B7107 - FORZANTI E VARIABILITA' DEL SISTEMA CLIMATICO

Learning outcomes

After the course the student knows:

the processes that control the climate system and its variability;

the energy balance of the planet, the parameters that influence energy exchanges with external space and between the atmosphere and the surface;

the mechanisms and feedback processes that regulate the climate system, and the interactions between its components.

Course contents

Global energy balance. Radiation budget of planet Earth. The role of the atmosphere in the planet's energy balance and the natural greenhouse effect. Ground energy balance. Natural and anthropogenic forcing. Climate variability on seasonal, decadal and centennial scales. Climate change and climate feedbacks. History and development of numerical climate models, the IPCC. Climate projections and forecasts: signals and uncertainty.

Readings/Bibliography

Lecture notes provided by the teacher.

Further reading: http://www.climate.be/textbook/

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons.

At the end of the lectures, a day excursion will be carried out, together with the teachers of other modules, to view examples of mitigation and adaptation interventions in some sites in the region, exposed to vulnerability in relation to climate change phenomena.

Teaching tools

Slides, video, projector, blackboard.

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Ruggieri