Lead Scientist, Stanford

Rafael Schmitt

Rafael’s (he/him) research is on catchment-scale modelling of hydrologic and sediment transport processes and their integration in decision making processes. In the freshwater and terrestrial ecosystem team, Rafael works on designing catchment interventions for better hydropower outcomes in the Himalayas and on quantifying the value of natural forest cover and sustainable land management for flood risk reduction in Myanmar. Rafael holds a degrees in Environmental Science and Engineering from ETH Zurich. During his Ph.D. in information technology at Politecnico di Milano, Rafael developed the CASCADE framework for modelling network-scale sediment connectivity, for which he was awarded the Young Researcher Award of the International Hydropower Association. Before joining NatCap, Rafael was a PostDoc at UC Berkeley’s Center for Environmental Design, where he developed on optimization-based approaches to identify hydropower portfolios that balance hydropower production and dam impacts on river ecosystem services in the Mekong River Basin while including issues of deep uncertainty as well as trans-boundary equity.

Contact

rschmitt@stanford.edu

Links

Google Scholar

Publications

Influences of Satellite Sensor and Scale on Derivation of Ecosystem Functional Types and Diversity. (2023). Remote Sensing, 15(23), Article 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15235593
Move up or move over: mapping opportunities for climate adaptation in Pakistan’s Indus plains. (2023). Environmental Research Letters, 18(11). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acfc59
Strategic siting and design of dams minimizes impacts on seasonal floodplain inundation. (2023). Environmental Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ace122
Balancing Sediment Connectivity and Energy Production via Optimized Reservoir Sediment Management Strategies. (2023). Water Resources Research, 59(5), e2022WR034033. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR034033
Balancing Sediment Connectivity and Energy Production via Optimized Reservoir Sediment Management Strategies. (2023). Water Resources Research, 59(6), e2022WR034033. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR034033
Centring justice in conceptualizing and improving access to urban nature. (2023). People and Nature. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10470
Ocean Sand: Putting Sand on the Ocean Sustainability Agenda. (2023). Putting Sand on the Ocean Sustainability Agenda. Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance. https://oceanrisk.earth/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ORRAA_Ocean_Sand_report.pdf
Data, knowledge, and modeling challenges for science-informed management of river deltas. (2023). One Earth, 6(3), 216-235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.02.010
Opperman, J., Carvallo, J. ., Kelman, R. ., Schmitt, R. ., Almeida, R. ., Chapin, E. ., Flecker, A. ., Goichot, M. ., Grill, G., Harou, J., Hartmann, J. ., Higgins, J. ., Kammen, D., Martin, E. ., Martins, T. ., Newsock, A. ., Rogéliz, C. ., Raepple, J. ., Sada, R. ., Thieme, M. ., & Harrison, D. . (2023). Balancing renewable energy and river resources by moving from individual assessments of hydropower projects to energy system planning. . Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1036653
Nature’s Frontiers: Achieving Sustainability, Efficiency, and Prosperity with Natural Capital. (2023). World Bank Group.
Schmitt, R., Rosa , L. ., & Daily, G. (2022). Global expansion of sustainable irrigation limited by water storage. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(47), e2214291119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2214291119
Langhans, K. E., Schmitt, R. J. P., Chaplin-Kramer, R., Anderson, C. B., Vargas Bolaños, C., Vargas Cabezas, F., Dirzo, R., Goldstein, . J. A., Horangic, T., Miller Granados, C., Powell, T. M., Smith, . J. R., Alvarado Quesada, I., Umaña Quesada, A., Monge Vargas, R., Wolny, S., & Daily, G. C. . (2022). Modeling multiple ecosystem services and beneficiaries of riparian reforestation in Costa Rica. Ecosystem Services, 57, 101470. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2022.101470
Almeida, R. ., Schmitt, . R. ., Grodsky, . S. ., Flecker, . A., Gomes, . C. ., Zhao, . L. ., Liu, H. ., Barros, N. ., Kelman, R. ., & McIntyre, P. . (2022, June 7). Floating solar power could help fight climate change—Let’s get it right.. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01525-1
Bussettini, M., & Schmitt, R. . (2022). Encyclopedia of Inland Waters (2nd eds.). Sediment Mining: Development and Implementation of Policies. Elsevier . https://doi.org//10.1016/B978-0-12-819166-8.00203-6
Bussettini, M., & Schmitt, R. (2022). Sediment Mining: Development and Implementation of Policies (2nd eds.). Encyclopedia of Inland Waters (Second Edition) . https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819166-8.00203-6