Description of 39th Cycle Scholarships (2023-2026)

Position Number 1

Title: Limited Area Modelling of the global coastal ocean for climate forecasting and impactful events

Description: The Oceanography Group of the University of Bologna develops relocatable modeling for limited areas of the ocean (https://www.surf-platform.org/) from the mesoscale to the sub-mesoscale. Among the topics to be covered, we will concentrate on the understanding of the predictability of the system at various time scales and the estimation of uncertainty for impact forecasting. The successful candidate will work with Prof. Pinardi and her collaborators at the SINCEM Laboratory of the University of Bologna in Bologna (https://www.sincem.unibo.it/).

Contact: Nadia Pinardi (nadia.pinardi@unibo.it)

Position number 2

Title: Studying the atmospheric convection as an intermittent dynamical process. Discovery of the predictors of the convection onset and their use in data assimilation and machine learning to improve the early warning of intense weathers

Description:

The intermittent nature of phenomena like convection drives the attention toward the discovery of the (possibly few) precursors of its onset or of regime change. We will make use of dynamical systems theory to unveil those precursors using Lyapunov analysis and bifurcation theory. The precursors will be used to train and assess ML algorithms in the possibly smaller space of the key variables anticipating the convection’s onset. The physical forecast model equipped with ML will then be used in an ensemble-based DA framework and its performance to predict extremes and regime transitions will be studied.

La natura intermittente di fenomeni come la convezione spinge l'attenzione verso la scoperta dei (forse pochi) precursori del suo inizio o del cambio di regime. Faremo uso della teoria dei sistemi dinamici per svelare questi precursori usando in particolare l'analisi di Lyapunov e la teoria della biforcazione. I precursori verrà utilizzato per addestrare e valutare algoritmi ML nello spazio possibilmente più piccolo delle variabili chiave che anticipano l'inizio della convezione. Il modello di previsione fisica dotato di ML verrà quindi utilizzato in un framework DA basato su ensemble e verranno studiate le sue prestazioni per prevedere gli estremi e le transizioni di regime.

Contact: Alberto Carrassi (alberto.carrassi@unibo.it)

Position Number 3

Title: Electrochemical carbon dioxide conversion from fundamental understanding to CO2 valorization

Description: This PhD project is focused on study of electrocatalysts and electrochemical devices with innovative design for CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). The CO2 reduction reaction of (CO2RR) is being considered as a two-way strategy for both environmental remediation and a carbon neutral circular economy. But this reaction presents some problems: low solubility of CO2 in water and the very high cathodic potentials. For these reasons, the efficient conversion requires the use of an electrocatalysts, which present a high selectivity and efficiency and innovative approaches based on gas diffusion electrodes.

Contact: Giovanni Valenti (g.valenti@unibo.it)

Position number 4

Title: Hierarchies of models and optimization methods for the study of 'tipping points' in the climate system

Description: The reliability of long-term climate model projections strongly depends on our understanding of tipping points, i.e. abrupt changes in some key elements of the climate system. Several tipping elements have been identified, but their understanding, solely relying on state-of-the-art climate models, is often incomplete, if not contradictory at all. We will advance the understanding of some of these tipping points, exploiting several approaches (e.g. investigating crucial processes using hierarchies of models and including machine learning and large deviation algorithms), which, for their complexity, will allow to exploit and test the capacity of the new HPC infrastructure developed within the PNRR-TeRABIT project.

Contact: Susanna Corti (s.corti@isac.cnr.it )

Position number 5

Title: Integration of the Classyfarm information system for public health control with the assessment of the environmental impact of farms

Description: The Classyfarm system (laid down by Italian legislative decree 136/2022) currently allows the categorisation of the Livestock productions' risks in terms of animal welfare, biosecurity, hygiene and production parameters, antimicrobial drug consumption and feeding. However, it lacks an environmental impact assessment. This highly interdisciplinary project aims to develop a scientific model to measure the environmental impact of livestock farms, intended to complement the Classyfarm system. The model, based on the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology, will make it possible to measure the carbon, ecological and water footprint of livestock farms in order to achieve an objective assessment of the social, environmental and economic sustainability of this man-made activity from a One Health perspective.

Contact: Silvana Hrelia (silvana.hrelia@unibo.it)

Position number 6

Title: Unpacking the governance of coastal resilience: actors, institutions and policies

Description: The PhD Researcher will collaborate to a multi-country mapping research on stakeholders, policies and institutions of coastal resilience governance, within the UN-sponsored Ocean Decade framework. Case-specific evidence will be standardized into a database, identifying enablers – blockers of just and effective governance approaches to coastal resilience. Interacting with the UNESCO-affiliated DCC-CR and ARPAE, the Researcher will also support experiments (including through Horizon Europe Applications) on propensity utilization/expected policy impact/sustainability of maritime early warning systems. Policywise, the transnational focus of this Research will support early dissemination of best practices, targeting cooperation between different Communities of Practice, particularly in developing countries.

La-Il Ricercatrice-tore collaborerà alla mappatura multi-paese su attori, politiche e istituzioni della governance della resilienza costale, nel contesto della UN Ocean Decade. Evidenze specifiche verranno standardizzate in un database, per identificare incentivi od ostacoli allo sviluppo di approcci equi ed efficaci alla governance della resilienza costale. Grazie all’interazione con il DCC-CR affiliato UNESCO, e ARPAE, la-Il Ricercatrice-tore parteciperà ad esperimenti (anche tramite domande Horizon Europe) su utilizzo/impatto di policy/sostenibilità dei sistemi marittimi di allerta precoce. La Ricerca supporterà la diffusione tempestiva di buone prassi e la cooperazione tra le Communities of Practice, particolarmente nei paesi in via di sviluppo.

Contact: Eugenia Baroncelli (eugenia.baroncelli@unibo.it)

Position number 7

Title: Analyses of urban microclimate and its impacts using forecasting numerical tools

Description: This fellowship is for the development of new insights on the effect of urban areas on precipitation. The research is expected to develop tools to be integrated in Numerical Weather Prediction models.

Contact: Silvana Di Sabatino (silvana.disabatino@unibo.it)

Position number 8

Title: All aspects of solid earth geophysics, such as seismology, physics of volcanism, geodesy, quantitative geodynamics, including tsunami

Description: As the title indicates, the topic is not fixed a priori. It will be adapted based on the profile of the selected candidate. All profiles in solid earth geophysics are welcome, but applications are especially encouraged from students with a background on, or interested in working on, the topics of landslides, calving, tsunamis.

Contact: Alberto Armigliato (alberto.armigliato@unibo.it)

Position Number 9

Title: Study of frequency variations of stratigraphic resonances: seasonality and earthquakes

Description: Resonance frequencies of sediment-filled basins are important to both assess the geometry and mechanical properties of the basins, as well as to predict seismic effects.

Clear annual and diurnal variations of the resonance frequencies of sediment-filled basins have been recently reported, as long as annual and dirurnal variations of shear wave velocity, Vs. The last phenomenon has been attributed to water level variation but there can be alternative explations that still need to be explored. In this project we'll take some time to explore all the possible cause in depth and to collect more information about the stability of resonance frequencies in deep and shallow basins.

The ideal Ph.D. candidate has a good spoken and written English level, ideally has some signal processing skills and computer programming skills, or is strongly motivated in acquiring them.

Contact: Silvia Castellaro (silvia.castellaro@unibo.it)

Position Number 10

Title: Coupling marine biogeochemistry in the global coastal ocean with high resolution models

Description: Complex marine biogeochemistry numerical models have been developed that involve empirical formulations of the carbon and other chemical element fluxes in the marine functional living and nonliving groups (https://bfm-community.github.io/www.bfm-community.eu/). The drivers of such biogeochemical models are the circulation of the global coastal zone, from rivers, estuaries to offshore areas and the nutrients/organic material loading. The PhD will contribute to the development of the model and carry out ~100 years future climate projections. The successful candidate will work with Prof. Pinardi and her collaborators at the SINCEM Laboratory of the University of Bologna in Ravenna (https://www.sincem.unibo.it/)

Contact: Nadia Pinardi (nadia.pinardi@unibo.it)

Position Number 11

Title: Historical ocean reconstructions combining numerical models and Earth observations for long-term climate change studies

Description: This Ph.D project aims to understand the ocean and climate change/variability by producing/analysing a long-term (100 years) reconstruction ocean data. The global climate is changing rapidly and critically impacting our economy and society. The global ocean covers 70% of the earth and plays a significant role in regulating the global climate. Understand the past ocean/climate change (the last 100 years) will help us to predict the future climate. Due to the lack of ocean observations particularly before 1970s, the combination of numerical models and observation becomes an extremely useful tool to understand ocean and climate change, although challenges linked to the optimal use of sparse observations and spurious ocean variability remain. The Ph.D project will aim at identifying and recovering from methodological gaps, and analyze the main climate patterns coming from centennial ensemble ocean reconstructions.

Contact: Chunxue Yang (chunxue.yang@artov.ismar.cnr.it)

Position Number 12

Title: Next-generation geophysical and climate data assimilation: develop coupled and probabilistic algorithms

Description: Data assimilation is the technique that optimally combine observations with numerical models to produce data-aware initial conditions for meteo-marine forecasts and climate-oriented reconstructions. This Ph.D. project, framed in the context of several national (PNRR HPC) and international (Copernicus Climate Change Service), will aim at extending current data assimilation capabilities towards two directions: i) strongly coupled (air-sea) data assimilation by extending an oceanic hybrid ensemble-variational analysis scheme to include atmospheric observations and variables and, thus, increase the exploitation of satellite observations; ii) optimize ensemble generation methods to have a reliable probabilistic description of the evolution of the atmosphere-ocean forecasts. It is foreseen that both linear methods and AI methodologies will be applied to the coupled data assimilation and ensemble generation problems.

Contact: Andrea Storto (andrea.storto@cnr.it)

Position Number 13

Title: The double ITCZ in coupled models and its impacts on teleconnections

Description: While observations show a single precipitation band north of the equator, coupled general circulation models show two zonally parallel precipitation bands, the so-called double intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). This bias is related to the difficulties in an accurate simulation of precipitation and sea surface temperatures in the deep tropics requiring accurate representation of surface energy and momentum exchanges: this is reflected in a more pronounced bias in coupled models. Atmospheric and oceanic circulations, and numerous parameterized processes including clouds and radiation are also at play in determining the double-ITCZ. Even in the latest version of global climate models and Earth system models (e.g. those that participated to the Coupled Model Intercomparison phase 6, CMIP6), the double-ITCZ remains one of the most common problems among the models. Despite extensive work has been done to understand the causes of the double-ITCZ problem, progress has been very slow. In addition, the role played by this bias in the representation of teleconnection patterns within coupled models, is an open issue. It is important to identify and quantify the double-ITCZ role in determining model ability in representing different teleconnection patterns, but also to verify its role in modulating the model performance in predicting such teleconnections.

Contact: Enrico Scoccimarro (enrico.scoccimarro@cmcc.it)

Position 14

Title: Modelling the ecosystem response to the impact of extreme hazards on marine plankton

Description: While extreme events and their impact on marine species are a hot topic in the current scientific literature and beyond and have significant implications for marine resources and ecosystem services, none of the current biogeochemical and lower trophic level model systems includes the impacts of extremes at the physiological level due to limitations in the quantified knowledge of the impact of extremes at the ecosystem level. This topic will investigate means to overcome this gap and therefor develop crucial knowledge on the impact of extreme hazards in the ocean on biogeochemical cycles and marine habitats.

Contact: Momme Butenschon (momme.butenschon@cmcc.it)

Position Number 15

Title: New ocean model generation for coastal climate variability

Description: Ocean models on unstructured meshes are tools necessary to resolve the complex geometries of coastal oceans and represent extreme-events at the local-coastal scales (such as storm-surges induced by hurricane events, flooding or marine heat waves) but still connected with the large-scale ocean circulation dynamics. The candidate is expected to further improve, validate and use a new ocean model recently developed at CMCC with the aim to enhance our understanding on how climate change is impacting the frequency and the intensity of marine extreme events in the coastal regions.

Contact: Simona Masina (simona.masina@cmcc.it)

Position Number 16

Title: Coastal earth system climate modeling

Description: The aim of the PhD project is the water modeling of a Mediterranean catchment-sea continuum by using a new generation unstructured-grid ocean model with time dependent vertical coordinates following the free surface and with wetting-drying capability.

The expected innovation is to solve the water budget at the groundlevel by including the infiltration process, learning from the atmosphere-hydrology modeling systems.
This scholarship is funded by the Foundation CMCC (Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici), Ocean Predictions and Applications Division located in Lecce and the successful applicant will carry out his/her research with Dr. Giorgia Verri as Supervisor at CMCC Laboratory in Lecce

Contact: Giorgia Verri (giorgia.verri@cmcc.it)

Position Number 17

Title: Enhancing the users’ experience of ocean web applications

Description: Operational oceanography products are available nowadays to many of users through solutions (applications and services) dealing with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and societal and scientific challenges. Ocean observations forecasting products from global, regional and downscaled coastal are transformed and provided to users, private companies, public users and stakeholders and citizens through adding-value chains (down-streaming) that consider development of specific solutions and applications, advanced visualization, decision support systems, usage of multi-channel technological platforms, specific models, and algorithms. There is a need of developing innovative approaches and methodologies to enhance users’ experience of those applications. CMCC is playing a pivotal role on developing ocean web applications and solution also in the framework of the Digital Twin of the Ocean European initiative and in the context of the UN Decade Coastpredict (https://coastpredict.org) Program. The PhD grant will focus on the technological and scientific research which, using advance technology, analysis of users’ requirements, co-design and co-development, will develop and optimise web applications such as the ones developed by CMCC related to oil spill forecasting, ship routing, storm surge and inundation early warning systems, support to aquaculture, relocatable modelling.

Contact: Giovanni Coppini (giovanni.coppini@cmcc.it)

Position Number 18

Title: Global Coastal Ocean Modelling on Unstructured Meshes

Description: This research topic will aim to advance with the modelling and prediction capacity for a better understanding of the Global Coastal Ocean dynamics, with a focus on the short time scale events and extreme events. This is in line with the PredictOnTime (https://www.coastpredict.org/integrated-coastal-ocean-observing-and-predicting-predictontime/) core project of CoastPredict. The specific main aims are (i) the development and implementation of new-generation unstructured-grid models capable of resolving the overall global coastal ocean scale while not neglecting the open-ocean dynamics (ii) the improvement of the total-water-level modelling overall the global coastal areas, including tidal and wave contributions. This scholarship is funded by the Foundation CMCC (Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici), Ocean Predictions and Applications Division located in Lecce and the successful applicant will carry out the research in Lecce. The OPA research group is presented here https://www.cmcc.it/research-organization/research-divisions/ocean-predictions-and-applications. The interested student can contact for more information Dr. Ivan Federico of CMCC Foundation (ivan.federico@cmcc.it).

Contact: Ivan Federico (ivan.federico@cmcc.it).

Position Number 19

Title: Innovative governance approaches to resolve social conflicts associated with Sea level Rise in Europe

Description: Will follow soon.

Contact: Giulia Galluccio (giulia.galluccio@cmcc.it)

Position Number 20

Title: Interdependent role of radiative forcing, land-use and land management on present and future climate scenarios

Description: Vegetation acts as an interface between the land surface and the atmosphere playing a significant role in regulating the land-atmosphere interaction. Recent land-cover and land-use changes (LUCC) have altered the character of the Earth's surface impacting on climate. LUCC and land management activities will intensify to meet increasing human demand for food and energy and as climate mitigation measures. Despite the overall biogeophysical impacts of LUCC on climate are known, uncertainties and disagreement among models still exist. The candidate will exploit CMIP6 and future experiments to investigate sources of disagreement and uncertainties on the impacts of LUCC on climate at the global and regional scales.

Contact: Daniele Peano (daniele.peano@cmcc.it)

Position number 21

Title: Atmospheric modelling and data assimilation for weather forecast

Description: At Italiameteo and ARPAE, the new non-hydrostatic convection permitting atmospheric model ICON will provide high resolution weather forecasts over Italy. ICON will be adjusted and merged with data in real time using a state-of-the-art data assimilation method, the LETKF. ATogether with this new modeling facility, a novel stream of remotely sensed data will soon become available. The newly launched Meteosat Third Generation Imaging satellite will provide all-sky radiances at visible and infrared wavelengths at a resolution never attained before. The assimilation of these data in the ICON modeling framework represents a novel line of research. This PhD project will study in depth how to assimilate them in ICON using the LETKF, with particular focus on localisation and on the impact of observational error. The student, who will be cosupervised in strong connection with experts in Arpae-SIMC and Italiameteo, will search for solutions suitable for their operational implementation. The work will be carried out in collaboration with the project the framework of the Global-to-Regional ICON Digital Twin (GLORI) and collaborating the projects PolarFlood and T-Pol of the Italia–Deutschland Science-4-Services Network in Weather and Climate (IDEA-S4S).

Contact: Alberto Carrassi (alberto.carrassi@unibo.it)

Position Number 22

Title: Energy balance, radiation and climate feedbacks in Earth System models

Description: Despite decades of research, the uncertainty in Earth’s climate sensitivity - a fundamental quantity for the assessment of the climate response to anthropogenic emissions - is still significant. The proposed topic aims at inspecting the processes that drive the spread in equilibrium and transient climate sensitivity between global climate models, focussing on the impact of model parametrizations (and their tuning) on individual feedback processes. Also, limitation in the model capacity of replicating the observed radiative budget will be explored and possibly linked to key processes associated with the climate response.

Contact: Federico Fabiano (f.fabiano@isac.cnr.it)

Position number 23

Title: Passive remote sensing measurements for the investigation of atmospheric components and satellite validation

Description: This fellowship will focus on the use of ground-based remote sensing measurements for the study of atmospheric composition. Those measurements, performed according to international network standards, can be exploited for air quality studies as well as for satellite data validation. The candidate will acquire competences on how to operate remote sensing instruments, on the inversion techniques used to retrieve atmospheric variables from their measurements, and on their use to investigate atmospheric processes. These activities are part of the PNRR-EMM (Earth Moon Mars) project. The reference scientist is Dr. Elisa Castelli from CNR-ISAC in Bologna.

Contact: Elisa Castelli (e.castelli@isac.cnr.it)

Position number 24

Title: Radiative transfer codes for the study of terrestrial and extraterrestrial atmospheres

Description: This PhD position is inserted in the PNRR-EMM (Earth Moon Mars) project framework. The atmospheric radiative transfer models are powerful tools to study the radiative transfer interactions of light scattering and absorption through the Earth and Planetary atmospheres. During the three-year PhD period, the candidate will have the opportunity to be included in different research activities of the research group which mainly develops and makes use of current state-of-the-art radiative transfer models in the infrared (IR) and in the ultraviolet – visible (UV-VIS) for several applications. The candidate will collaborate with researchers specialized in individual specific areas, stimulating an interdisciplinary approach.

Contact: Enzo Papandrea (e.papandrea@isac.cnr.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 1

Title: Climate change and health emergencies at the human/animal/environment interface: a one health approach to syndromic surveillance and diagnostics

Description: A one-health approach to diagnostics is key for tackling emerging and re-emerging pathogens that may arise at human/animal/environment interface, with a particular focus on the consequences of climate change and extreme weather events. Innovative diagnostic one health tools will be developed to support surveillance and early warnings on pathogens circulation to minimize the risk of outbreaks

Contact: Prof. Alessandra Scagliarini (alessand.scagliarini@unibo.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 2

Title: Development of data driven emulators of key Arctic sea-ice and sea-surface processes

Description: In the framework of the international Scale-Aware Sea Ice Project (SASIP) the student will focus on developing suitable data-driven emulators of Arctic sea-ice processes. The evolution of key sea-ice variables such as, but not only, sea-ice thickness and concentratiion, is driven by complex, multi-scale, nonlinear processes that can only be described approximately in physics-informed models. In this project we will attempt to develop appropriate machine learning architectures, possibly in combination with data assimilation methods, that will unveil hidden driving processes that are unseen by standard sea-ice models. We will work initially by using state-of-the-art sea-ice models as grand-truth and then progressively moving to real data. Previous knowledge of the cryosphere physics and/or machine learning and data assimilation is highly desirable.

Contact: Prof. Alberto Carrassi

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 3

Title: NBS for the coastal resilience to expected climate changes scenarios

Description: Research activity is in the framework of the research project LIFE NatuReef (Nature-based reef solution for coastal protection and marine biodiversity enhancement) which aims to apply at demonstration level the best practices available to the restoration of native oyster and sabellariid reefs, seeding the native species in a rare non-urbanized coastal stretches of the northern Adriatic coasts: the Bevano river mouth (Ravenna municipality, Emilia Romagna Region, Italy).

The research activity will regard the analysis, selection and design of Natural Based Solutions for the coastal erosion and flooding defense considering the future climate scenarios. The following activities are foreseen.

The development of open source numerical tool for the physical modelling of wave processes and their interaction with the NBS;

Design of a Natural based solution and analysis of its impacts;

Monitor the field with advanced technologies and analysis the data with AI methods.

Writing project reports and participating in project activities.

Contact: prof. Renata Archetti (renata.archetti@unibo.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 4

Title: Potential regional greenhouse gas emission scenarios: the Emilia-Romagna region's trajectory toward carbon neutrality by 2050

Contact: prof. Alessandra Bonoli (alessandra.bonoli@unibo.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 5

Title: Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Demographic Outcomes: Past, Present and Future

Contact: prof. Raya Muttarak (raya.muttarak@unibo.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 6

Title: Climate and Ground deformation: insights from GNSS and InSAR time series analysis

Description:

Contact: dr. Giuseppe Pezzo ()

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 7

Title: Seismic ambient noise for monitoring crustal variations and determination of shallow Earth structure

Description: Following up-to-date, but fairly-well consolidated, techniques, the successful candidate will use continuous recordings of the constant, diffuse, background seismic ambient vibrations recorded in Italy to extract coherent information about shallow Earth structure and its variations in time. Correlating such seismic `noise` records will yield Green's functions between any couple of seismometers, dominated by surface waves. Detailed analyses will then allow to map the 3D structure of the Earth's crust, and possible subtle variations in time that may be connected, e.g., to changes in fluid content or fractures.

Contact: dr. Andrea Morelli (andrea.morelli7@unibo.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 8

Title: Seismic monitoring of oceans and ice caps

Description: The proposed PhD project aims to explore seismic monitoring and structural characterisation techniques in challenging environments, specifically oceans or/and ice caps. The candidate, depending on background and interests, will apply and develop methods to exploit data from permanent and temporary seismic network, ocean bottom seismometers and arrays of new seismological instruments such as distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) systems in fiber optic cables. The outcomes will have far-reaching implications for seismology addressing gaps in our knowledge of seismic phenomena beneath oceans and ice caps.

Contact: dr. Irene Molinari (irene.molinari@ingv.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 9

Title: Estimating and understanding the regional ocean heat content changes

Description: The candidate will have the opportunity to study the ocean warming in the Mediterranean Sea, using in situ data from multiple marine data infrastructures and cutting-edge models to rapidly derive valuable ocean monitoring products and indicators. The training will take place within a European and International context and will provide technological skills required for implementing innovative workflows on a cloud-based virtual research environment.

Contact: dr. Simona Simoncelli

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 10

Title: Next-generation geophysical and climate data assimilation: develop coupled and probabilistic algorithms

Contact: dr. Andrea Storto (andrea.storto@cnr.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 11

Title: Interdependent role of radiative forcing, land-use and land management on present and future climate scenarios

Contact: dr. Daniele Peano (daniele.peano@cmcc.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 12

Title: Analyses of urban microclimate and its impacts using forecasting numerical tools

Contact: prof. Silvana Di Sabatino (silvana.disabatino@unibo.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 13

Title: The Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment approach applied to the dairy chain with particular reference to the assessment of the environmental, social, and economic impacts in the typical productions of GranTerre

Description: The production of milk and dairy products should be recognized as having positive spillover effects on the territory in terms of generating economic and social wealth, preserving the landscape and environment, and maintaining cultural and food, and wine traditions. The research aims to define a Life Cycle Sustainability (LCSA) model of typical productions in the GranTerre dairy chain, to identify critical points on which to intervene to reduce environmental impact, maintain high levels of animal welfare, and reduce drug consumption.

Contact: prof. Angelo Peli (angelo.peli@unibo.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 14

Title: Abrupt climate change in the North Atlantic: the subpolar gyre circulation as a tipping element of the climate system

Description: The North Atlantic Ocean circulation plays a key role in regulating the regional climate and weather over the nearby European and North American continents by transferring large amount of heat from the tropics to higher latitudes. However, there is a growing concern, supported by theoretical and observational evidence, that under a warming climate, critical thresholds (known as tipping points) may be passed leading to abrupt transitions in the large-scale North Atlantic circulation. The North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre (SPG) has been recently identified as a potential tipping element of the climate system, as deep convection in the Labrador and Irminger Seas may abruptly collapse as a result of warming-induced ocean stratification, with global-scale implications for the Earth’s climate.

The successful candidate will investigate the drivers of the SPG tipping element in a hierarchy of climate models with different levels of complexity. A major focus of his/her analysis will be the predictability of the SPG circulation collapse. This will be achieved through an assessment of existing global climate simulations, and a suite of newly designed numerical experiments to be performed with both a full-fledged ocean-atmosphere general circulation model and a low-complexity climate model.

Contact: dr. Alessio Bellucci (a.bellucci@isac.cnr.it)

Second call (Closing August 22nd) - Position number 15

Title: Numerical modelling and monitoring techniques to assess the efficacy of Nature-Based Solutions for climate change adaptation

Contact: dr. Massimiliano Costa