Newcastle University

Background

Main current area of research involves assessing the impacts of land use/management change on flooding using novel information tracking methodologies.

Qualifications

PhD, Information Tracking For Flood Impact of Land Use and Management Change (Newcastle University)
MSc, Engineering Hydrology (Newcastle University)
MSc, Information Processing (University of York)

Previous Positions

Visting Research Scholar (University of Washington, US)

Research Interests

Hydrological modelling; impacts of land use/management change on flooding;information tracking for hydrological impact assessment; macroscale hydrological modelling; use of satellite altimetry data to predict river stage

Current Work

NERC-FREE(NE/F001134/1): Land Use Management Effects in Extreme Floods
Assess how the hydrological effects of rural land use management propagate from the local scale (~ 1 ha, and below) to the mesoscale (~ 100 km²) and affect extreme floods.

EPSRC-FRMRC2 (EP/FO20511/1): SWP5 Land Use Management
Development of source-pathway-receptor information tracking methodology for estimation of extreme flood impact and vulnerability to land use change.

Global Capability Assessment of Satellite Radar Altimetry (ESA)
Quantifying the potential of using altimetric stage to infer discharge.

Postgraduate Supervision

Alex Nicholson, "Development of an On-Farm Runoff Storage and Hydraulic Network Routing Model to Simulate Mitigation Effects on Downstream Flooding" (start: Sept 2009).

Industrial Relevance

Defra/EA R&D programmes

• FD2114: Review of impacts of rural land use and management on flood generation

• Parkin G; O'Donnell GM; Ewen J; Bathurst JC; O'Connell PE. Validation of SHETRAN UK for a Mediterranean Catchment. 2002.

Postgraduate Teaching

Contribute to Continued Professional Development Courses in "Integrated River Basin Management" and "Real Time Flood Forecasting and Warning Systems".

• Birkinshaw SJ, Moore P, Kilsby CG, O'Donnell GM, Hardy AJ, Berry PAM. Daily discharge estimation at ungauged river sites using remote sensing. Hydrological Processes 2013, (epub ahead of print).
• Ewen J, O'Donnell G. Prediction intervals for rainfall–runoff models: Raw error method and split-sample validation. Hydrology Research 2013, (epub ahead of print).
• Ewen J, O'Donnell G, Bulygina N, Ballard C, O'Connell E. Towards understanding links between rural land management and the catchment flood hydrograph. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 2013, 139(671), 350-357.
• Bulygina N, Ballard C, McIntyre N, O'Donnell G, Wheater H. Integrating different types of information into hydrological model parameter estimation: Application to ungauged catchments and land use scenario analysis. Water Resources Research 2012, 48, W06519.
• Ewen J, O'Connell E, Bathurst J, Birkinshaw SJ, Kilsby C, Parkin G, O'Donnell G. Physically-based modelling, uncertainty, and pragmatism – Comment on: ‘Système Hydrologique Europeén (SHE): review and perspectives after 30 years development in distributed physically-based hydrological modelling’ by Jens Christian Refsgaard, Børge Storm and Thomas Clausen. Hydrology Research 2012, 43(6), 945-947.
• Nicholson AR, Wilkinson ME, O'Donnell GM, Quinn PF. Runoff attenuation features: a sustainable floodmitigation strategy in the Belford catchment, UK. Area 2012, 4(4), 463-469.
• O'Donnell G, Ewen J, O'Connell PE. Sensitivity maps for impacts of land management on an extreme flood in the Hodder catchment, UK. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 2011, 36(13), 630–637.
• O'Connell PE, Ewen J, O'Donnell G. Strategic Overview of Land Use Management in the Context of Catchment Flood Risk Management Planning. In: Pender, G., Faulkner, H, ed. Flood Risk Science and Management. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, pp.19-38.
• O'Connell E, Blenkinsop S, O'Donnell G, Hall J. Evaluating strategies for adaptation investment in a highly variable climate. In: BHS Third International Symposium:Role of Hydrology in Managing Consequences of a Changing Global Environment. 2010, Newcastle upon Tyne.
• Ewen J, Geris J, O'Donnell G, Mayes W, O'Connell E. Multiscale Experimentation, Monitoring and Analysis of Long-term Land Use Changes and Flood Risk - SC060092: Final Science Report. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, 2010. SC060092.
• Birkinshaw SJ, O'Donnell GM, Moore P, Kilsby CG, Fowler HJ, Berry PAM. Using satellite altimetry data to augment flow estimation techniques on the Mekong River. Hydrological Processes 2010, 24(26), 3811-3825.
• Beven K, Young P, Romanowicz R, O'Connell E, Ewen J, O'Donnell GM, Holman I, Posthumus H, Morris J, Hollis J, Rose S, Lamb R, Archer D. Analysis of historical data sets to look for impacts of land use and management change on flood generation. 2008. Defra project FD2120.
• O'Donnell GM, Geris J, Mayes WM, Ewen J, O'Connell PE. Multiscale experimentation, monitoring and analysis of long-term land use changes and flood risk. In: 10th National British Hydrological Society Symposium. 2008, Exeter, UK.
• O'Connell PE, Ewen J, O'Donnell GM, Quinn PF. Is there a link between agricultural land-use management and flooding?. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 2007, 11(1), 96-107.
• Ewen J, O'Donnell GM, Burton A, O'Connell PE. Errors and uncertainty in physically-based rainfall-runoff modelling of catchment change effects. Journal of Hydrology 2006, 330(3-4), 641-650.
• O'Connell PE, Beven K, Carney J, Clements R, Ewen J, Harris G, Hollis J, Morris J, O'Donnell GM, Packman J, Parkin A, Quinn PF, Shepherd M. Impacts of land use management on flood generation: the current state of knowledge. In: 40th Defra Flood and Coastal Management Conference. 2005, York, UK.
• O'Connell PE, Beven KJ, Carney JN, Clements RO, Ewen J, Fowler H, Harris GL, Hollis J, Morris J, O'Donnell GM, Packman JC, Parkin A, Quinn PF, Rose SC, Shepherd M, Tellier S. Review of impacts of rural land use and management on flood generation: Impact study report. London: Defra / Environment Agency, 2004. FD2114/TR.
• O'Connell PE, Beven KJ, Carney JN, Clements RO, Ewen J, Hollis J, Morris J, O'Donnell GM, Packman JC, Parkin A, Quinn PF, Rose SC, Shepherd M. Review of impacts of rural land use and management on flood generation: Research plan. London: Defra Flood Management Division, 2004. Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs FD2114/PR1.
• Parkin G, O'Donnell GM, Ewen J, Bathurst JC, O'Connell PE. Validation of SHETRAN UK for a Mediterranean Catchment. 2002. NIREX Radioactive Waste Disposal: Safety Studies NSS/R378.
• Maurer EP, O'Donnell GM, Lettenmaier DP, Roads JO. Evaluation of the land surface water budget in NCEP/NCAR and NCEP/DOE reanalyses using an off-line hydrologic model. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 2001, 106(D16), 17841-17862.
• Nijssen B, O'Donnell GM, Hamlet AF, Lettenmaier DP. Hydrologic sensitivity of global rivers to climate change. Climate Change 2001, 50(1/2), 143-175.
• Nijssen B, O'Donnell GM, Lettenmaier DP, Lohmann D, Wood EF. Predicting the discharge of global rivers. Journal of Climate 2001, 14(15), 3307-3323.
• Rhoads J, Dubayah R, Lettenmaier D, O'Donnell G, Lakshmi V. Validation of land surface models using satellite-derived surface temperature. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres 2001, 106(17), 20085-20099.
• Matheussen B, Kirschbaum RL, Goodman IA, O'Donnell GM, Lettenmaier DP. Effects of land cover change on streamflow in the interior Columbia River Basin (USA and Canada). Hydrological Processes 2000, 14(5), 867-885.
• O'Donnell GM, Czajkowski KP, Dubayah RO, Lettenmaier DP. Macroscale hydrological modeling using remotely sensed inputs: Application to the Ohio River basin. Journals of Geophysical Research: Atmosheres 2000, 105(10), 12499-12516.
• Parkin G, Anderton SP, Ewen J, O'Donnell GM, Thorne MC, Crossland IG. A physically based approach to modelling radionuclide transport in the biosphere. Journal of Radiological Protection 1999, 19(4), 319-331.
• O'Donnell GM, Nijssen B, Lettenmaier DP. A simple algorithm for generating streamflow networks for grid-based, macroscale hydrological models. Hydrological Processes 1999, 13(8), 1269-1275.
• Ewen J, O'Donnell GM. Interpacket diffusion in SAMP model for water and solute movement in unsaturated soil. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 1997, 1(4), 905-914.
• Ewen J, O'Donnell GM. Interpacket diffusion in SAMP model for water and solute movement in unsaturated soil. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 1997, 1, 905-914.
• Parkin G, O'Donnell GM, Ewen J, Bathurst JC, O'Connell PE, Lavabre J. Validation of catchment models for predicting land-use and climate change impacts .2. Case study for a Mediterranean catchment. Journal of Hydrology 1996, 175(1-4), 595-613.