Born in 1958. Doctorate in Physics in 1987.
Research Director, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate,
National Research Council, Torino, Italy
Antonello Provenzale
Born in 1958. Doctorate in Physics in 1987.
Research Director, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate,
National Research Council, Torino, Italy
Affiliations:
ISAC: Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, CNR, Torino,
GFD Core Faculty Group, WHOI http://gfd.whoi.edu/
email: a.provenzale@isac.cnr.it
Research activity: Earth System processes and climate dynamics
Climate and the hydrological
cycle
We study global and regional climate processes and variability by combining data analysis
and modeling approaches. Our group participates in the European consortium EC-Earth,
http://ecearth.knmi.nl/ and uses this state-of-the-art model to produce global climate scenarios
(RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5) and historical control runs, see www.to.isac.cnr.it/ecearth/.
Research-wise, currently we study the properties of the global hydrological cycle (precipitation,
droughts) and the interaction between the Indian monsoon and western weather patterns
in the region of the Indu-Kush – Himalaya – Karakoram (HKKH). We also use the global
atmospheric model ECHAM-HAM to explore the dynamics of atmospheric aerosols. We use
non-hydrostatic models to assess the characteristics of precipitation and climate variability in
specific regions of interest such as HKKH, Africa and the Alpine area (in collaboration with
CIMA Foundation, ENEA, ICTP and CIRA-CMCC). We have developed and implemented
stochastic downscaling methods for the precipitation estimates produced by global and regional
climate models. We are now using EC-Earth to obtain decadal climate projections and started a
project for reproducing climate variability of the past Millennium. We currently work on
conceptual models of the soil-atmosphere interaction and of the hydrological cycle to study
summer droughts at continental midlatitudes and explore the dynamics of (exo)planetary climates.
We participate in the Ev-K2-CNR SHARE project PAPRIKA Karakoram devoted to assessing
the state of the cryosphere and of water resources in the Karakoram range. We participate in
the European Climate Research Alliance (ECRA), coordinating the Collaborative Programme
Changes in the hydrological cycle,
http://ecra-climate.eu/index.php/collaborative-programmes/hydrocycle
Climate-biosphere interaction
Living organisms are affected by the physical environment and by climate, and, in turn, modify them,
possibly leading to the coevolution of the physical and biotic worlds. Our research activities concern
the role of vegetation and soil moisture in determining evapotranspiration fluxes and mitigating summer
droughts at continental midlatitudes, the dynamics of the soil-vegetation system in arid and semi-arid
regions using both implicit-space and explicit-space approaches, the role of ecosystem engineers, and the
use of a hierarchy of climate models with different complexity (from Energy Balance Models to EC-Earth)
to study basic processes in climate-biosphere dynamics and planetary habitability. We are involved in the
European COST Action ES0805: TERRABITES - The Terrestrial Biosphere in the Earth System.
Impact
of climate variability on the mountain environment
We study the effects of climatic and environmental variability on the mountain environment,
using data-based approaches and conceptual models. One focus is the population
dynamics of selected species (mountain ungulates such as Ibex and Chamois, birds such as
Black Grouse and Ptarmigan), and the dynamics of mountain ecosystems such as those of
high-altitude alpine lakes. We analyse the response of alpine glaciers to climate change, the
variations in snow cover and snow characteristics and the effects of climate variability on the
hydrological cycle in the mountains. Many of these activities are pursued in the framework
of a long-standing research collaboration between ISAC and the Gran Paradiso National Park
(Italy), www.pngp.it, and between ISAC and the Ev-K2-CNR Committee (Italy), www.evk2cnr.org.
Part of these research activities are carried on in the framework of the EU FP7 project ACQWA,
http://www.acqwa.ch, of EU-funded Interreg projects managed by ARPA Piemonte, and of
the Interreg ALCOTRA Program,
http://www.regione.piemonte.it/agri/osserv_faun/documentazione/dwd/prog_ricerca/desc_tec.pdf
Some of these activities are now integrated in the Progetto di Interesse Strategico NextData, of the
Italian Ministry of University, Education and Research (MIUR), coordinated by A. Provenzale.
Geophysical fluid dynamics, coherent structures and pattern formation
In past years, we have studied turbulence and coherent vortices in rotating geophysical flows,
and the effects they have on transport processes. Part of our research activity concerned the study
of pattern-forming mechanisms (i.e., weakly-nonlinear instabilities of an homogeneous equilibrium
state) as well as the generation of strongly-nonlinear coherent structures far from the first bifurcation.
Specific issues included solitary waves and solitons, geomorphological patterns such as aeolian ripples,
vegetation patterns, coherent vortices, convective plumes and structures in self-gravitating media.
Parallel to research activities, this group is involved in dissemination and outreach actions
including writing popular science articles, contributing to public exhibitions and participating
in the realisation of scientific documentaries. The documentary
Going North: Global warming escape route by Eugenio Manghi (2008)
is devoted to the effects of climate change on the distribution of plants and animals and
to the role of biological corridors. A 20-min version of this documentary is available for
CNR-related events. A 15-min documentary on the population dynamics of the
Black grouse in the western Alps is also available. A picture exhibition with 60 images on
biodiversity in alpine prairies in the western Alps is available for display.
Popular articles and a booklet on climate dynamics are available (in Italian).
The volume Che cosa il Global Warming? (in Italian), for mid-school students,
was published in 2011.
1994-2008: Coordinator of the international school
on Fundamental processes in geophysical fluid dynamics and the climate system
held every summer in Valsavarenche (Val d Aosta), www.to.isac.cnr.it/aosta
Lecturer in Atmospheric Dynamics from 2002 to 2008,
Laurea Magistrale in Environmental Engineering of the University of Genoa,
Savona Campus. Lecturer in Physics of Climate from 2006 to 2009, Laurea
in Physics, University of Turin. Lecturer in Physics of Extended Systems
from 2009, Laurea Specialistica in Physics of Complex Systems,
University of Turin.
Member of the Doctorate Program on Fluid Dynamics at the Politecnico di Torino
and of the Doctorate Program on Environmental Monitoring and Risk Management
at the University of Genoa.
Invited professor at the Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel (1996),
JILA-Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics,
University of Colorado, Boulder, MA, USA (1997),
GFD-WHOI principal lecturer, Woods Hole, MA, USA (1998),
Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, France (2006), Universite Paris VI (2008, 2009).
Collaborations:
Most of my work is done in collaboration with students, colleagues
and friends in many parts of the world. To all of them I am grateful.
Main collaborations:
Jost von Hardenberg, ISAC-CNR, Torino, Italy
Elisa Palazzi, ISAC-CNR, Torino, Italy
Paolo Bonasoni, Paolo Cristofanelli, Angela Marinoni, ISAC-CNR, Bologna, Italy
Vincenzo Artale, Sandro Calmanti, Paolo Ruti, ENEA UTMEA, Roma, Italy
Bruno Bassano, Achaz von Hardenberg, Ramona Viterbi, PNGP, Italy
Marta Chiarle, IRPI-CNR, Torino, Italy
Stefano Ferraris, University of Turin, Italy
Filippo Giorgi, ICTP, Trieste, Italy
Paola Mercogliano, Marco Turco, CIRA-CMCC, Capua, Italy
Giuseppe Murante, Laura Silva, Giovanni Vladilo, Oss. Astron. di Trieste, Italy
Antonio Parodi, CIMA Foundation, Savona, Italy
Claudia Pasquero, University of Milan Bicocca, Italy
Elisa Vuillermoz, URT EvK2-CNR, Bergamo, Italy
Fabio D Andrea, LMD, Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, France
Silvia De Monte, ENS, Paris, France
Maurice Rossi, CNRS, Paris, France
Mara Baudena, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
Ehud Meron, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel
Neil J. Balmforth, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Annalisa Bracco, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Edward A Spiegel, Astronomy Dept., Columbia University, New York, USA
Jeffrey B. Weiss, PAOS, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Graduate students (updated 2012):
Christian Ronchi, University of Genoa
Roberta Sciascia, Politecnico of Torino
Postdoctoral associates (updated 2012):
Cristiana Cerrato, ISAC-CNR, Torino
Donatella D Onofrio, ISAC-CNR, Torino
Simona Imperio, ISAC-CNR, Torino
Daniele Peano, IRPI-CNR, Torino
Publications (from 2000):
Books:
J.B. Weiss, A. Provenzale, Editors, Transport and Mixing in Geophysical Flows,
Lecture Notes in Physics (Springer, Berlin, 2008)
N.J. Balmforth, A.
Provenzale, Editors, Geomorphological Fluid Mechanics,
Lecture Notes in Physics (Springer, Berlin, 2001)
Papers:
M. Berlengiero, K.
Emanuel, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale, E. A Spiegel,
Internally cooled convection: A fillip for Philip
Comm.
Nonlin. Sci. Num. Simulation, 17,
1998-2007 (2012)
M. Baudena, I. Bevilacqua, D. Canone, S. Ferraris, M. Previati, A.
Provenzale
Soli water dynamics at a midlatitude test
site: Field measurements and box
modeling approaches, J. Hydrology, in
press (2012)
S. Imperio, S. Focardi, G. Santini, A. Provenzale, Population dynamics in a guild
of four
Mediterranean ungulates: density-dependence, environmental effects and
inter-specific
interactions, OIKOS, in press (2012)
E. Casella, A. Molcard, A. Provenzale
Mesoscale vortices in the Ligurian Sea and their effect on coastal upwelling processes,
J. Marine Systems, 88, 12-19
(2011)
M. Rietkerk, V. Brovkin, PM van Bodegom, M. Claussen, SC Dekker, HA Dikstra, SV Goryachkin,
P. Kabat, EH van Nes, AM Neutel, SE Nicholson, C. Nobre, V. Petoukhov, A. Provenzale,
M. Scheffer, SI Seneviratne, Local ecosystem feedbacks and critical transitions in the climate,
Ecological Complexity, 8, 223-228 (2011)
N. Saino, R. Ambrosini, D. Rubolini, J.
von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale, K. Huppop, O. Huppop,
A. Lehikoinen, K. Rainio, M. Romano, L. Sokolov
Climate warming, ecological mismatch at arrival and population decline in migratory birds,
Proceedings of the Royal Soc. B: Biological Sciences, 278, 835-842 (2011)
N. Saino, D. Rubolini, J. von Hardenberg, R. Ambrosini, A. Provenzale, M. Romano, F. Spina
Spring migration decisions in relation to weather are
predicted by wing morphology among
trans-Mediterranean migratory birds, Functional
Ecology, 24, 658-669 (2010)
M. Baudena, F. DAndrea, A. Provenzale
An idealized model for tree-grass coexistence in
savannas: the role of life stage structure
and fire disturbances, Journal of Ecology, 98, 74-80 (2010)
S. Metta, A. Provenzale, E.A Spiegel
On-off intermittency and coherent bursting in stochastically-driven coupled maps,
Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, 43, 8-14 (2010)
L. Zavala Sanson, A. Provenzale
The effects of abrupt topography on plankton dynamics,
Theoretical Population Dynamics, 76, 258-267 (2009)
S. Metta, J. von Hardenberg, L. Ferraris, N. Rebora, A. Provenzale
Precipitation Nowcasting by a Spectral-based Nonlinear Stochastic Model,
J. Hydrometeorology, 10, 1285-1297 (2009)
I.Koszalka, A. Bracco, J.C. McWilliams, A Provenzale
Dynamics of wind-forced coherent anticyclones in the open ocean,
J. Geophysical Research - Oceans, 114, C08011 (2009)
M. Baudena, F. D Andrea, A. Provenzale
A model for soil-vegetation-atmosphere interactions in water-limited ecosystems,
Water Resources Research, 45, W02701 (2009)
A.Y. Kletter, J. von Hardenberg, E. Meron, A. Provenzale
Patterned vegetation and rainfall intermittency,
Journal of Theoretical Biology, 256, 574-583 (2009)
M. Baudena, A. Provenzale
Rainfall intermittency and vegetation feedbacks in drylands,
Hydrology and Earth System Sci., 12, 679-689 (2008)
N.J. Balmforth, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale, R. Zammett
Dam breaking by wave-induced erosional incision,
J. Geophysical Research - Earth Surface, 113, F01020 (2008)
J. von Hardenberg, A.Parodi, G. Passoni, A. Provenzale, E.A Spiegel
Large-scale patterns in Rayleigh-Benard convection,
Physics Letters A, 372, 2223-2229 (2008)
E. Brussolo, J. von Hardenberg, L. Ferraris, N. Rebora, A. Provenzale
Verification of quantitative precipitation forecasts via stochastic downscaling,
J. Hydrometeorology, 9, 1084-1094 (2008)
N. Ciccarelli, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale, C. Ronchi, A. Vargiu, R. Pelosini
Climate variability in north-western Italy during the second half of the 20th century,
Global and Planetary Change, 63, 185-195 (2008)
A. Provenzale, A. Babiano, A. Bracco, C. Pasquero, J.B. Weiss
Coherent vortices and tracer transport,
in Transport and Mixing in Geophysical Flows, J.B. Weiss and A. Provenzale Eds.,
Springer, Berlin (2008)
A. Babiano, A. Provenzale
Coherent vortices and tracer cascades in two-dimensional turbulence,
J. Fluid Mechanics, 574, 429-448 (2007)
Vegetation response to rainfall intermittency in drylands: Results from a simple ecohydrological box model,
Advances in Water Resources, 30, 1320-1328 (2007)
S. Gabellani, G. Boni, L. Ferraris, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale
Propagation of uncertainty from rainfall to runoff: A case study with a stochastic rainfall generator,
Advances in Water Resources, 30, 2061-2071 (2007)
E. Gilad, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale, M. Shachak, E. Meron
A mathematical model of plants as ecosystem engineers,
J. Theoretical Biology, 244, 680-691 (2007)
E. Meron, E. Gilad, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale, M. Shachak
Model studies of ecosystem engineers in plant communities,
in Ecosystem Engineers: Plants to Protists,
K. Cuddington, J.E. Byers, W.G. Wilson and A. Hastings Eds., Academic Press, Amsterdam (2007)
J. von Hardenberg, L. Ferraris, N. Rebora, A. Provenzale
Meteorological uncertainty and rainfall downscaling,
Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, 14, 193-199 (2007)
I. Koszalka, A. Bracco, C. Pasquero, A. Provenzale
Plankton cycles disguised by turbulent advection,
Theoretical Population Biology, 72, 1-6 (2007)
S. Calmanti, L. Motta, M. Turco, A. Provenzale
Impact of climate variability on Alpine glaciers in northwestern Italy,
International J. Climatology, 27, 2041-2053 (2007)
F. D Andrea, A. Provenzale, R. Vautard, N. de Noblet-Decoudre
Hot and cool summers: Multiple equilibria of the continental water cycle,
Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L24807 (2006)
N. Rebora, L. Ferraris, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale
RainFARM: Rainfall downscaling by a filtered autoregressive model,
J. Hydrometeorology, 7, 724-738 (2006)
N. Rebora, L. Ferraris, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale
Rainfall downscaling and flood forecasting: a case study in the Mediterranean area,
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sci., 6, 611-619 (2006)
D. Elhmaidi, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale
Large-scale dissipation and filament instability in two-dimensional turbulence,
Physical Review Letters, 95, 014503 (2005)
C. Pasquero, A. Bracco, A. Provenzale
Impact of the spatiotemporal variability of the nutrient flux on primary productivity in the ocean,
J. Geophysical Research, 110, C07005 (2005)
A. Bracco, J. von Hardenberg, J.C.
McWilliams, A. Provenzale, J.B. Weiss
Dispersion and mixing in
quasigeostrophic turbulence,
Physical Review Letters, 92, 084501 (2004)
A. Parodi, J. von Hardenberg, G.
Passoni, A. Provenzale, E.A. Spiegel
Clustering of plumes in turbulent
convection,
Physical Review Letters, 92, 194503 (2004)
A.R. Jacobson, A. Provenzale, A. von Hardenberg, B. Bassano, M. Festa-Bianchet
Climate forcing and density dependence in a mountain ungulate population
Ecology, 85, 1598-1610 (2004)
H. Yizhaq, N.J. Balmforth, A. Provenzale
Blown by wind: Nonlinear dynamics of aeolian sand ripples
Physica D, 195, 207-228 (2004)
E. Gilad, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale, M. Shachak, E. Meron
Ecosystem engineers: From pattern formation to habitat creation
Physical Review Letters, 93, 098105 (2004)
D. Elhmaidi, T. Lili, A. Provenzale, A. Babiano
Stability of two-dimensional vorticity filaments
Physics Letters A, 333, 85-90 (2004)
A. Bracco, E.P. Chassignet, Z.D.
Garraffo, A. Provenzale
Lagrangian velocity distribution in
a high-resolution numerical simulation of the North Atlantic
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 20, 1212-1220 (2003)
A. Parodi, K.A. Emanuel, A. Provenzale
Plume patterns in
radiative-convective flows
New Journal of Physics 5, 106.1-106.17 (2003)
C. Pasquero, A. Provenzale, E.A. Spiegel
Suspension and fall of heavy
particles in random two-dimensional flow
Physical Review Letters 91, 054502 (2003)
L. Ferraris, S. Gabellani, U. Parodi, N. Rebora, J. von Hardenberg, A. Provenzale
Revisting multifractality in
rainfall fields
Journal of Hydrometeorology 4, 544-551 (2003)
L. Ferraris, S. Gabellani, N. Rebora, A. Provenzale
A comparison of stochastic models
for spatial rainfall downscaling
Water Resources Research, 39, 10.1029/2003WR002504
(2003)
J. von Hardenberg, L. Ferraris, A.
Provenzale
The shape of convective rain cells
Geophysical Research Letters, 30,
10.1029/2003GL018539 (2003)
C. Pasquero, A. Provenzale, J.B. Weiss
Vortex statistics from Eulerian and
Lagrangian time series
Physical Review Letters 89, 284501 (2002)
A.P. Martin, K.J. Richards, A.
Bracco, A. Provenzale
Patchy productivity in the open
ocean
Global Biogeochemical Cycles 16,
1025 (2002)
M. Baer, J. von Hardenberg, E. Meron, A.
Provenzale
Modelling the survival of bacteria
in drylands: The advantage of being dormant
Proceedings of the Royal Society B 269,
937-942 (2002)
C. Toniolo, A. Provenzale, E.A. Spiegel
Signature of on-off intermittency in
measured signals
Physical Review E 66, 066209 (2002)
D. Anfossi, C. Cappa, J. von
Hardenberg, A. Provenzale
Statistical analysis of three series
of daily rainfall in North-Western Italy
Nuovo Cimento 25 C, 99-121 (2002)
N.J. Balmforth, A. Provenzale, R. Sassi
A hierarchy of coupled maps
CHAOS 12, 719-731 (2002)
A. Longhetto, L. Montabone, A. Provenzale, H. Didelle, C. Giraud, D. Bertoni, R. Forza,
B.
Coherent
vortices in rotating flows: A laboratory view
Nuovo Cimento 25 C, 233-249 (2002)
C. Pasquero, A. Provenzale, A. Babiano
Parameterization of dispersion in
two-dimensional turbulence
Journal of Fluid Mechanics 439, 279-303 (2001)
N.J. Balmforth, A. Provenzale, J.A.
Whitehead
The language of pattern and form
in Geomorphological
Fluid Mechanics, edited by N.J.Balmforth and A. Provenzale,
Lecture Notes in Physics (Springer, Berlin, 2001)
N.J. Balmforth, A. Provenzale
Patterns of dirt
in Geomorphological
Fluid Mechanics, edited by N.J.Balmforth and A. Provenzale,
Lecture Notes in Physics (Springer, Berlin, 2001)
A. Babiano, J.H.E. Cartwright, O. Piro, A. Provenzale
Dynamics of a small neutrally
buoyant sphere in a fluid and targeting in Hamiltonian systems,
Physical Review Letters 84, 5764-5767 (2000)
A. Bracco, A. Provenzale, I. Scheuring
Mesoscale vortices and the paradox
of the plankton
Proceedings of the Royal Society B 267,
1795-1800 (2000)
J. von Hardenberg, J.C. McWilliams, A. Provenzale, A. Shchepetkin, J.B. Weiss
Vortex
merging in quasi-geostrophic flows
Journal of Fluid Mechanics 412, 331-353 (2000)
A. Bracco, J. LaCasce, C. Pasquero, A. Provenzale
The velocity distribution of
barotropic turbulence
Physics of Fluids 12, 2478-2488 (2000)
A. Bracco, J.C. McWilliams, G. Murante, A. Provenzale, J.B. Weiss
Revisiting freely-decaying
two-dimensional turbulence at millennial resolution
Physics of Fluids 12, 2931-2941 (2000)
A. Bracco, J. LaCasce, A. Provenzale
Velocity probability density
functions for oceanic floats
Journal of Physical Oceanography 30,
461 (2000)
J. von Hardenberg, K. Fraedrich, F.
Lunkeit, A. Provenzale
Transient chaotic mixing during a
baroclinic life cycle
CHAOS 10, 122-134 (2000)
J. von Hardenberg, R. Thieberger, A.
Provenzale
A box-counting red herring
Physics Letters A 269, 303-308 (2000)
N.J. Balmforth, C. Pasquero, A. Provenzale
The Lorenz-Fermi-Pasta-Ulam experiment
Physica
D 138, 1-43 (2000)