Professor Douglas Parker

Profile

I am a Meteorologist studying the physics and fluid dynamics of the climate system. My research group investigates the dynamics of weather systems such as cumulonimbus storms, cyclones and monsoons, in the Earth’s changing climate. We conduct observational and theoretical studies to develop new models of these weather patterns, to explain their role in the the global circulation and to explain their impacts. Our work contributes to improving weather and climate predictions, and making these predictions more relevant to society. I have led and participated in a number of field campaigns, in the UK, Africa and India.

Within the University of Leeds I have a joint position between the School of Earth and Environment and the School of Mathematics. From 2010 to 2019 I was responsible for the coordination of the University's formal partnership with the Met Office and I had a secondment to lead the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) Science Group at Leeds from 2021 to 2024. I now have an adjoint position at NORCE-Climate in Bergen (2021-2025).

I have recently led, jointly with Alan Blyth, the GCRF African SWIFT project (2017-2022), which has brought about transdisciplinary solutions to improve weather forecasts in Africa, and thereby to increase the resilience of millions of vulnerable people in the continent to high-impact weather. SWIFT is a consortium of 16 partners, including 10 African universities and agencies, with strong support from the World Meteorological Organisation.

I have played a leading role in the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) programme, 2003-2019. AMMA has been the largest and most extensive multidisciplinary research programme ever conducted in Africa, and arguably the biggest programme of its kind anywhere in the world. I led AMMA-UK, as well as the AMMA Radiosonde Programme (along with Andreas Fink) and the AMMA Monsoon-Season Special Observing Periods (SOPs; together with Cyrille Flamant).

I lead transdisciplinary work to bring the benefits of weather forecasts to society. I have led and edited a textbook on weather forecasting in West Africa. "Meteorology of Tropical West Africa: The Forecasters' Handbook" is the first book of its kind, collecting together the scientific principles and practical forecasting techniques for a particular climatic region. The book has been translated into French and more than 300 copies have been distributed to the forecasting and training centres in Africa, funded by the Met Office and Météo-France.

My work has formed a significant part of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize awarded to the University of Leeds in 2021.

Research interests

My research is concerned with the physics and dynamics of weather systems in Earth’s changing climate. I study the interaction of weather systems with global circulation, their impacts on society, and the development of practical solutions for the use of weather and climate information. For instance, I have studied the way in which rainfall over West Africa leads to patterns of soil moisture which then may initiate and modify subsequent rainfall events and this knowledge has been fed into guidance for weather forecasting in the region. I have also spent time studying different kinds of UK storms, looking at the role of cloud processes in the larger-scale storm dynamics. Much of my work has been conducted in collaboration with the Met Office, and has contributed to improvement in the Met Office's weather and climate forecasting systems. I have worked on a number of research and educational programmes including the following.

Some completed projects:

• GCRF African SWIFT: African Science for Weather Information and Forecasting Techniques (2017-2022);
• African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA);
• AMMA-2050 (DFID-NERC Future Climates for Africa (FCFA) regional project, 2015-2019);
• IMPALA (FCFA project, improving climate models for Africa, 2015-2019);
• VERA (NERC West Africa vegetation/rainfall, 2015-2018);
• INCOMPASS (Indian monsoon campaign 2016, analysis and modelling);
• Convective Storm Initiation Project (CSIP);
• Cascade Cloud-resolving simulations of the tropical atmosphere;
• Ewiem Nimdie - a Partnership for the development of academic programmes in Meteorology and Climate Science at KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana;
• JET2000: Aircraft observations of the African Easterly Jet system

The following list includes some current projects. However, the database is a little unreliable so the list may be incomplete or contain errors.

• African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA)
• Diabatic evolution of clouds in a Lagrangian framework: turbulence, vorticity dynamics and precipitation effects
• JET2000 Project
• Project IMPALA (Improving Model Processes for African cLimAte)
• The African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis for 2050 (AMMA-2050) project: The University of Leeds helps advise on future climate change over West Africa.

Qualifications

• PhD, Meteorology, University of Reading
• MA, Mathematics, University of Cambridge

Professional memberships

• Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society
• Member of the American Meteorological Society

Student education

I have taught a wide range of modules in the School of Earth and Environment at Leeds, including modules in basic Meteorology, Climate and advanced scientific analysis of weather systems. I supervise student projects in the School of Mathematics, including projects related to extreme weather, climate change and climate data analysis.

I have led and taught on various field courses over the years, including our level 1 introductory work and the level 2 atmospheric science course in the Lake District. Together with Sylvester Danuor, I developed a Meteorology and Climate Science summer school in Ghana in 2008: staff and students from Africa, Europe and the USA came together for 2 weeks of lectures, fieldwork and weather forecasting. The event was a remarkable academic experience, repeated in 2010 and 2019.

Research groups and institutes

• Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science
• Atmospheric and Cloud Dynamics
• water@leeds

Current postgraduate researchers

• James Bassford
• Yutong Lu