Daniel is a research meteorologist who focuses on numerical weather prediction and atmospheric dynamics.  His dissertation research explained the dynamics and climate forcing of foehn winds over the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica.  He continued as a Postgraduate Scientist (2011-2013) and Project Scientist (2013-2019) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), where his primary research involved weather and climate impacts on vector-borne diseases.  He developed a water container energy balance model that can be used to estimate thermal suitability for the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti, and was involved in several mosquito sampling and household survey campaigns in Mexico.  While at NCAR he also participated in research focused on the representation of ENSO effects on rainfall in climate models over Colombia, rainfall processes over the United Arab Emirates, mesoscale meteorological simulations over equatorial Africa for predictive disease modeling, and several atmospheric transport and dispersion studies.

Daniel’s current research involves numerical weather prediction of atmospheric rivers and precipitation over the Western U.S.  This includes model parameter sensitivity studies, near real-time forecasting, production of a 32-year atmospheric reforecast, and production of a 40-year atmospheric reanalysis.  He also works with other CW3E researchers on atmospheric process studies to improve the understanding and predictability of atmospheric rivers across spatial scales.