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Daniel Kingston imageSenior Lecturer

BSc(Hons)(Shef)
MSc(E Anglia)
PhD(Birm)

Richardson Building, room 4C24
Office Hours: email to make an appointment
Tel +64 3 479 8971
Email daniel.kingston@otago.ac.nz

Teaching

Research interests

I am interested in all things related to weather, climate and climate change, but my main focus lies in the field of hydroclimatology – i.e. the inter-relationships between the climate system and hydrological cycle. Within the general field of hydroclimatology, my work can largely be split into two themes:

  1. Processes linking present day climate variation to changes in surface hydrology, including evaporation, snow cover, river flow and lake levels. This work involves statistical analyses of historical hydrological time series and the cascade of processes linking large-scale climate variation to regional and catchment-scale hydrological processes. A particular focus is the drivers of hydrological extremes and how these are influenced by large-scale climate variation, including atmospheric circulation patterns such as the Northern and Southern Annular Modes
  2. The uncertainty associated with how hydrological processes may respond under scenarios of climate change. This involves offline coupling of catchment-scale hydrological models with climate model output, focussing on understanding the role of emissions, climate model and hydrological model-based uncertainty in shaping projections of 21st century hydrological change and associated implications for water resources

Potential future projects

I would welcome inquiries from any student interested in topics based on climatology in general, and especially on links between the climate system, climate change and hydrological variation. Specific subject areas that I would welcome applications on include:

  • Uncertainty in hydrological models under climate change scenarios
  • Uncertainty in potential evapotranspiration under climate change
  • Drought detection and attribution
  • Atmospheric rivers
  • The role of Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation for the climate of New Zealand

Recent postgraduate supervision

  • A. Jobst, Impacts of climate change on the hydrology of the Clutha catchment.
  • M. Rawlyk, A Synoptic Scale Meteorological Investigation of Springtime Frost Incidence in Cromwell
  • A. Dowson, Seasonal variation of surface albedo of the Gardens of Eden and Allah, Southern Alps, New Zealand
  • K. Little, Physical controls on the mass balance of Brewster Glacier, Southern Alps.
  • R. Jones, Uncertainty in climate change impacts on Southern Alps river flow: the role of hydrological model complexity.
  • J. Loft, The influence of water scarcity and drought on the Lindis River, Central Otago.
  • J. Kidd, Investigating the link between large-scale atmospheric circulation and drought in New Zealand.
  • L. Koedyk, The impact of uncertainty in PET methods in the projection of river flow under climate change.
  • E. Reeves, Modelling the hydrological impacts of land use change and integrating cultural perspectives in the Waikouaiti catchment, Otago, New Zealand.
  • K. Duff, Predicting flow response of the Kakanui river flow climate change and land use intensification.
  • D. Gawith, Water stress vulnerability in the Himalayas of Nepal.
  • C. Webster, Inter-annual variation in the physiographic controls on catchment-scale snow distribution in the central Southern Alps, New Zealand.
  • M. Shepherd, An Analysis of Extreme Precipitation Events in New Zealand using two Case Studies: Auckland and Whataroa
  • M. Bennet, Detecting a climate change signal in New Zealand aridity
  • F. Isaacs, Estimating Evapotranspiration Over Snow Tussock Grassland
  • S. Peren, Climate change and land use change on the Kakanui River.
  • G. Hampton, Will the proposed Leith Lindsay protection scheme for the Lindsay Creek provide sufficient protection for a 1 in 100 year flood under 'dangerous' climate change?
  • D. Gawith, The effects of climate change on runoff in the Lindis and Matukituki catchments, Central Otago, New Zealand.

Publications

Stagge, J. H., Ionita, M., Kingston, D. G., & Tallaksen, L. M. (2024). Statistical analysis of drought series. In L. M. Tallaksen & H. A. J. van Lanen (Eds.), Hydrological Drought: Processes and estimation methods for streamflow and groundwater. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-819082-1.00004-7

Kingston, D. G., Ionita, M., Stahl, K., & Van Dijk, A. (2024). Hydroclimatology. In L. M. Tallaksen & H. A. J. van Lanen (Eds.), Hydrological Drought: Processes and estimation methods for streamflow and groundwater. (2nd ed.) (pp. 21-47). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-819082-1.00012-6

Bennet, M. J., Kingston, D. G., & Cullen, N. J. (2023). Extreme compound and seesaw hydrometeorological events in New Zealand: An initial assessment. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 128(21), e2022JD038346. doi: 10.1029/2022JD038346

Pohl, B., Prince, H. D., Wille, J., Kingston, D. G., Cullen, N. J., & Fauchereau, N. (2023). Atmospheric rivers and weather types in Aotearoa New Zealand: A two‐way story. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 128, e2022JD037209. doi: 10.1029/2022JD037209

Bennet, M., Kingston, D., & Cullen, N. (2022). Development of an Extreme Hydrometeorological Event Index. Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography (ICSHMO). Retrieved from https://confer.eventsair.com/icshmo-2022

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