The hydrological cycle and climate change

The distribution of precipitation on the Earth surface is determined by the general atmospheric circulation or, in other words, by the main atmospheric currents. Rainfall is abundant where the air rises, and low where the air sinks. On a large scale, updrafts are mainly found near the equator and mid-latitudes, while downdrafts are typical of subtropical areas, such as the Mediterranean region in the summer.
In subtropical areas, however, rainfall varies significantly with longitude. It is precisely in these latitudes that we find both monsoons, with abundant summer rains, and the Earth's largest deserts. In this lecture, we will explore how these different climate zones are formed, how they affect each other, and how they are changing and will continue to change because of global warming.

Welcome address:

• Paolo Carta, Director of Collegio Clesio

Guest lecturer:

• Simona Bordoni (University of Trento)

Simona Bordoni is Professor of Atmospheric Physics at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering of the University of Trento. She graduated in physics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, she earned a PhD in Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and was a postdoc researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder (Colorado). Before returning to Italy in 2019, she worked for 10 years at the California Institute of Technology - Caltech in Pasadena (California) as Assistant Professor and Full Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering. Her research work is focused on the interaction between the general atmospheric circulation and the water cycle, and changes caused by natural processes and anthropogenic activities.