Climate change is expected to impact a wide range of natural processes and anthropic activities. Modifications in the atmospheric and earth energy balance, as well as in the water cycle, will likely change the spatial and temporal availability of natural resources, worsen extreme events, impact the environment, challenge food production and urban areas. Most changes will perturb equilibria and exacerbate criticalities and will require societal and technological adaptation. However, evolving situations may also open new opportunities and trigger changes with positive fallouts, that adaptations are expected to consider and capture. The course will illustrate a range of adaptation strategies for the natural and the built environment, to cope with environmental changes and plan anthropic interventions. The course will focusing on different contexts. In each context the processes and governing principles will be illustrated, the changing features will be analyzed, the environmental and socio-economic aspects will be presented and the adaptation solutions will be discussed. Feasibility, efficiency, sustainability of the solutions will also be assessed by socio-economic and environmental points of view. The course will have a quantitative approach and will propose student activities based on data collection and analysis, use of software and modelling tools, analysis of real case studies and possibly some field trips.

The students will acquire knowledge of physical processes and technical aspects which are expected to be mostly impacted by climate change. They will also become familiar with official documents, such as those produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the relevant up-to-date scientific literature. Students will practice data analysis, spatial analysis, statistical modelling. They will learn to master software and modelling tools for the assessment of impacts and future projections. They will become familiar with air quality indicators and pollution sources, with non-conventional uses of the underground spaces. Students will learn to quantify changes in river flows, to produce basic risk maps, to manage scarce water resources, to design engineering systems to protect the people and the environment.

The course requires the basic mathematical and statistical knowledge. Contents of the courses of hydrology and hydraulics is strongly recommended. Knowledge of GIS tools is an asset. The course attendance requires fluent spoken and written English.

Introduction, basic concepts, • Mountain and cold-regions adaptation (15 h) Mountain environment, precipitation and temperature changes, snow-related processes, snow-cover change and permafrost melting, change in hydrologic response, effects on river flows and flood statistics • River and ecosystem adaptation (15 h) Climate change impacts on fluvial systems, intermittent and ephemeral rivers, ecosystems dynamics and conservation, environmental management, protected areas • Food systems adaptation (15 h) Agriculture and food systems, changes and optimization strategies, sustainability in agriculture, water resources and irrigation requirements, water management in scarce conditions, drought statistics, heatwaves • Urban adaptation (15 h) Urban drainage systems, options for sustainable drainage systems, rainfall and pollutants, multi-risk analysis for rainfall events • Air pollution and adaptation (12 h) Principles of air pollution, monitoring, indicators, scientific evidences, adaptation strategies • Underground opportunities for adaptation (8 h)

The course is organized in lectures and exercise-classes. Lectures are devoted to the presentation of the course topics, including the theoretical aspects and illustration of case studies. Lectures are held remotely by the teachers at the time/day scheduled in the. During the lectures, interaction between teachers and students is welcome and supplemented with open questions and polls. Classes are recorded and made available to the students for future reference. Exercise-classes are devoted to practical applications and are based on computer work. Students form small workgroups of 2-3 people to develop assignments with the assistance of the teachers. Assignments focus on adaptation projects to be analyzed following some common steps: (i) identify the problem and the data testifying the change, (ii) relate or model the effects of such change on the considered system, (iii) elaborate adaptive solutions and assess/quantify the benefits, (iv) collect evidences or experiences supporting the chosen solutions. Groups will be asked to prepare a written report for the assignments, summarizing the results obtained and the solutions analyzed. During the course, some laboratory activities and field trips will be organized to foster practical and multidisciplinary knowledge. The experiences will be recorded and shared with non-attending students to give them the same information despite the physical distance.

Course slides and reading materials will be distributed during the course. Additional readings will be indicated throughout the course.

Modalità di esame: Elaborato scritto prodotto in gruppo; Prova scritta su carta con videosorveglianza dei docenti;

The evaluation is partly based on the written reports prepared along the course (relative weight: 50% of final mark), and partly on the final exam (relative weight: 50% of final mark). The written reports focus on exercise-class assignments and illustrate the exercise development/results and the analyses of case studies chosen by the group to support the solution proposed. The final exam is written and include open questions and short exercises regarding the theoretical and the applicative part of the course program. Groups may gain an extra bonus (max. 2 points) delivering an oral presentation, in the last week of the course, regarding the case studies analyzed in one of the course assignments.

Modalità di esame: Prova scritta (in aula); Elaborato scritto prodotto in gruppo; Prova scritta su carta con videosorveglianza dei docenti;

The two versions of the written exam (on-site and online with video-monitoring) will be held at the same time. Criteria and indications are specified above.