Shelley MacDonell

PhD University of Otago
BSc (Hons. I) University of Otago

I am a mountain hydrologist who focuses on understanding the impact of climate change on mountain and polar catchment systems. I use a mixed methods approach (field, laboratory, and modelling) to reduce uncertainties in the estimation of water production and delivery from catchment headwaters. My research aims to address:

• What is driving cryosphere change in mountain systems?

• How does the cryosphere impact the hydrological system?

• How will mountain catchments respond to future change?

I also maintain links with the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), La Serena, Chile, as an Adjunct Researcher.

Selected Recent Publications

• Navarro, G., MacDonell, S., Valois, R. (2023) A conceptual hydrological model of semiarid Andean headwater systems in Chile. Progress in Physical Geography. doi: 10.1177/03091333221147

• Yáñez San Francisco, E., Pascual Aguilar, J.A., MacDonell, S. (2023) Hydrological response of a headwater catchment in the semi-arid Andes (30°S) to climate change. Journal of Water and Climate Change. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2023.268

• MacDonell S, Núñez Farías P, Aliste V, et al. (2022) Snow and ice in the desert: reflections from a decade of connecting cryospheric science with communities in the semiarid Chilean Andes. Annals of Glaciology. doi:10.1017/aog.2023.51

• Schauwecker, S., Palma, G., MacDonell, S., Ayala, A., Viale, M. (2022) The snowline and 0°C isotherm altitudes during precipitation events in the dry subtropical Chilean Andes as seen by citizen science, surface stations and ERA5 reanalysis data. Frontiers in Earth Science doi: 10.3389/feart.2022.875795.

• Schaffer, N. MacDonell, S. (2022) Brief communication: A framework to classify glaciers for water resource evaluation and management in the Southern Andes. The Cryosphere doi: 10.5194/tc-16-1779-2022.

• Robson, B.A., MacDonell, S., Ayala, A., Bolch, T., Nielsen, PR., Vivero, S. (2022) Glacier and rock glacier changes since the 1950s in the La Laguna catchment, Chile. The Cryosphere, 16: 647-665. doi: 10.5194/tc-16-647-202
  

External Links

Google scholar profile
University of Canterbury

My research is both collaborative and interdisciplinary in nature, and sits at the interface between glaciology and hydrology. It has direct connection with diverse stakeholders within catchments, involves participatory science and has produced demonstrated impacts for water and environmental planning, management and policy. Key themes and related selected publications (last 5 years) include:

• Meltwater generation of snow and ice in cryosphere fed regions (Conway et al., 2022; Marambio et al., 2022; Voordendag et al., 2021; Cordero et al., 2021; Réveillet et al., 2020; Kinnard et al., 2020).

• Role of rock glaciers in arid regions (De Pasquale et al., 2022; Robson et al., 2022; Vivero et al., 2021; Robson et al., 2020; Schaffer et al., 2019);

• Semiarid catchment hydrological connectivity (Schauwecker et al., 2022; Schaffer and MacDonell, 2022; Valois et al., 2021; Mendoza et al., 2020; Valois et al., 2020a, 2020b; Masiokas et al., 2020; Burger et al., 2019; );

• Polar glaciology (MacDonell et al., 2021; Fernandoy et al., 2018).

Selected Current Research Projects

• Snow Water Equivalent Estimation – a new operational Tool for water resources decision-making in the Coquimbo Region (SWEET-Coquimbo). ANID – Chilean Science Agency, 2022-2024.

• Compound and cascading climate extremes in Chile. ANID – Chilean Science Agency, 2022-2025. (Co-PI)

• Research Programme for Climate Action Planning (CLAP) – Mountain landscapes leader. ANID – Chilean Science Agency, 2020-2025.

Publication Record

Google scholar profile
University of Canterbury, School of Earth and Environment Faculty webpage

I have principally taught hydrological and glaciological sciences for the past 15 years. In my teaching roles, I use innovative modes of delivery and case studies to encourage students to become self-motivated, critical learners. I have taught in both Chile and NZ, and led short professional courses in Chile. At the Waterways Centre I currently coordinate and/or contribute to the following courses:

• WATR201 Freshwater Resources

• WATR410 Catchment Systems

• WATR412 Hydrological Extremes

• WATR691 Water Science and Management Project

I also regularly give invited lectures to postgraduate programmes at the University of La Serena and the University of Chile, Chile.

I have supervised nine postdoctoral fellows, two doctoral students and several masters’ and undergraduate students in Chile and Aotearoa New Zealand. I maintain strong links with the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA) in Chile. I am often looking for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who have strong academic backgrounds in Earth and/or environmental sciences who are curious, passionate and creative thinkers, generally with an interest in field-based research.

My current lab group is working across a wide range of glaciological and hydrological science projects, including:

Postdoctoral Researchers

• Gonzalo Navarro (CEAZA): Research Programme for Climate Action Planning (CLAP)

Graduate Students

• Sunil Tamang (PhD, Waterways, Senior Supervisor): Trustworthiness and Ground-Truthing of Machine Learning Approach for Regional Scale Rock Glacier Inventories

• Pablo Fuchs (PhD, Geography, Co-Supervisor): Spatiotemporal analysis of changes in albedo due to light-absorbing impurities of glacier surfaces

• Pauline Barras (PhD, Antarctic Science, Co-Supervisor): Assessment of pack ice characteristics and sea ice mass balance in the Western Ross Sea based on remote sensing and geophysical data

• Ciara Espiner (PhD, Water Resource Management, Co-Supervisor): Large wood additions in New Zealand rivers: Implications for freshwater ecosystem recovery and restoration practice 

• Ella Farrugia (MSc Environmental Science, Senior Supervisor): Using a storyline approach to assess the impact of climate change on the hydrological processes of the Broken River catchment

• Jack McMecking (MSc WSM, Senior Supervisor): Chasing storms: tracking event flow in an alpine catchment

• Eduardo Yáñez (Master's, University of Magallanes, Chile): Modeling of High Mountain Glacio-Hydrological Processes in the Semiarid Andes of Chile (30°S)

Recently finished:

• Zane Shadbolt (MWaterRM, Waterways, Senior Supervisor, finished 2024): Splitting streamflow in the Broken River Basin

• Aimee Calkin (MWaterRM, Waterways, Co-supervisor, finished 2024): National Survey of Encroachment into the Forgotten Land of Braided Rivers

• Gonzalo Navarro (Doctorate, University of La Serena, Chile, Senior Supervisor, finished 2024): The effect of the internal structure of a glacier on hydrological routing

• Marcelo Marrambio (Doctorate, University of La Serena, Senior Supervisor, finished 2023): Prediction of mass and energy flows inside an ice shelf using local numerical models

• Camilo Guzmán (Master's, University of La Serena, Senior Supervisor, finished 2023): Ruonff characterisation in a semiarid Andean basin during drought years

• James Manning (MWaterRM, Waterways, Co-supervisor, finished 2023): Groundwater surface water interaction in a coastal lowland stream : Ōtūkaikino Creek, Ōtautahi/Christchurch