In silico modeling of coupled physical‐biogeochemical (P‐BGC) processes in Antarctic Sea ice

Abstract

Antarctic sea ice formation in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) and its mutual effects on ocean biology and chemistry is very sensitive to climate change. The formation of ’pancake’ ice floes and the coupled physical‐biogeochemical (P‐BGC) processes can be modeled by using the continuum mechanical multi‐phase description of the extended Theory of Porous Media (eTPM), and simulated with the Finite Element Method (FEM). The ice formation is described via a salinity‐temperature equilibrium of the enclosed ocean water. The growth of the thriving ice algae, enclosed and attached to the pancake ice floes, is modeled with a phenomenological approach given with an ordinary differential equation.