The Mediterranean and Convergence Regions: a climatic and environmental “HOTSPOT” …research and technology

The Mediterranean region, as stated by the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2012) is one of the regions that have been most deeply affected by climatic change in the last decades due to a raise in temperatures and less precipitations, which we think change according to the weather. The main impacts due to climatic change in Europe  are reported in the picture that shows, among others, “the hot spot” (climatic hot spot: a “hot spot” to study the weather, that-is-to say an area that is influenced by climatic change) of the Mediterranean.

Mediterraneo

The Mediterranean Basin, which owns an ecosystem which is deeply affected by climatic change, attracts around 120 millions of visitors from Northern Europe each year. They spend more than 100 billion Euros each year (Amelung e Moreno, 2009) and make sure that international tourism contributes for around 10% of the GDP and employment of the Basin (Magnan et al., 2012). Protecting this environment is mandatory to grant life to human beings and the ecosystem.

Italy and the Convergence Regions in particular are a unique climatic thermometer to define the Mediterranean’s health condition. The I-AMICA “thermometer”, with its network of observation stations for the climatic-atmospheric, agro-forestry and maritime-coastal monitoring, can define the Mediterranean health condition. It is activated thanks to the strengthening of the technological research put in place by CNR Institutes which can also provide and allow the development and integration of productive activities.

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