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Dr. Nicholas Klingaman
Recent News
- My father, William Klingaman, and I have co-authored a
book on
the "Year Without a Summer" in 1816! You can order it from Amazon in the US or the UK!
- My paper "On the drivers of
inter-annual and decadal rainfall variability in Queensland, Australia" has been published online in the International Journal of Climatology.
- Our collaboration with the Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence has produced a series of five technical reports, one peer-reviewed paper (so far) and a summary brochure aimed at the general public. The collaboration ended successfully in spring 2012.
Introduction
I am a post-doctoral research scientist with the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the Walker Institute at the University of Reading.
Most of my research focuses on tropical climate variability and change. I am particularly interested in the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO), a large area of deep tropical convection and heavy rainfall that moves eastward around the equator every 30-60 days. Clear skies, light winds and dry conditions occur before and after each burst of MJO activity. MJO events usually begin in the Indian Ocean, but as they move around the equator they influence monsoon rainfall in India, southeast Asia, Australia and Africa. Predicting these events is therefore crucial for forecasting the weather in those parts of the world.
I have also worked closely with the Queensland Government to understand the drivers of past rainfall variability in Queensland (northeastern Australia), as well as the likely impacts of climate change on rainfall over the coming decades. Queensland has experienced considerable year-to-year and decade-to-decade changes in its rainfall throughout the past 100 years, so it is critical to understand the causes of these and how they may vary as the world warms.
On this site, you can find out more about my research, learn about the public statements that I have made about my research -- mostly in relation to extreme weather in Australia -- and discover what else I am involved in at the University.
Oh, and if you're interested in my opinions on various climate (and occasionally non-climate) issues, you can follow me on Twitter @nick_klingaman.