Lucas Girard - PhD student LGGE 54, Rue Molière Domaine Universitaire, BP 96 38402 Saint Martin d'Hères Cedex France Phone: +33 476 82 42 74 Fax: +33 476 82 42 01 Email:lgirard -at- lgge.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr

I am currently carrying out a PhD thesis on sea ice dynamics at the Laboratoire de Glaciologie and Géophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE) in Grenoble, France.

My research deals with sea ice deformation, a fascinating component of the Arctic geophysical environnement which is of critical importance in climate modelling. Sea ice is a dynamic body that moves and deforms under the action of winds and ocean currents. Its deformation is mainly accomodated by a network of quasi-linear faults and fractures, occuring over a wide range of scales. The goal of my thesis is to develop a suitable contitutive relation to describe the mechanical behavior of sea ice.

In a more general perspective I am also interested in the fracture processes of geophysical objects, in terms statistical properties, precursory phenomena and criticality. My PhD is funded through a BDI-CNRS grant.