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Laurel Saito
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Project: Interdisciplinary modeling for climate change impacts on water resources at Shasta LakeLaurel Saito is an associate professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research focuses on water-resources management—specifically, how climatic factors and human activities, such as reservoirs, wastewater discharge, and agriculture, affect aquatic ecosystems. While at CIRES, Saito will collaborate with Balaji Rajagopalan in the Environmental Observations, Modeling and Forecasting Division, as well as with researchers at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, Western Water Assessment, and Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. Her research will focus on simulating how fish might respond to climate change and altered reservoir operations. Saito will combine this information with stochastic weather generation approaches used by CIRES scientists to gain insight into how climate affects the sustainability of fisheries impacted by reservoir operations. In addition, she will contribute the models she is using to INSTAAR’s Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System (CSDMS). “Water is something that all living things need, and it’s interconnected with so many things that humans do,” Saito says. “There is rarely a simple answer when it comes to water issues, which keeps things challenging and invites creativity.” Outside of the lab, Saito, who grew up in San Jose, California, enjoys hiking, skiing, backpacking, and playing the piano. While in Colorado, she’s looking forward to catching up with old friends from graduate school. Sponsor: Balaji Rajagopalan Email: lsaito@cabnr.unr.edu |
