numerical methods (finite elements) that we chose for solving these partial differential equations, and briefly discuss what issues can arise. Finally, I will present an example of modeled fjord circulation obtained by implementing the model in the FEniCS computing platform.