School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology

Alessandro Raganato

Ph.D. Researcher in Physics, Climate Dynamics

Portrait of Alessandro Raganato

Alessandro RaganatoSchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA

araganato3@gatech.edu
Google Scholar
Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

I am a Ph.D. researcher in Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, advised by Professor Annalisa Bracco in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

My research sits at the intersection of climate dynamics and data science. I study the variability of the ocean and atmosphere, with particular attention to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and develop data-driven methods to evaluate how faithfully climate models reproduce it. My work draws on dimensionality reduction, manifold learning and information theory, applied to multi-terabyte datasets on U.S. Department of Energy high-performance computing systems.

I collaborate with Los Alamos National Laboratory through the DOE-supported ImPACTS SciDAC project. Before Georgia Tech, I was a scientific consultant in the Earth System Physics Section of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, and I received my M.Sc. in Physics cum laude from the University of Trieste.

Research interests

  • Ocean circulation and the AMOC
  • Climate model evaluation
  • Tropical–extratropical teleconnections
  • Nonlinear dynamical systems
  • Manifold learning
  • Large-scale geophysical data

Recent news

  • Took part in the E3SM Webinar series.
  • “AMOC discrepancies across reanalyses and models limit dynamical understanding” published in the Journal of Climate.
  • Attended the ImPACTS SciDAC All Hands Annual Meeting at Los Alamos, NM.
  • Co-authored paper on Indian Ocean SST variability and Euro-Mediterranean storm activity published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Research

Climate dynamics, model evaluation, and data-driven methods for complex geophysical systems

Atlantic Meridional Overturning CirculationGeorgia Tech, with Los Alamos National LaboratoryOngoing

Why models and reanalyses disagree about the AMOC

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation transports heat and freshwater northward and is central to climate on both sides of the Atlantic. Reanalyses and climate models nonetheless offer markedly different estimates of its strength and variability. This work compares these products systematically, examining freshwater transport, temperature and salinity, and quantifies how model resolution and configuration alter the simulated circulation.

Related: Raganato et al. (2026), Journal of Climate.

MethodsGeorgia TechOngoing

Data-driven evaluation of climate models

Building on the manifold-learning framework of Falasca et al. (2022), I apply dimensionality reduction, mutual information and time-series analysis to identify structure and dependencies in high-dimensional climate fields. The aim is to measure where a model’s dynamics depart from the observed system, rather than comparing mean states alone.

TeleconnectionsICTP, Trieste2022 – 2025

Tropical forcing of the North Atlantic–European climate

With Fred Kucharski and Muhammad Adnan Abid, I studied the combined influence of the Indian Ocean Dipole and ENSO on the North Atlantic–European circulation in early boreal winter, using ERA5 reanalysis and the ECMWF SEAS5 hindcast. Experiments with the SPEEDY atmospheric model tested how the strength of the subtropical jet shapes the extratropical response, with implications for seasonal predictability over Europe.

Related: Raganato et al. (2025), Journal of Climate; Reale et al. (2025), Geophysical Research Letters.

Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles

  1. AMOC discrepancies across reanalyses and models limit dynamical understanding Raganato, A., Bracco, A., Van Roekel, L., & Iovino, D. Journal of Climate (2026) DOI
  2. Response of early winter precipitation and storm activity in the North Atlantic–European–Mediterranean region to Indian Ocean SST variability Reale, M., Raganato, A., d’Andrea, F., Abid, M. A., Hochman, A., Chowdhury, N. R., … & Kucharski, F. Geophysical Research Letters, 52(20), e2025GL116732 (2025) DOI
  3. The combined link of the Indian Ocean Dipole and ENSO with the North Atlantic–European circulation during early boreal winter in reanalysis and the ECMWF SEAS5 hindcast Raganato, A., Abid, M. A., & Kucharski, F. Journal of Climate, 38(2), 445–460 (2025)

A complete and current list is available on Google Scholar.

Curriculum Vitae

Updated September 2026

Download CV (PDF)

Education

  • Ph.D. in Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology2024 – 2027 (expected)School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Advisor: Prof. Annalisa Bracco.
  • M.Sc. in Physics, cum laude, University of Trieste2020 – 2023Thesis: Extra-tropical response to tropical forcing in the SPEEDY model compared to observations and its dependence on the modifications of the subtropical jet in boreal winter. Advisors: Prof. Fred Kucharski, Dr. Muhammad Adnan Abid.
  • B.Sc. in Physics, Sapienza University of Rome2016 – 2020Thesis: Description of the Larmor formula in a massive field. Advisor: Prof. Paolo Pani.

Research experience

  • Graduate Researcher, Georgia Institute of Technology2024 – presentData-driven evaluation of climate models and AMOC dynamics; scalable Python workflows on DOE high-performance computing systems (NERSC/Perlmutter); collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory on DOE-supported projects.
  • Scientific Consultant, International Centre for Theoretical PhysicsApr – Oct 2023Earth System Physics Section, Trieste. ENSO teleconnections and the role of the Indian Ocean Dipole in the NAO response during early boreal winter.

Honors

  • M.Sc. awarded cum laude, University of Trieste2023

Presentations and meetings

  • E3SM WebinarAug 2026Online
  • ImPACTS SciDAC All Hands Annual MeetingMay 2026Los Alamos, NM
  • 21st Annual EAS Graduate Research SymposiumApr 2025Atlanta, GA
  • APS March Meeting, GPC-sponsored sessionMar 2025Anaheim, CA
  • CESM TutorialAug 2024Boulder, CO
  • CAMAS Workshop and Early-Career SchoolFeb 2024Santa Fe, NM
  • ESP Section seminar: The impact of the Indian Ocean Dipole on the North Atlantic–European circulation during early boreal winterOct 2023ICTP, Trieste
  • 4th Summer School on Theory, Mechanisms and Hierarchical Modeling of Climate DynamicsAug 2023ICTP, Trieste
  • ESP Section seminar: The role of the subtropical jet in the Euro-Atlantic teleconnectionsFeb 2023ICTP, Trieste

Technical skills

Programming
Python, C/C++, Fortran
Scientific computing
NumPy, SciPy, pandas, xarray, scikit-learn, Matplotlib
Methods
Statistical analysis, PCA and dimensionality reduction, manifold learning, mutual information, time-series analysis, numerical methods
High-performance computing
Linux, Bash, Slurm, NERSC/Perlmutter

Languages

Italian
Native
English
Fluent (TOEFL iBT 100/120)
Spanish
Basic

Teaching

Georgia Institute of Technology

Spring 2024School of Earth and Atmospheric SciencesTeaching Assistant

Introduction to Environmental Sciences

Prepared in-class activities and course assessments for groups of 15–25 undergraduate students, and graded student work to keep the class on track with the material.

Contact

I welcome inquiries about research collaborations and opportunities.

Email

araganato3@gatech.edu

Mailing address

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332, USA

Profiles

Google Scholar