3-year PhD fellow in Science and Management of Climate Change

The PhD Program in Science and Management of Climate Change was established in 2007, through an agreement between the Università Ca' Foscari in Venice (Unive) and the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change (CMCC), a consortium comprising several Italian public and private research institutions. The objective of the PhD is to provide the job market with experts with a broad, in-depth, scientific and socio-economic background, as well as with a sound and innovative research experience focusing on the dynamics of climate change and the methodologies and techniques for evaluation and management, in terms of mitigation and adaptation measures and policies. The Program is organised in two Streams: 1- Dynamic Climatology, at CMCC in Bologna, 2- Climate change impact and management, at the Department of Economics of the University Ca' Foscari in Venice. The PhD admits every year up to twelve students, from Italy and elsewhere. Research Themes Examples of themes for the thesis of the PhD candidates are: Stream Dynamic Climatology: a) quantitative approach for understanding the functioning of the climatic system in its different components;b) the climatologic aspects for the comprehension of the climate physics and its variability: process and realistic studies related to the atmospheric/oceanic dynamics in key regions;c) the theories and evidences of the climatic trends of the distant and near past; study of the non-linearity of climate changes, extreme phenomena and natural hazards;d) identification of physical, climatic and biological indicators for the reconstruction of climatic aspects of the past and present and of their variability;Stream Climate Change impact and management: a) analysis of the economic systems impact of climate change using computable general equilibrium models;b) assessment of the mitigation and adaptation solutions to climate change; c) modelling the economic, technological and policy needs of low carbon futures;d) design of models for the study of trading emission permits and their possible integration;e) in depth study of the environmental issues for the comprehension of the impacts and risks of climate change on the natural and socio-ecosystems, including the risks for the human health;f) multi-agent models in climate change adaptation, negotiations, and policy/decision making in general;g) integrated approaches for the study of social-ecological systems in a global change context;h) science-policy interfaces and policy/decision support methods and tools; i) assessment of impacts and risks related to climate change. Duty Station: Venice or Bologna, ItalyDeadline for applications: call for applications will open on 31 January 2011 and close on 22 March 2011Contact person: prof. Carlo Barbante (coordinator) barbante@unive.it or phd-climate-change@unive.it