2025 Internship Project Overview

Over the last 30 years, more than 1.2 million square kilometers of land have been abandoned in Europe. Due to urban migration, the amount of land being used for traditional agricultural activities has decreased. This has led to progressive reforestation across the Mediterranean region. We joined a research team at the National Research Council (CNR) of Italy’s Research Institute for Hydrogeological Protection (IRPI) to study the impact of reforestation on the water and carbon cycles in Central Italy. Our research focused on evaluating the duration, severity and frequency of droughts in relation to this change in land cover. We studied how key environmental variables like runoff, precipitation, evapotranspiration, biomass and leaf area influenced the divergence between meteorological and hydrological droughts in Italy’s Umbria region. Additionally, we had the opportunity to conduct hydrological fieldwork in CNR IRPI’s experimental catchment in Monti Sibillini National Park.

 

ORGANIZATION/RESEARCH GROUP

National Research Council of Italy, Research Institute for Hydrogeological Protection (CNR-IRPI)

LOCATION

Perugia, Italy

 

Interns

Courtney Harrison ’26
Major: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Minor(s): African American Studies
"I was able to apply knowledge from my major which has deepened my education. I enjoyed honing my coding skills to create models for data visualization. This research process has given me insight on what the Senior Thesis process might look like and ideas on what I would like to research in my final year."
Johnny Leadingham ’26
Major: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Minor(s): Theater and Music Theater
"I really appreciated the opportunity to build my research skills and learn how to approach problems without clearly defined solutions. The research allowed me to explore a field I am passionate about while igniting my curiosity. This internship helped me discover a love of research and inspired me to explore opportunities at the intersection of engineering and climate science."

Click to view the end-of-project presentation

 

Christian Massari
Senior Researcher, Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection (CNR-IRPI)