The following message is being shared on behalf of Semira Alekic and the Department of Earth Sciences.
There is an upcoming seminar scheduled for Thursday, February 26, 2026. Dr. Feiyue Wang will be presenting on "Sea ice geochemistry and mineralogy".
The Department of Earth Sciences welcomes you
to their Seminar Series featuring:
Dr. Feiyue (Fei) Wang
Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1)
Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba
Sea ice geochemistry and mineralogy
February 26, 2026 223 Wallace Building 1:00 PM
Willy Weeks (1929-2017) once stated that "sea ice is the one igneous rock that crystallizes from its melt at temperatures that humans can almost tolerate"; the crystallization process also occurs in places and at rates that can be readily observed by humans. Under freezing temperatures, the highly saline sea-ice brine creates a unique environment where a series of minerals can be precipitated and crystallized rapidly, yet the occurrence of these minerals in sea ice and their significance have only recently begun to be appreciated. Here, I will provide a synopsis of recent progress in sea ice geochemistry and mineralogy, and demonstrate how the University of Manitoba's Sea-ice Environmental Research Facility (SERF) and Churchill Marine Observatory (CMO) can be used for such studies. I especially look forward to discussions on how such a readily observable crystallization process may lend insight into the study of geochemistry and mineralogy in general.