UC Research Profile - University of Canterbury

Professor Adrian James McDonald

Contact

Department: School of Physical & Chemical Sciences

Email: adrian.mcdonald@canterbury.ac.nz

Direct Dial: +64 3 3692064

Office: Beatrice Tinsley 320

Language: English

About

Research / Creative works

Networks

Fields of Research

Atmospheric composition
Atmospheric dynamics and waves
Chemistry climate modelling
Radar remote sensing
Remote sensing of the atmosphere
Satellite Remote Sensing
Solar impacts on climate
VHF and MF radar studies of waves and turbulence

Researcher Summary

My main research interests are associated with understanding the coupling between different regions of the atmosphere, this coupling often being associated with waves on a number of temporal and spatial scales. My work involves the use of a range of remotely sensed observations from radar and satellite instruments and data from reanalyses and other models.

At present I am particularly interested in:
- VHF radar remote sensing of convection and the potential impact of convection on mixing between the stratosphere and troposphere
- Stratosphere-troposphere exchange in the Southern Hemisphere
- Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere dynamics above Antarctica, primarily related to understanding the wave-driven circulation at these altitudes using the Scott Base MF radar
- Internal gravity wave observations with radar and satellite systems
- Antarctic ozone depletions dependence on planetary scale waves
- The impact of changes in the total solar irradiance on the chemistry and dynamics of the middle atmosphere

Subject Area: Disciplines

Physics: Atmospheric Physics

Resources

Research/Scholarly/Creative Works

(Displaying research/scholarly/creative work for 2006 - 2014)

Journal Articles

Coggins JHJ., McDonald AJ. and Jolly B. (2014) Synoptic climatology of the Ross Ice Shelf and Ross Sea region of Antarctica: K-means clustering and validation. International Journal of Climatology 34(7): 2330-2348. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.3842.

Fong W., Lu X., Chu X., Fuller-Rowell TJ., Yu Z., Roberts BR., Chen C., Gardner CS. and McDonald AJ. (2014) Winter temperature tides from 30 to 110 km at McMurdo (77.8°s, 166.7°E), Antarctica: Lidar observations and comparisons with WAM. Journal of Geophysical Research 119(6): 2846-2863. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2013JD020784.

Parsons S., McDonald AJ. and Renwick JA. (2014) The use of synoptic climatology with general circulation model output over New Zealand. International Journal of Climatology 34(12): 3426-3439. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.3919.

Smith ML. and McDonald AJ. (2014) A quantitativemeasure of polar vortex strength using the function M. Journal of Geophysical Research 119(10): 5966-5985. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2013JD020572.

Alexander SP., Klekociuk AR., McDonald AJ. and Pitts MC. (2013) Quantifying the role of orographic gravity waves on polar stratospheric cloud occurrence in the Antarctic and the Arctic. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres 118(20): 11493-11507. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2013JD020122.

Chen C., Chu X., McDonald AJ., Vadas SL., Yu Z., Fong W. and Lu X. (2013) Inertia-gravity waves in Antarctica: A case study using simultaneous lidar and radar measurements at McMurdo/Scott Base (77.8°S, 166.7°E). Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres 118(7): 2794-2808. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50318.

Coggins JHJ., McDonald AJ., Plank G., Pannell M., Jolly B., Parsons S. and Delany T. (2013) SNOW-WEB: A new technology for Antarctic meteorological monitoring. Antarctic Science 25(4): 583-599. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954102013000011.

Huck PE., Bodeker GE., Kremser S., McDonald AJ., Rex M. and Struthers H. (2013) Semi-empirical models for chlorine activation and ozone depletion in the Antarctic stratosphere: proof of concept. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 13(6): 3237-3243. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3237-2013.

McDonald AJ. and Smith M. (2013) A technique to identify vortex air using carbon monoxide observations. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres 118(22): 12719-12733. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2012JD019257.

Hay TD., Bodeker GE., Kreher K., Schofield R., Liley B., Scherer M. and McDonald AJ. (2012) The NIMO Monte Carlo model for box-air-mass factor and radiance calculations. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer 113(9): 721-738. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2012.02.005.

McDonald AJ. (2012) Gravity wave occurrence statistics derived from paired COSMIC/FORMOSAT3 observations. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres 117(D15106): 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016715.

Alexander SP., Klekociuk AR., Pitts MC., McDonald AJ. and Arevalo-Torres A. (2011) The effect of orographic gravity waves on Antarctic polar stratospheric cloud occurrence and composition. Journal of Geophysical Research 116 D06109 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2010JD015184.

Kruetzmann NC., Rack W., McDonald AJ. and George SE. (2011) Snow accumulation and compaction derived from GPR data near Ross Island, Antarctica. The Cryosphere 5: 391-404. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-391-2011.

McDonald AJ., Hibbins RE. and Jarvis MJ. (2011) Properties of the quasi 16 day wave derived from EOS MLS observations. Journal of Geophysical Research 116 D06112 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2010JD014719.

Hibbins RE., Marsh OJ., McDonald AJ. and Jarvis MJ. (2010) A new perspective on the longitudinal variability of the semidiurnal tide. Geophysical Research Letters 37 L14804 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2010GL044015.

Hibbins RE., Marsh OJ., McDonald AJ. and Jarvis MJ. (2010) Interannual variability of the S=1 and S=2 components of the semidiurnal tide in the Antarctic MLT. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 72(9-10): 794-800. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2010.03.026.

McDonald AJ., Tan B. and Chu X. (2010) The Role of Gravity Waves in the Spatial and Temporal Variability of Stratospheric Temperature Measured by COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 and Rayleigh Lidar Observations. Journal of Geophysical Research 115 D19128 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2009JD013658.

Wurl D., Grainger RG., McDonald AJ. and Deshler T. (2010) Optimal estimation retrieval of aerosol microphysical properties from SAGE II satellite observations in the volcanically unperturbed lower stratosphere. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 10(9): 4295-4317. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-4295-2010.

McDonald AJ., George SE. and Woollands RM. (2009) Can gravity waves significantly impact PSC occurrence in the Antarctic? Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 9: 8825-8840.

Murphy DJ., Aso T., Fritts DC., Hibbins RE., McDonald AJ., Riggin DM., Tsutsumi M. and Vincent RA. (2009) Source regions for Antarctic MLT non-migrating semidiurnal tides. Geophysical Research Letters 36(L09805): 5pp. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2008GL037064.

Baumgaertner AJG., McDonald AJ., Hibbins RE., Fritts DC., Murphy DJ. and Vincent RA. (2008) Short-period planetary waves in the Antarctic middle atmosphere. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 70(10): 1336-1350. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2008.04.007.

Krützmann NC., McDonald AJ. and George SE. (2008) Identification of mixing barriers in chemistry-climate model simulations using Rényi entropy. Geophysical Research Letters 35 L06806 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2007GL032829.

McDonald AJ. (2008) Antarctic Ozone Depletion and Polar Stratospheric Clouds. Clean Air and Environmental Quality 42(4): 30-35.

McDonald AJ. and Hertzog A. (2008) Comparison of Stratospheric Measurements made by CHAMP Radio Occultation and Stratéole/VORCORE in-situ data. Geophysical Research Letters 35 L11805 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2008GL033338.

Baumgaertner AJG. and McDonald AJ. (2007) A gravity wave climatology for Antarctica compiled from Challenging Minisatellite Payload/Global Positioning System (CHAMP/GPS) radio occultations. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres 112 D05103 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007504.

Huck PE., Tilmes S., Bodeker GE., Randel WJ., McDonald AJ. and Nakajima H. (2007) An improved measure of ozone depletion in the Antarctic stratosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research 112 D11104 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007860.

McDonald AJ., Baumgaertner AJG., Fraser GJ., George SE. and Marsh S. (2007) Empirical Mode Decomposition of the atmospheric wave field. Annales Geophysicae 25(2): 375-384.

Monahan KP., Pan LL., McDonald AJ., Bodeker GE., Wei J., George SE., Barnet CD. and Maddy E. (2007) Validation of AIRS v4 ozone profiles using ozonesondes from Lauder, NZ and Boulder, USA. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres 112 D17304 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2006JD008181.

Baumgaertner AJG., Jarvis MJ., McDonald AJ. and Fraser GJ. (2006) Observations of the wavenumber 1 and 2 components of the semi-diurnal tide over Antarctica. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 68(11): 1195-1214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2006.03.001.

Choi YG., Lee SC., McDonald AJ. and Hooper DA. (2006) Wind-profiler observations of gravity waves produced by convection at mid-latitudes. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 6(10): 2825-2836. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-2825-2006.

McDonald AJ., Monahan KP., Hooper DA. and Gaffard C. (2006) VHF signal power suppression in stratiform and convective precipitation. Annales Geophysicae 24(1): 23-25.

Murphy DJ., Forbes JM., Walterscheid L., Hagan ME., Avery SK., Aso T., Fraser GJ., Fritts DC., Jarvis MJ. and McDonald AJ. (2006) A climatology of tides in the Antarctic mesosphere and lower thermosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research 111(D23104) http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006803.

Conference Contributions - Published

Jolly B., Willig A., McDonald A., Pannell M. and Plank G. (2013) SNOWWEB - Wirelessly Connected Weather Stations in Antarctica. Sydney, Australia: Eighth IEEE Workshop on Practical Issues in Building Sensor Network Applications (IEEE SenseApp 2013), 21-24 Oct 2013. In Proceedings of IEEE SenseApp 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/LCNW.2013.6758519.

Conference Contributions - Other

Coggins J. and McDonald AJ. (2014) Circulation-driven temperature trends at Scott Base and McMurdo Station. Auckland, New Zealand: SCAR Open Science Conference, 25-29 Aug 2015.

Dennison F., McDonald AJ., Morgenstern O. and Andrew Klekociuk A. (2014) Annular Modes and Stratosphere-Troposphere Coupling in Climate Models. Queenstown, New Zealand: SPARC 2014 General Assembly, 12-17 Jan 2014.

McDonald AJ. (2014) Deep South - New Zealand National Science Challenge. University of Washington, Seattle, USA.: Clouds, Aerosols, Radiation and Air-Sea Interface of the Southern Ocean: Establishing Directions for Future Research, 18-19 Mar 2014.

McDonald AJ. (2014) Patterns of change above the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. Auckland, New Zealand.: SCAR Open Science Conference, 25-29 Aug 2014.

McDonald AJ. (2014) Winds and temperatures above the middle stratosphere: A critical examination of reanalyses. Cambridge, UK: 8th Workshop on Long-term Changes and Trends in the Atmosphere, 28-31 Jul 2014.

McDonald AJ. and Schritt D. (2014) Using trace gas measurements to quantify horizontal and vertical motion at the poles. Queenstown, New Zealand: SPARC 2014 General Assembly, 12-17 Jan 2014.

McDonald AJ., Dennison F., Morgenstern O. and Klekociuk A. (2014) Patterns of Southern Hemisphere Climate Change and their Relationships. Queenstown, New Zealand: SPARC 2014 General Assembly, 12-17 Jan 2014.

Morgenstern O., Zeng G., Klekociuk A., Dennison F., McDonald AJ., Abraham L., Osprey A. and O'Connor F. (2014) Recent Antarctic Climate Change and Its Relation to Stratospheric Ozone Depletion and Increases on Long-lived Greenhouse Gases. Queenstown, New Zealand: SPARC 2014 General Assembly, 12-17 Jan 2014.

Smith M. and McDonald AJ. (2014) A Quantitative Measure of Polar Vortex Strength Using the Function M. Queenstown, New Zealand: SPARC 2014 General Assembly, 12-17 Jan 2014.

McDonald AJ. (2013) Identifying vortex air using Carbon Monoxide Observation. Hobart, Australia: Strategic Science in Antarctica, 24-26 Jun 2013.

Chen C., Chu X., McDonald AJ., Vadas SL., Yu Z., Fong W. and Lu X. (2012) Inertia-gravity waves in Antarctic MLT: A case study using simultaneous lidar and radar measurements at McMurdo/Scott Base. Logan, UT, USA: Mesosphere Lower Thermosphere-Ionosphere (MLTI) Wave Workshop, 1-1 Oct 2012.

Chen C., Chu XZ., Yu Z., Fong W., McDonald AJ., Lu X. and Huang W. (2012) Lidar and radar investigation of inertia gravity wave intrinsic properties at McMurdo, Antarctica. Porto Heli, Greece: 26th International Laser Radar Conference (ILRC), 25-29 Jun 2012.

Chu X., Chen C., Yu Z., Fong W., Roberts BR., Lu X., Fuller-Rowell T., Vadas SL., McDonald AJ. and Gardner CS. (2012) Gravity waves from 30 to 155 km observed by an Fe lidar at McMurdo, Antarctica. San Francisco, CA, USA: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting (AGU), 3-7 Dec 2012.

Chu X., Yu Z., Chen C., Fong W., Huang W., Gardner CS., McDonald AJ. and Vadas SL. (2012) McMurdo lidar campaign: A new look into the polar middle and upper atmosphere (Neutral Fe layers, gravity and tidal waves, and temperatures up to 155 km in the Antarctic thermosphere). Mysore, India: 39th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, 14-22 Jul 2012.

Coggins JCJ., McDonald AJ., Plank G., Pannell M., Jolly B., Parsons S., Delany T. and Ward R. (2012) SNOW-WEB 2.0: The Next Generation of Antarctic Meteorological Monitoring Systems? Vienna, Austria: European Geosciences Union General Assembly (EGU), 22-27 Apr 2012.

Grahn J. and McDonald AJ. (2012) Testing metrics of mixing using a chaotic advection model. Vienna, Austria: EGU General Assembly 2012, 22-27 Apr 2012.

Huck PE., Bodeker GE., Kremser S., Rex M., Santee ML., Meinshausen M. and McDonald AJ. (2012) When will the global ozone layer recover? A semi-empirical approach. Vienna, Austria: EGU General Assembly 2012, 22-27 Apr 2012.

McDonald AJ. (2012) Coherent gravity wave occurrence rates in paired satellite observations. Vienna, Austria: EGU General Assembly 2012, 22-27 Apr 2012.

McDonald AJ. (2012) Inter-hemispheric variations in stratopause structure. Vienna, Austria: EGU General Assembly 2012, 22-27 Apr 2012.

McDonald AJ. and Smith M. (2012) Using trace gas measurements to quantify the modulating influence of transport on the EPP-IE. Boulder, CO, USA: 4th International HEPPA Workshop, 9-12 Oct 2012.

Parsons S., McDonald AJ. and Renwick J. (2012) Future Weather Patterns in New Zealand using Synoptic Climatology: Kidson Types and a Simple Synoptic Classification System. Vienna, Austria: EGU General Assembly 2012, 22-27 Apr 2012.

Smith M. and McDonald AJ. (2012) Using finite-size Lyapunov exponents to investigate the effect of stratospheric sudden warmings on the polar vortices. Vienna, Austria: EGU General Assembly 2012, 22-27 Apr 2012.

Smith M. and McDonald AJ. (2012) Using the "function M" as a measure of horizontal transport in the southern polar vortex region. Boulder, CO, USA: 4th International HEPPA Workshop, 9-12 Oct 2012.

McDonald A. (2011) Stratopause Temperature and Altitude Variability and Interhemispheric Links: Signal Propagation in the Middle Atmosphere. Melbourne, Australia: XXV International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics General Assembly, 28 Jun-7 Jul 2011.

McDonald A., Coggins J., Ward R. and Plank G. (2011) Snow Web: The Next Generation of Antarctic Meteorological Monitoring Systems. Melbourne, Australia: XXV International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics General Assembly, 28 Jun-7 Jul 2011.

Arevalo-Torres A. and McDonald A. (2010) Chlorine-chemistry and Polar Stratospheric Cloud evolution over the Antarctic Polar Vortex derived from MLS observations. Halifax, Canada: iCACGP-IGAC Joint Conference, 11-16 Jul 2010.

Coggins J., McDonald A. and Rack W. (2010) Spatial statistics: the key to Antarctic temperature reconstructions? Hobart, Australia: Australia-New Zealand Climate Forum, 13-15 Oct 2010.

Hibbins R., Jarvis M., Ford E., Marsh O. and McDonald A. (2010) QBO influences on the polar mesosphere and lower-thermosphere. Berlin, Germany: SCOSTEP Symposium 2010, 12-16 Jul 2010.

Murphy D., Aso T., Fritts D., Hibbins RE., McDonald A., Riggin D., Tsutsumi M. and Vincent R. (2010) Horizontal momentum fluxes associated with tides in the MLT over Antarctica. Bremen, Germany: 38th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), 18-25 Jul 2010.

Ward R., Gingrich M. and McDonald A. (2010) Elliptical diagnostics of Antarctic sea ice extent. Hobart, Australia: Australia-New Zealand Climate Forum, 13-15 Oct 2010.

McDonald A. (2009) Climate Change: A Physics Perspective. University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand: NZIP 2009 Conference, 6-8 Jul 2009.

Baumgartner A. and McDonald A. (2008) The May 2005 solar proton event and potential connections to a mesospheric planetary wave event. Helsinki, Finland: 1st High Energy Particle Precipitation in the Atmosphere (HEPPA) Workshop, 28-31 May 2008.

Huck PE., Bodeker GE., Struthers H., McDonald AJ., Hann CE. and Santee ML. (2008) Semi-empirical models for chlorine activation and ozone depletion in the Antarctic stratosphere. Tromso, Norway: Quadrennial Ozone Symposium 2008, 29 Jun-5 Jul 2008.

Geldenhuis A. and McDonald A. (2007) Measuring the Antarctic MLT Gravity Wave Field. Wellington, New Zealand: Antarctica: 50 Years on The Ice, 2-6 Jul 2007.

Hay T., Kreher K., Riedel K., Johnston P., Thomas A. and McDonald A. (2007) Investigation of Bromine Explosion Events in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Vienna, Austria: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, 15-20 Apr 2007.

Huck PE., Tilmes S., Bodeker GE., Randel WJ., McDonald AJ. and Nakajima H. (2007) An improved measure of ozone depletion in the Antarctic stratosphere. Vienna, Austria: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, 15-20 Apr 2007.

Krutzmann N., McDonald A. and George S. (2007) Can Entropy Measures be used to Quantify Mixing in the Antarctic Atmosphere? Wellington, New Zealand: Antarctica: 50 Years on The Ice, 2-6 Jul 2007.

McDonald A. (2007) Initial Comparison of the Arctic and Antarctic Gravity Wave Field in the Stratosphere. Wellington, New Zealand: Antarctica: 50 Years on The Ice, 2-6 Jul 2007.

McDonald AJ., Hooper D., George SE., Huggard P., Ellison B. and Oldfield M. (2007) Simultaneous and co-located MST and Cloud-radar observations. Vienna, Austria: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, 15-20 Apr 2007.

Baumgaertner AJ. and McDonald AJ. (2006) Satellite and ground base Measurements of Wave Interactions above Antarctica. Beijing, China: 36th Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Scientific Assembly, 16-23 Jul 2006.

George S. and McDonald A. (2006) Modelling the effects of a realistic QBO on Antarctic ozone variability. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand: Annual Antarctic Conference 2006, 4-6 Jul 2006.

George S., McDonald A., Baumgartner A. and Fraser G. (2006) Application of the Empirical Mode Decomposition Technique to Scott Base MF radar data. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand: Annual Antarctic Conference 2006, 4-6 Jul 2006.

Discussion/Working Papers

Chu X., Talaat ER., Gardner CS. and McDonald AJ. (2010) A White Paper for National Research Council Heliophysics Decadal Study: Space Lidar Mission to Study Middle and Upper Atmosphere Dynamics and Chemistry. 9pp.

McDonald A. (2008) Facebook in the Classroom: Integration of Online and Classroom Debates into Classes. .

Review and Refereeing

Journal refereeing ( 2001 - 2020)

Referee for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ( 1997 - 2002)

Reviewer for the following journals: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Geophysical Research Letters, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteor ( 2000 - 2005)

Affiliations

American Geophysical Union (AGU) (Professional Organisation): Member