Abi Stone

Dr. Abi Stone is a Reader in Physical Geography at the University of Manchester since 2024, specializing in Quaternary environmental change and dryland systems. She holds expertise in luminescence dating, geoarchaeology, and hydrogeology. Her research focuses on understanding climatic and environmental shifts in deserts and their impacts on human migration, with active projects in the Namib Sand Sea, Saudi Arabia, and the Himalayas. She leads the MERI Earth History, Palaeoenvironments, and Archaeology theme and is affiliated with the Quaternary Environments and Geoarchaeology research groups.

Education: DPhil (2009) in Quaternary Science from the University of Oxford, MSc (2004) from Royal Holloway, and BA (2003) in Geography (1st class) from the University of Oxford.

Administrative Roles: Currently coordinates Postgraduate Research in Physical Geography and has held roles such as MERI Theme Champion and QEG Research Group Convener. External roles include External Examiner for Royal Holloway’s MSc Quaternary Science and the University of Gloucestershire’s BSc Geography.

Research Interests: Interdisciplinary work combining Quaternary science, archaeology, and geomorphology. Key projects include the Leverhulme-funded PANS project studying human occupation in the Namib Sand Sea and collaborations on Saudi Arabian geoarchaeology. Active grants include the WiSH project (INQUA) and Manchester-Melbourne-Toronto initiatives.

Awards: Recognized for teaching excellence with the Innovator of the Year (2019) and Outstanding PGT Dissertation Supervisor (2022). Supervised 4 PhD students and contributed to over 67 research outputs.

Teaching: Convenes courses on Dryland Environments, Geomorphology, and fieldwork in the Pyrenees, while co-teaching advanced modules on environmental governance and decolonizing geography.