Why a Working Group dedicated to Mountains?

Current climate change has more intense impacts on mountains than on other components of the Earth system. Mountains are in fact considered the first sentinels of climate change because they respond rapidly and often in an amplified way to climate fluctuations and the impacts of human activities.

They play an important role in assessing the health of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere and cryosphere, being active and ideal “platforms” for studying climate, its variations and related impacts. They are also fundamental water resources for the underlying plains, host unique ecosystems and a very rich biodiversity and geodiversity, and provide essential ecosystem services and geo-services.

Monitoring the climatic and environmental conditions of mountains and the transformations that occur in them is also possible thanks to continuous observations carried out in the CNR research infrastructures, through specific measurement campaigns for the study of processes, and the study of future scenarios, in order to better understand the global change underway. This approach is essential to summarize even complex phenomena that involve mountains and to convey correct information both to the general public and to institutions and political decision-makers, in order to promote processes of adaptation and mitigation of environmental impacts and to better spread awareness and encourage responsible actions to preserve mountain environments, their bio-geodiversity and the life they host, including that of human beings.

The first action of the group was to start a census of the skills and activities of those who already work within the CNR in the Mountains field, including projects and publications on the topic. One of the products of this census is the following map, which represents the geographical distribution of the measurement stations, observatories and sites where the CNR Institutes carry out research activities.

The group’s activities also include the renewal of the CNR-CAI framework agreement signed by presidents Maria Chiara Carrozza and Antonio Montani and in force for four years starting from 05/09/2024

The research activity of the Montagne GdL, transversal to the DSSTTA Institutes and also extended to the Department of Bio-Agri-food Sciences and the Department of Biomedical Sciences, is dedicated to placing and developing particular attention to four activities:

1. OBSERVATIONS,
2. IMPACTS (both current/past and expected in the future),
3. FUTURE SCENARIOS,
4. TRAINING-AWARENESS-COMMUNICATION.

The next action of the group will be to systematize the knowledge collected and already in place, focusing on specific themes that will be developed in the GdL, starting from the points reported below.

1. Observations
   1. Characterization of sources of polluting and climate-altering compounds (LLCF, SLCF) in the atmosphere and other matrices,
   2. Transport mechanisms of polluted air masses and water bodies,
   3. Depositions of Light Absorbing Particles on snow and ice, resulting in an impact on the albedo,
   4. Dynamics and processes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in mountain environments,
   5. Mountain “Critical Zone”: dynamics and changes,
   6. Hydrology of the mountain environment, including the cryosphere,
   7. Slope stability and geo-hydrological instability mechanisms (landslides, debris flows, ice collapses, …),
   8. Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions (ice cores, sediments, peat bogs, speleothems,…),
   9. Monitoring the health of mountain populations in relation to pollution and climate change.
2. Models and scenarios
   1. Pollutant dispersion models in complex orography
   2. Modeling of the cryosphere: snowfall dynamics models
   3. Global and regional climate modeling, climate change scenarios, mechanisms of amplification of changes with altitude
   4. Downscaling methods of climate scenarios optimized for mountain areas
   5. Seasonal climate predictability: seasonal forecasting of snow and water resources, development of prototypes of climate services for the geo-hydrological, energy and tourism sectors
   6. Climate change mitigation: identification of SLCF and LLCF sources, analysis of emission mitigation measures, development of sustainable solutions;
   7. Adaptation to climate change
3. Impacts
   1. Water resources: watercourses, lakes, wetlands, springs;
   2. Ecosystems and biodiversity: ecosystem services and interaction between biodiversity and geodiversity, biodiversity loss
   3. Natural hazards: geo-hydrological risk, slope instability, degradation of the cryosphere, drought and forest fires, intense meteorological events, increase in temperatures;
   4. Human health and mountain medicine: effects of high altitude (hypoxia and hypothermia), effects of solar radiation (melanomas and other skin tumors), forest therapy; chronic diseases in times of climate change (safety protocols in mountain visits, environmental pollution and health of mountain populations;
   5. Tourism: winter offer and lack of snow; availability of water, extreme events, alteration of mountaineering and hiking itineraries, safety protocols for frequenting the mountain environment in different seasons.
4. Training-awareness-communication-support for institutions
   1. Activities with schools, universities and teachers (projects / courses),
   2. Good practices to spread awareness of the human and tourism impact on the mountain environment, also within the framework of the CAI-CNR framework agreement,
   3. Inclusive enjoyment of the mountain environment: development of communication methodologies (also for the disabled),
   4. Support for institutions and management systems (also through the definition of guidelines).