Mountain regions are exposed and vulnerable to Climate Change (CC) due to their unique climatic and geographic characteristics. Increased temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events can affect mountain environments, leading to profound ecological and socio-economic consequences.This PhD research aims to determine the impact of CC on critical climate variables within the mountain context of Alta Valtellina (Sondrio Province, Alps in Italy). By utilizing high-resolution climate models, specifically Convection-Permitting Models, this study will provide detailed and accurate insights into the CC affecting this region. CPMs are km-scale atmospheric model that explicitly represent deep convection going beyond the traditional convective parameterization scheme, providing a more realistic representation of local process. Additionally, the research will explore the socio-economic impacts of these climatic changes, focusing to understand how shifts in climate variables affect local communities, economies, and infrastructure.This research will be conducted in collaboration with the Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente Lombardia (U.O.C. fi Servizio Idro, Nivo, Meteo e Clima della Direzione Tecnica Monitoraggi e Prevenzione del Rischio Naturale) and “Levissima” Mineral Water brand. These partnerships will provide valuable data, resources, and expertise regarding the region, ensuring that the study is grounded in the local reality.

The ideal candidate will have experience with most of these topics: quantitative risk assessment, statistical analysis and large dataset. The candidate should be passionate on research topics, hardworking, self-motivated, have an open-mindedness to look for new ideas of doing things and creativity in analytical thinking to extract meaning from sets of data. The candidate should be able to collaborate with the rest of the research team and effectively communicate to colleagues with different backgrounds. Competence on programming languages is required, as well as familiarity with spatial data format (i.e., NetCDF4, grib), tools and package for spatial analysis (i.e., Xarray, CDO, Gdal, NCO).

IUSS mission is to provide advanced education to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as fundamental and applied research. At IUSS, PhD candidates will find a multidisciplinary environment offering real opportunities for developing academic and professional tools. The candidate will join the research centre on Climate change impAct studies for RISk MAnagement (CARISMA). For this scholarship there will be opportunity to do a period of internship at the Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente Lombardia (ARPA Lombardia) – Centro Nivometeorologico di Bormio.