DROMEDAR

The project DROMEDAR (Future DROught and Aridification in the MEDiterranean and ecological impacts) focuses on Mediterranean droughts and their impacts on environment and terrestrial ecosystems. The goal is to identify large scale physical mechanisms responsible for prolonged events beyond the range of the internal variability, in order to make robust assessment of their evolution in the next few decades. There are indications that droughts in the Mediterranean will become more intense, although, as for other extreme events, there is less consensus about their change in frequency. Here we investigate the changes in statistical parameters of meteorological droughts in the 20th century and in the future global warming scenarios under different emission pathways and mechanisms for their occurrence through innovative machine learning techniques. We will also explore early warning signals for potential irreversible changes in terrestrial ecosystems with the purpose to inform about timing of necessary adaptation strategies for environmental protection.

The project involves 3 operational units:

1) CNR – Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC, Roberta D’Agostino, Valerio Lembo) and Insitute of Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET, Francesco Cozzoli). The two institutes are working in synergy under CNR Unit.

2) University of Bologna (UniBO, Giovanni Liguori).

3) University of Trento (UniTN, Simona Bordoni).