Bio

Rafael Stern’s research focuses on the natural processes and mechanisms that regulate methane exchange between tropical forests and the atmosphere. He works with a network of eddy-covariance, ecological, and meteorological research stations across the Amazon rainforest, tropical Africa, and Asia.

Rafael earned his Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, where he was advised by Professor Dan Yakir. His doctoral research used a mobile eddy-covariance system to compare the biogeophysical and biogeochemical effects of different ecosystems and photovoltaic fields in drylands. He holds an M.Sc. in Climate and Environment from the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, where he was advised by Professor Paulo Artaxo and studied the physical and chemical properties of atmospheric particles during the Amazon forest-fire season. He also holds a B.Sc. in Geography from the Department of Geosciences at Universidade Federal Fluminense in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rafael was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Stanford Advisors

Contact

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

Additional Info

All Publications

  • The underappreciated importance of small wetlands in global methane emissions NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE Li, F., Zhu, Q., Yuan, K., Fluet-Chouinard, E., Zhang, X., Wang, J., Knox, S. H., You, H., Chen, M., Li, M., Stern, R., Hoyt, A. M., McNicol, G., Riley, W. J., Peng, S., Poulter, B., Malhotra, A., Cooley, S., Zhang, Z., Hong, S., Chen, Z., Zhu, Z., Raymond, P. A., Ciais, P., Jackson, R. B. 2026

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41558-026-02609-w

    View details for Web of Science ID 001735511900001

  • Strong influence of black carbon on aerosol optical properties in central Amazonia during the fire season ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS Stern, R., de Brito, J. F., Carbone, S., Varanda Rizzo, L., Muller, J., Artaxo, P. 2025; 25 (16): 9451-9469

    View details for DOI 10.5194/acp-25-9451-2025

    View details for Web of Science ID 001558952800001

  • Key Environmental and Ecological Variables of Wetland CH<sub>4</sub> and CO<sub>2</sub> Fluxes Change With Warming EARTHS FUTURE Li, M., Li, F., Malhotra, A., Knox, S. H., Stern, R., Jackson, R. B. 2025; 13 (6)

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2024EF005751

    View details for Web of Science ID 001513632200001

  • Leaf carbon monoxide emissions under different drought, heat, and light conditions in the field. The New phytologist Muller, J. D., Qubaja, R., Koh, E., Stern, R., Bohak, Y. L., Tatarinov, F., Rotenberg, E., Yakir, D. 2025

    Abstract

    Carbon monoxide (CO) is known primarily as a globally emitted by-product of incomplete combustion from the industry and biomass burning. However, CO is also produced in living plants and acts as a stress-signalling molecule in animals and plants. While CO emissions from soil and litter decomposition have been studied, research on the CO flux from living vegetation is scarce, particularly under field conditions. Here, we present a year-long field study on the effects of light, heat, and seasonal drought on leaf CO production and flux using automated twig chambers on mature Pinus halepensis trees grown under summer-droughted and nondroughted (irrigated) conditions. We found CO buildup in drought-stressed tree leaves, with emissions linked to the heat-controlled biogenic production of CO rather than to photodegradation. In irrigated trees, CO fluxes occurred through open stomata, whereas in droughted trees, CO buildup overcame stomatal closure to result in a flux. The results support the role of CO in heat stress response and the likely mitigation of damage induced by reactive oxygen species. We highlight the need for further research into the mechanistic basis for CO flux from living plants.

    View details for DOI 10.1111/nph.20424

    View details for PubMedID 39887711

  • Photovoltaic fields largely outperform afforestation efficiency in global climate change mitigation strategies. PNAS nexus Stern, R., Muller, J. D., Rotenberg, E., Amer, M., Segev, L., Yakir, D. 2023; 2 (11): pgad352

    Abstract

    Suppression of carbon emissions through photovoltaic (PV) energy and carbon sequestration through afforestation provides complementary climate change mitigation (CCM) strategies. However, a quantification of the "break-even time" (BET) required to offset the warming impacts of the reduced surface reflectivity of incoming solar radiation (albedo effect) is needed, though seldom accounted for in CCM strategies. Here, we quantify the CCM potential of PV fields and afforestation, considering atmospheric carbon reductions, solar panel life cycle analysis (LCA), surface energy balance, and land area required across different climatic zones, with a focus on drylands, which offer the main remaining land area reserves for forestation aiming climate change mitigation (Rohatyn S, Yakir D, Rotenberg E, Carmel Y. Limited climate change mitigation potential through forestation of the vast dryland regions. 2022. Science 377:1436-1439). Results indicate a BET of PV fields of 2.5 years but >50* longer for dryland afforestation, even though the latter is more efficient at surface heat dissipation and local surface cooling. Furthermore, PV is 100* more efficient in atmospheric carbon mitigation. While the relative efficiency of afforestation compared with PV fields significantly increases in more mesic climates, PV field BET is still 20* faster than in afforestation, and land area required greatly exceeds availability for tree planting in a sufficient scale. Although this analysis focusing purely on the climatic radiative forcing perspective quantified an unambiguous advantage for the PV strategy over afforestation, both approaches must be combined and complementary, depending on climate zone, since forests provide crucial ecosystem, climate regulation, and even social services.

    View details for DOI 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad352

    View details for PubMedID 38024393

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7547-6121