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Professor Mark New

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• Current Research
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Academic Profile

Mark New is Professor of Climate Science at the School of Geography and Environment, Oxford. Since mid-2011 he has held a joint appointment at the University of Cape Town, where he is Director of the African Climate and Development Initiative. His research focuses on climate change detection, processes, scenarios, impacts and adaptation.

Current Research

In his research on climate change monitoring and detection he has worked on the development of global and regional climate datasets which have underpinned climate impacts assessments and integrated modelling, the detection of climate extremes, and issues around uncertainty and accuracy of climate data.

Trends in the number of dry days over Southern Africa

Cloud trends and dynamics in Andean cloud forests

His work on climate change scenarios includes the UNDP climate change profiles which provide a consistent set of climate scenarios for over fifty developing countries, and scenarios for islands of the Caribbean as part of the CARIBSAVE project; a key interest with regard to scenarios has been approaches to represent uncertainty in future climate.

Observed and future temperature trends for Ghana, from the UNDP country profile

His research on impacts and adaptation has addressed broader adaptation policy issues around high-end climate change and dangerous climate impacts, approaches to adaptation decision making under uncertainty. Much of this work has been applied through the lens of water resource planning, such as in the EPSRC project he leads, ARCC-Water - Adaptive and Resilient Water Systems.

Analysis approach in the ARCC-Water project

Publications

Publications are available to view at ResearchID.com

Research Students

• Jagadishwor Karmacharya (2011 - present)
  The added-value of high resolution regional climate model simulations in the Himalaya.
• Muhammad Rahiz (2010-present)
  Droughts in future climate change in the United Kingdom.
• Gareth Walker (2010 - present)
  Water demand management in the UK.
• Kathryn Clark (2009 - present)
  The role of landslides in the Peruvian Andes in determining forest ecology and carbon transport.
• Kate Halladay (2008 - 2012)
  Climate and Andean montane forests: the role of clouds.
• Nathalie Butt (2007 - 2011)
  Response of Amazon forest species to observed climate change.
• David Stainforth (2008 - 2011)
  Uncertainty and confidence in predictions of climate change.
• Nynke Hofstra (2007 - 2010)
  Changes in daily climate and runoff trends in Europe.
• Gillian Kay (2004 - 2008)
  Mechanisms of southern African rainfall variability in coupled climate models.
• Natasha Kuruppu (2004 - 2009)
  Impacts on water sector adaptation strategies in Kiribati.
• Constantin von der Heyden (2000 - 2004)
  Wetland processes in Zambia.

Selected Research Projects (since 2001)

• Adaptive and Resilient Water Systems (ARCC-Water)
  In collaboration with Dr Fai Fung; Dr Steven Wade,Mr Chris Counsell and Mr Yannick Cesses, HR Wallingford; and Dr Will Medd, Dr Alison Browne and Prof. Elizabeth Shove, Lancaster University; Dr Suraje Dessai and Miss Lan Hoang, Exeter University; Dr Julien Harou and Mr Evgenii Matrosov, UCL; Prof. Rob Wilby, Miss Joanne Parker, Loughborough Universit ; Financial support from EPSRC; D.Phil. Students: Muhammad Rahiz; (2009-2012)
• Cloud mechanisms and dynamics in the Andes
  Financial support from NERC; (2007-2010)
• Tropical Biomes in Transition, TROBIT
  In collaboration with Professor Yadvinder Malhi; Financial support from NERC; (2006-2010)
• Developing County Level Climate Profiles
  In collaboration with Dr Carol McSweeney; Financial support from National Communications Support Programme (NCSP), UN Development Programme; (2008-2009)
• Modelling Climate-Ecosystem Dynamics in the Andes
  In collaboration with Professor Yadvinder Malhi; Dr Toby Marthews; Financial support from Microsoft Research Ltd and Fell Fund; D.Phil. Students: Kate Halladay; (2007-2009)
• Tyndall Centre Program 1: Informing Climate Policy
  Financial support from UK Research Councils; (2006-2009)
• A framework for probabilistic climate change impacts assessment and policy decision-making
  Financial support from Environment Agency and Tyndall Centre; (2006-2009)
• ENSEMBLES: Ensemble-based predictions of climate change and its impacts
  Financial support from European Union Framework Programme 6; (2004-2009)
• Diversity-climate relationships in Amazonia
  Financial support from NERC Tied Studentship; D.Phil. Students: Nathalie Butt; (2004-2007)
• Quantification of uncertainty in regional and local climate change
  Financial support from NERC and Daphne Jackson Trust; (2004-2006)
• High resolution probabilistic climate change impact prediction using GRID and DataGRID Technologies
  Financial support from NERC eScience Studentship; (2003-2006)
• Role of wetlands in ensuring water-security
  Financial support from NERC; (2004-2005)
• Implications of 2°C global warming for the Arctic
  Financial support from WWF Arctic Programme; (2004)
• Climate outlooks and agent-based simulation of adaptation in Africa
  Financial support from Tyndall Centre; (2002-2004)
• Lapse-rate variations in the observational record
  Financial support from Max Planck Institute; (2003)
• Reconstruction of oceanic precipitation
  Financial support from NERC; (2002-2003)
• Climate data reconstruction for continental shelf areas
  Financial support from Max Planck Institute; (2001-2003)
• Skye Visiting Research Fellow
  Financial support from University of Cape Town; (1999-2003)
• Observed climate data for the World Water and Climate Atlas
  Financial support from International Water Management Institute; (1998-2001)

Teaching

Postgraduate Teaching

• MSc in Water Science Policy and Management Core Courses - lectures on "Climate and Catchment Processes"