Dr. Cynthia Gerlein Safdi

Biography

Cynthia Gerlein-Safdi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a Faculty Scientist at the Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division of UC Berkeley. Her research focuses on ecohydrology, employing modeling, laboratory experiments, fieldwork, and satellite data to understand the link between water, carbon cycles, and vegetation across spatial and temporal scales. Gerlein-Safdi is particularly interested in the effects of dew, fog, and rain interception on canopy water and carbon fluxes, as well as soil moisture variations on plant functioning and wetland dynamics including methane emissions. Her research spans a wide range of ecosystems and employs various methods to gain insights into natural environmental processes. She develops process-based models for plant function to investigate the interactions of water, carbon, and energy balance, especially regarding the impacts of climate change. Her current research includes monitoring solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence responses in grasslands and investigating the role of dew and fog in soil moisture and plant functioning using data from Point Reyes Field Station, California. Additionally, she utilizes microwave remote sensing techniques and has developed algorithms for analyzing satellite data to enhance predictions for methane emissions from tropical wetlands.

Research Interests