Abstract

Ice is one of the most powerful agents for environmental change on Earth. We are most aware of that in this country when we drive over potholes after a harsh winter. The same forces weather rocks, bring stones to the surface of fields and create landforms, particularly in regions of permafrost. The ice in arctic regions keeps our planet temperate both by storing heat between seasons and by reflecting sunlight. As the oceans freeze, dense brine is generated that drives large-scale circulations, of which the Gulf Stream forms a part. My talk will range over these phenomena, illustrating several of them with experiments, and introduce the ways in which mathematics can be used to make predictions.