Amilcare Porporato

About

Amilcare Porporato is the Thomas J. Wu '94 Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University and an associated faculty member at the High Meadows Environmental Institute. He holds a PhD from the Polytechnic of Milan, Italy, earned in 1996, and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the same institution. His research focuses on the quantitative description and prediction of the complex dynamics of the terrestrial water cycle, with particular interest in the impact of the hydrologic cycle on the temporal and spatial variability of ecosystem processes, including energy, carbon, and nutrient cycles. Dr. Porporato employs both theoretical and experimental approaches to isolate and describe the dominant dynamical components of physical and biological interactions within these systems. His specific research areas include soil moisture-microbe-plant dynamics, mathematical modeling of biogeochemical cycles, soil-atmosphere interactions, and the sustainable use of soil and water resources, especially in semi-arid ecosystems, both natural and agricultural. His interdisciplinary research methods draw from fluid mechanics, soil physics, plant physiology, statistical physics, nonlinear dynamics, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, and complex system science. Dr. Porporato has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Web of Science, received the Hydrologic Sciences Award from the American Geophysical Union, and was awarded the Inaugural Landolt Chair in…

Research topics

• Environmental science
• Geology
• Geography
• Ecology
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Natural resource economics
• Soil science
• Economics
• Atmospheric sciences

Selected publications

• Contrasting effects of aridity and seasonality on global salinization

  Nature Geoscience · 2022 · 109 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Risk of the hydrogen economy for atmospheric methane

  Nature Communications · 2022 · 106 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  can reduce methane emissions only if methane losses are below 1%. We address and discuss the main uncertainties in our results and the implications for the decarbonization of the energy sector.

  DOI

• Cloud cooling effects of afforestation and reforestation at midlatitudes

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2021 · 87 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Because of the large carbon sequestration potential, reforestation and afforestation (R&A) are among the most prominent natural climate solutions. However, while their effectiveness is well established for wet tropics, it is often argued that R&A are less advantageous or even detrimental at higher latitudes, where the reduction of forest albedo (the amount of reflected solar radiation by a surface) tends to nullify or even overcome the carbon benefits. Here, we carefully analyze the situation fo…

  DOI

• The delusive accuracy of global irrigation water withdrawal estimates

  Nature Communications · 2022 · 86 citations

  Miscalculating the volumes of water withdrawn for irrigation, the largest consumer of freshwater in the world, jeopardizes sustainable water management. Hydrological models quantify water withdrawals, but their estimates are unduly precise. Model imperfections need to be appreciated to avoid policy misjudgements.

  DOI

• Nano- to Global-Scale Uncertainties in Terrestrial Enhanced Weathering

  Environmental Science & Technology · 2022 · 81 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  removal, as well as on the importance of seamlessly coordinating EW with cropland and forest management.

  DOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Controls over C sequestration: physiology vs. physics

  NSF · $97k · 2012–2016

• Local and nonlocal topographic controls on landscape ecohydrology

  NSF · $128k · 2017–2018

• RAPID Proposal: Merging Monsoon, Snowmelt and Post-flood Ground Information for a Multivariate Estimation and Prediction of Flood Risk for the Indus River, Pakistan

  NSF · $45k · 2011–2012

Frequent coauthors

• Gabriel G. Katul

  Duke University

  102 shared

• Luca Ridolfi

  Polytechnic University of Turin

  94 shared

• I. Rodriguez‐Iturbe

  90 shared

• Stefano Manzoni

  Stockholm University

  80 shared

• Salvatore Calabrese

  Texas A&M University

  57 shared

• Paolo D’Odorico

  University of California, Berkeley

  53 shared

• Giulia Vico

  51 shared

• Edoardo Daly

  49 shared

Awards & honors

• Highly Cited Researcher, Web of Science
• Hydrologic Sciences Award, AGU
• Borland Lecture – Hydrology Days
• American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fellow
• Inaugural Landolt Chair in Sustainable Development and Innov…

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