I am an Associate Professor in Quaternary Environmental Change in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds.
My research focuses on past, present and future sea-level and climate change. I have strong track-record in developing records of past sea level to understand the magnitude, timing and driving mechanisms of relative sea-level changes over a range of timescales.
My current research particularly focuses on sea level during interglacial periods, where I am aiming to establish high-precision reconstructions of sea-level change from temperate latitudes, which will in turn help improve predictions of future coastal response and ice-sheet mass-balance changes. My wider research interest is the driving mechanisms of change, in particular that associated with ice sheets, climate and large earthquakes, with the aim of understanding future hazards. I am interested in the applied, as well as blue-skies, nature of this research.
Prior to my current positions at Leeds, I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate and Temporary Lecturer at Durham University. I also studied for my PhD and undergraduate degree in Geography (BSc, first class) at Durham. I have received research funding from the European Research Council, the USGS National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Programme and NERC, as well as extensive travel funding from the likes of the Quaternary Research Association and INQUA. I have a growing team of research postgraduates who I work with, specializing in sea-level change, sub-marine landscapes, sediment mobility and novel geophysical techniques. We are particularly applying these techniques to datasets from the offshore wind industry.
In addition to my research I am a co-leader of PALSEA, an international working which brings together observational scientists and ice-sheet, climate, and sea-level modelers in order to better define observational constraints on past sea-level change and improve our understanding of ice-sheet responses to rapid climate change. I also co-founded and lead the Leeds Quaternary group in the Faculty of Environment. I was awarded the 2019 QRA Lewis Penny Medal as a young research worker who has made a significant contribution to the Quaternary stratigraphy of the British Isles and its maritime environment.
Outside of work, I can be found walking, mountain biking, kayaking and camping my way round the country.
Sea-level research 