Bio

Rafael Stern was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is 35 years old, and married to Gal. Rafael has a BSc in Geography from the Geosciences Department of Universidade Federal Fluminense, in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has a MSc from the Climate and Environment Department of the National Institute of Amazon Research in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, with the supervision of prof. Paulo Artaxo, and he measured the physical and chemical properties of atmospheric particles during forest fires season in the Amazon rainforest. He has a PhD from the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, with the supervision of prof. Dan Yakir, and he used a mobile eddy covariance station to compare the biogeophysical and biogeochemical effects of different ecosystems and of PV fields on drylands.

Stanford Advisors

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  • Academic
    University - Scholar Department: Department of Earth System Science Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

All Publications

  • 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

  • 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

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