Laurel Saito
CIRES Visiting Fellow
2010-2011
Sabbatical
Ph.D., Colorado State University, Fort Collins
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Project: Interdisciplinary modeling of climate change impacts on water resources, linking hydrodynamic and ecological models
Knowing what to do with water, how to use it, who owns it, whether there’s too much or as is often the case too little, offers enough twists, turns, and heightened emotions to rival a whitewater trip down Idaho’s Salmon River. That’s part of why studying the dynamics of water resource management appeals so much to new CIRES Visiting Fellow Laurel Saito.
“Water is something that all living things need, and it's interconnected with so many things that humans do,” says Saito. “There is rarely a simple answer when it comes to water issues, which keeps things challenging and invites creativity.”
Interconnectedness is key to Saito’s research, which combines resource management, ecology, hydrology, and climate science to compare human influences on water with natural ones. Saito brings her interdisciplinary approach to CIRES, where she will work with the Western Water Assessment, Center for Limnology, and Center for Science and Technology Policy Research. Her goal is to link water reservoir simulations with ecological models to study the ways water management and climate affect fish and other aquatic wildlife. This research will also help CIRES scientists incorporate these effects into climate prediction and water reservoir models.
Sounds like while at CIRES, Saito will have plenty of desire and good reasons to enjoy some of her favorite pastimes, hiking and backpacking. Doing so, would allow her to check out firsthand the state of Colorado’s waterways.
Sponsor: Balaji Rajagopalan
Theme: Integrating Activities
Email: lsaito@cabnr.unr.edu |
