The
SLIM (Second-generation
Louvain-la-Neuve
Ice-ocean Model)
project aims at
building an unstructured-mesh, finite-element ice-ocean model. This class of models are named 'second-generation models'
as opposed to 'first-generation models' based on structured grids and,
most often,
finite differences. An overview of the project can be found here.
The team currently employs 11
PhD students under the supervision of 4 Professors whose competence
ranges from computational finite elements to numerical ocean modeling
and sea-ice modeling.
My research focuses on investigating the benefits from using finite element methods for sea-ice modeling.
Unstructured meshes, with their natural ability to fit boundaries and increase locally the mesh resolution, propose an alternative framework to capture the complex oceanic areas formed by coasts and islands. In particular, we investigate the influence of resolving the narrow straits of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago on the sea-ice features in the Arctic. Other research of interest includes the development of a lagrangian, adaptive sea-ice model allowing the computational grid to move with the ice drift. This lagrangian version of the model has several interesting applications, such as the dynamical mesh refinement along any region of interest (e.g., the ice edge), buoys tracking, or the inclusion of material properties in the sea-ice rheology.
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