Earth's sea ice packs are acute indicators as well as agents of climate change. They also serve as primary habitats for robust algal and bacterial communities which sustain life in the polar oceans. Fluid flow through porous sea ice mediates ice growth and melting, biomass build-up, and the reflection of solar radiation. We will describe recent advances in using mathematics to understand such critical processes, and related electrical properties of sea ice important in monitoring its thickness. Video from a 2007 Antarctic expedition where we measured fluid and electrical transport in sea ice will be shown.
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