Mathematics of Planet Earth

Scope: The objective of the session is to encourage research in
identifying and solving fundamental questions about the Planet Earth.
Mathematics, statistics, and mechanics are essential tools in
geosciences. Mathematical methods play a defining role in solving
dynamical geophysical processes in the Earth interior, oceans and
atmosphere that determine our climate, weather, natural hazards,
water, and energy resources. The challenges facing our planet and our
civilization are multidisciplinary and multifaceted, and the
mathematical sciences play a central role in the global effort to
understand and to deal with these challenges. The session will
contribute to the international year “Mathematics of Planet Earth
2013” (www.mpe2013.org).

Speakers:

1. Mathematics of Planet Earth
Christiane Rousseau (Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada)
Vice-President of the International Mathematical Union,
and initiator of the 2013 UNESCO Year of Mathematics of Planet Earth

2. Imaging Earth’s interior based on spectral-element and adjoint methods
Jeroen Thomp, Hejun Zhu and Ebru Bozdag (Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA)

3. Understanding Interior Dynamics in Earth and Terrestrial Planets:
The Essential role of Analytical and Computational Mathematics
Paul Tackley (ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland)

4. Mathematical Unveiling of the Past and Present Carbon Cycle
Daniel Rothman (Lorenz Center, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA)

5. Climate change and mathematics of sea ice
Kenneth M Golden (University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA)

6. Mathematical challenges in glacier modeling
Guillaume Jouvet (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany),
a winner of the 2013 UNESCO Prize of the MPE Competition