Mechanical Engineering for the Green Transition

Objectives This module intends to provide the student with the scientific basis of the relationship between water and climate, in the context of the sustainability of the current and future water cycle for the projected scenarios of global warming. The formative objective of the module is therefore to provide students with the knowledge necessary to frame the objectives of the 2030 agenda relating to the sustainable use of water resources, its defense and defense from extreme hydrological events, climate change in the right scientific context. . Starting from the physical and chemical properties of water, the themes related to the water cycle as a regulator of climate and ecosystems, the interaction of the hydro-social cycle and its impact on the natural cycle due to over-exploitation and pollution are explored. . Students are introduced to issues relating to climate change in relation to the sustainability of the water cycle, highlighting the non-linearity characteristics of the climate system, the existence of critical thresholds and feedbacks. The description of the tools for making future projections, the associated uncertainties and possible actions aimed at controlling the stability of the climate system and the water cycle and mitigation conclude the training course. Knowledge and understanding Understanding and evaluating, through an interdisciplinary approach, the complex interaction between the climate system and the water cycle, taking into account the different space-time scales that characterize this interaction, from the local one at the basin scale to the global one at the scale of the entire planet. Therefore, place the problem of the sustainability of the water cycle in the correct context defined by this wide space-time variability.