Bio

Areidy Beltran-Peña is an Earth System Scientist and a Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellow. She leverages integrated assessment and Earth system models to investigate the global and regional impacts of climate change on water resources available for natural and human consumption. Overall, her research sheds light on the intricate dynamics impacting water and food security amid a changing climate, highlighting the importance of both global and regional analyses.

Honors & Awards

  • Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Dean's Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University (2023 - 2025)

Professional Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of California Berkeley (2023)
  • Master of Arts, University of California Berkeley (2017)
  • B.A., University of California, Berkeley, Environmental Earth Science (2015)
  • M.A., University of California, Berkeley, Earth and Planetary Science (2017)
  • Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (2023)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    areidy@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Department of Earth System Science Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

All Publications

  • Future Food Security in Africa Under Climate Change EARTHS FUTURE Beltran-Pena, A., D'Odorico, P. 2022; 10 (9)

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2022EF002651

    View details for Web of Science ID 000855392100001

  • Potential for sustainable irrigation expansion in a 3 degrees C warmer climate PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Rosa, L., Chiarelli, D., Sangiorgio, M., Beltran-Pena, A., Rulli, M., D'Odorico, P., Fung, I. 2020; 117 (47): 29526-29534

    Abstract

    Climate change is expected to affect crop production worldwide, particularly in rain-fed agricultural regions. It is still unknown how irrigation water needs will change in a warmer planet and where freshwater will be locally available to expand irrigation without depleting freshwater resources. Here, we identify the rain-fed cropping systems that hold the greatest potential for investment in irrigation expansion because water will likely be available to suffice irrigation water demand. Using projections of renewable water availability and irrigation water demand under warming scenarios, we identify target regions where irrigation expansion may sustain crop production under climate change. Our results also show that global rain-fed croplands hold significant potential for sustainable irrigation expansion and that different irrigation strategies have different irrigation expansion potentials. Under a 3 °C warming, we find that a soft-path irrigation expansion with small monthly water storage and deficit irrigation has the potential to expand irrigated land by 70 million hectares and feed 300 million more people globally. We also find that a hard-path irrigation expansion with large annual water storage can sustainably expand irrigation up to 350 million hectares, while producing food for 1.4 billion more people globally. By identifying where irrigation can be expanded under a warmer climate, this work may serve as a starting point for investigating socioeconomic factors of irrigation expansion and may guide future research and resources toward those agricultural communities and water management institutions that will most need to adapt to climate change.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2017796117

    View details for Web of Science ID 000593967200016

    View details for PubMedID 33168728

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7703655

  • Global food self-sufficiency in the 21st century under sustainable intensification of agriculture ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS Beltran-Pena, A., Rosa, L., D'Odorico, P. 2020; 15 (9)

    View details for DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/ab9388

    View details for Web of Science ID 000565754800001

  • Values-Based Scenarios of Water Security: Rights to Water, Rights of Waters, and Commercial Water Rights BIOSCIENCE Jenkins, W., Rosa, L., Schmidt, J., Band, L., Beltran-Pena, A., Clarens, A., Doney, S., Emanuel, R. E., Glassie, A., Quinn, J., Rulli, M., Shobe, W., Szeptycki, L., D'Odorico, P. 2021; 71 (11): 1157-1170

    View details for DOI 10.1093/biosci/biab088

    View details for Web of Science ID 000717496700006

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9448-1156