Minnesota Mathematics of Climate Seminar

January 28, 2025

Modeling Permafrost Thaw Dynamics: A Conceptual and Energy-Based Approach, Maria Sanchez-Muniz, School of Mathematics

Permafrost, a critical carbon reservoir, is thawing rapidly under climate change, threatening to amplify global warming through potent carbon feedback. Traditional temperature-driven models overlook energy dynamics during phase transitions—key to thaw mechanisms. This talk introduces an energy-centric framework that prioritizes energy conservation, phase changes, and variable thermal properties. By shifting focus to energy density over temperature, the model naturally integrates phase transitions. Simulations highlight geothermal heat flux and soil water content as critical thaw drivers, revealing that low-ice permafrost degrades orders of magnitude faster than ice-rich systems. Energy of fusion emerges as a pivotal control, exposing non-linear water content-thaw relationships. Coupled with empirical data, this framework equips policymakers with insights into regional risks, emphasizing water content—not just warming—as a key determinant of resilience. The energy-driven approach advances permafrost modeling, refines climate projections, and underscores the urgency of integrating thaw dynamics into mitigation strategies.

February 4, 2025

Dynamics on Boundaries: A Study of a Climate Model and Theoretical Directions, Rodrigo Donizete Euzébio, Federal University of Goiás, Brazil

This talk addresses two topics: first, the study of a model of glacial cycles where trajectories are confined within a box-like boundary. Second, the development of a sufficiently general theory that allows us to treat boundary problems as classical, boundaryless equations. We employ a projection strategy to analyze the climate model and utilize discontinuities, regularizations, and time-scale systems to propose a theoretical approach for boundary systems.

February 25, 2025

Taking Care of the Land: Indigenous Natural Resources Management, Governance and Climate Adaptation, Florencia Pech Cardenas, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota

Indigenous peoples have been adapting to and managing their lands under changing socio-ecological contexts for millenia. Indigenous epistemologies and practices related to the environment allowed Indigenous communities to have a sustainable management of their natural resources and environments before sustainability and environmentalism existed in Western thought. In this talk, I will share my research which centers Indigenous relationships to natural resources and climate adaptation in Mexico and the Midwest. As an Indigenous interdisciplinary scholar and scientist, I engage in theories and methods from the humanities, social and natural sciences to build bridges between Indigenous and Western ways of thinking.