I am interested in dryland (desert) environments, and their interaction with climate. I investigate these climatic changes by studying the landscape (dryland geomorphology), sediments (sands and carbonates), and ground water chemistry (hydrogeology) and through applying luminescence dating and U-Th dating as geochronological methods. I am currently working with international teams:

(i) to provide a chronology and environmental reconstruction for early Hominin adaptations in arid landscapes of the Namib desert (George Leader - The College of New Jersey, USA, Ted Marks -Iowa, USA, Rachel Bynoe - University of Southampton, Dominic Stratford - University of the Witwatersand, South Africa, Kaarina Esfraim - National Museum of Namibia, Eugene Marais - Gobabeb Research Institute, Namibia, Rachel Smedley - University of Liverpool)

(ii) to provide a new chronology for key archaeological sites in the Mokopane region, Limpopo, South Africa (Partrick Randolph-Quinney - Northumberland, Anthony Sinclair - Liverpool, Simon Armitage - Royal Holloway University of London)

(iii) to develop the utility of the portable luminescence reader (Mark Bateman -Sheffied, David Sanderson - Glasgow),

(iv) to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment and climate (using tufa) of western Saudi Arabia associated with stone age lithic technology (Robyn Inglis - York, Anthony Sinclair - Liverpool, Diana Sahy - BGS, Abdullah Alsharekh - King Saud University Saudi Arabia),

(v) to explore the use of chemical tracers as novel proxies for environmental change (hydrostratigraphies) and records of groundwater recharge and quality (Yijian Zeng - Utwente, Netherlands; Lianyu Yu - Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, China; Martine van der Ploeg - Wageningen, Netherlands; Heike Wanke - University of the West of England; Andi Smith - BGS). 

At the University of Manchester I teach on the MSc in Environmental Change and Reconstruction, in the core module about Straigraphy and Geochronology. I convene a third year (and MSc) option module about Dryland Environments, a second year option in Geomorphology and contribute to Physical Geography teaching at second year in Quaternary Science and Overseas Fieldwork and within the first year programme (Dynamic Earth core module). I also contribute to cross-disciplinary courses (Decolonising Geographies at third year and Environmental Governance and Geographies of Outer Space for the MSc in Environmental Governance). 

Postgraduate opportunties

I welcome applications from prospective PhD students in any area of: 

1. Quaternary drylands landscape dynamics.

2. Geoarchaeology within Southern Africa and Saudi Arabia.

3. Developments within luminescence dating of sediments, particularly pairing the portable luminescence (field) reader with laboratory analysis.

4. Use of U-Th dating for carbonates. 

 Please contact me to have a converstation. 

Please see these SEED webpages for futher information about funding opportunities and applications.

Current and former PhD students

2022-current: Shashank Nitundil (University of Manchester) Past glaciations and palaeoenvironmental conditions in eastern Himalayas.

2022-current: Sepehr Akhavan Kharazian (joint University of Melbourne and University of Manchester) 

2017-2022: Sandra Gomes (University of Manchester) High-resolution records at the coastal margin of Portugal to investiage Heinrich Events. 

2015-2019: Michelle Lanzoni (University of Oxford) Rain events and recharge processes in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. 

Advisory board

2012-2017: Alexandra Rowell (University of Oxford) Enhancing palaeoenvironmental records through analyiss of Late Quaternary Sand Ramps. 

Abi Stone is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of Manchester with expertise in Quaternary environmental change, geochronology, hydrogeology and geomorphology in dryland environments. She has long been intrigued by how the environment operates, and with a surname like ‘Stone’ it was difficult to avoid a career path involving geography. Abi's undergraduate degree was a BA in Geography at the University of Oxford, graduating with a First Class Honours in 2003. Having become fascinated by past climate, environmental change and glowing sand grains (luminescence dating) she then moved to Royal Holloway, University of London to undertake an MSc in Quaternary Science (awarded with Distinction in 2004). Abi's doctoral research investigated sand dunes, relict fluvial systems and carbonate tufa deposits in Namibia as proxies for Quaternary environmental change (awarded in 2009 from the University of Oxford). She remained at the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford undertaking post-doctoral research on palaeoenvironmental change in the Kalahari Desert and Namib Sand Sea and working for Prof. Heather Viles and English Heritage on soft wall capping to preserve built stone heritage. From 2007 to 2011 Abi taught undergraduate geography as a Stipendiary Lecturer across a number of colleges. She was an Early Career Fellow at St John’s College, University of Oxford from 2011 to 2014 and from 2012 concurrently an MSc Teaching Fellow for the Water Science, Policy and Management MSc (for which she still contributes as an invited guest lecturer).

Professional 

• 2018 - present: Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, University of Manchester.
• 2015 - 2018: Lecturer in Physical Geography, University of Manchester.
• 2012 - 2014: Early Career Fellow in Physical Geography and MSc Teaching Fellow (St John's College and School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford). 
• 2011 - 2012: Senior Stipendiary Lecturer in Physical Geography (University of Oxford). 
• 2009 - 2011: Post-doctoral research assistant and tutor (part-time) (University of Oxford). 

Educational 

• 2005-2009: DPhil Geography, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. 
• 2003-2004: MSc Quaternary Science, Royal Holloway University of London.
• 2000-2003: BA (MA) Geography chool of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. 

Administrative duties - University of Manchester

• MERI Earth History Palaeoenvironments and Archaeology Theme Champion (2018 - present) 
• QEG Research Group Convener (2017 - present) 
• First Year Adviser/ Year Group Leader (2016 - present) (2019 awarded innovator of the year for 2018-2019 Peer Support Programme) 
• Co-director of Undergraduate Admissions for Geography (2015-2016)

Administrative duties - External 

• External Examner for MSc Quaternary Science, Royal Holloway University of London (2022- )
• External Examiner for BSc Geography, Univeristy of Gloucestershire (2017-2021) 
• Executive Committee Member and Editor of the QN for the QRA (Quaternary Research Association) (2016-2020)
• Secretary of SASQUA (South African Quaternary Research Association) (2017-2019) 

My research interests are interdisciplinary, at the interface of Quaternary science (palaeoclimatology and geochronology),  geomorphology, geoarchaeology and hydrogeology. I am interested in understanding the nature and impacts of past hydroclimatic and environmental change and the mechanisms of global climate forcing, with a focus on deserts and drylands over timescales of glacial-interglacial cycles down to recent decades. I am particularly interested in how shifts in hydroclimate and landscape are connected with hominin occupation and migration during the past few hundred thousand years. 

My current, and recent, research projects:

(i) provide a chronology and environmental reconstruction for early Hominin adaptations in arid landscapes of the Namib desert (George Leader - The College of New Jersey, USA Ted Marks -Iowa, USA, Rachel Bynoe - University of Southampton, Dominic Stratford - University of the Witwatersand, South Africa, Kaarina Efraim - National Museum of Namibia, Eugene Marais - Gobabeb Research Institute, Namibia, Rachel Smedley - University of Liverpool);

(ii) provide a new chronology for key archaeological sites in the Mokopane region, Limpopo, South Africa (Partrick Randolph-Quinney - Northumberland, Anthony Sinclair - Liverpool, Simon Armitage - Royal Holloway University of London)

(iii) develop the utility of the portable luminescence reader (Mark Bateman -Sheffied, David Sanderson - Glasgow),

(iv) reconstruct the palaeoenvironment and climate (using tufa) within western Saudi Arabia associated with stone age lithic technology (Robyn Inglis - York, Anthony Sinclair - Liverpool, Diana Sahy - BGS, Abdullah Alsharekh - King Saud University Saudi Arabia),

(v) explore the use of chemical tracers as novel proxies for environmental change (hydrostratigraphies) and records of groundwater recharge and quality (Yijian Zeng - Utwente, Netherlands; Lianyu Yu - Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, China; Martine van der Ploeg - Wadeningen, Netherlands; Heike Wanke - University of the West of England, UK;  Andi Smith - BGS, ). 

Active Grants

• 2023: PI on A southern-hemisphere perspective on human-environment relations along desert margins (Co-I Jan-Hendrik May, University of Melbourne). The Manchester-Melbourne-Toronto Research Fund. 
• 2023: Co-I on Reconstructing monsoon dynamics in Arunachal Pradesh, Eastern Himalaya from glacial and ecological change (PI Chris Darvill, Co-Is, Shashank Nitundil, Phil Hughes). Walters Kundert Fellowship, RGS with IBG. 
• 2022-2023 Pushing the frontiers of age control for dune activity and migration in the Thar Desert, India. SEED New Horizons Fund
• 2022-2023: Early Hominin adaptions in arid landscapes of the Namib desert SEED New Horizons Fund
• 2022-2023: Reconstructing the palaeoenvironment of the geoarchaeologically important Mokopane region, South Africa Faculty of Humanities Research Recovery Funds
• 2022-2023: I am one of the Community of Practice Academics within Cottonopolis: lessons for environmental science through the hidden histories of Manchester UKRI (Aditya Ramesh, P-I, History UoM, Chris Jackson, Co-I, DEES UoM, Ali Browne, Co-I, Geography UoM, Mark Usher, Co-I, Geography UoM, Polyanna Da Conceicao, Co-I, Geography, UoM, Jenna Ashton, Co-I, Art History and Cultural Practices, UoM).

Completed Grants

• 2019-2022: Stable isotopic signatures from tufa carbonates: Providing environmental context for Palaeolithic archaeology and palaeorainfall composition data to validate climate. International Association for the Study of Arabia. 
• 2017-2020: U-Th and 40Ar/39Ar Dating of Palaeolithic Landscapes at Wadi Dabsa, southwest Saudi Arabia. NERC Isotope Geosciences Facility as grant-in-kind funding IP-1739-0517 (£97,000).
• 2016-2018: Nitrate beneath the surface in drylands. NERC Isotope Geosciences Facilility as grant-in-kind funding IP-1542-0515 (£39,500). 
• 2015-2016: Dryland nitrate proof-of-concept study. RISF, SEED, UoM (£4,951).
• 2013-2014: Rainfall in the Desert Sand: First application of chemical tracers within Kalahari dunes to investigate hydroclimatic change and rates of groundwater recharge to the Stampriet Aquifer. Quaternary Research Association and John Fell OUP Research Fund 103/931 (total £6,100).
• 2011: Groundwater recharge and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the Kalahari. British Society for Geomorphology Small Research Grant (£2,000).
• 2010 (postponed to 2011): Rainfall in the Desert Sand. Thesiger-Oman International Fellowship from the Royal Geographical Society (£8,000). 

Involvement as named contributing research expert

•  2016-2018: SURFACE: Human-Landscape-Interactions and Global Dispersal: The Surface Record of Palaeolithic Arabia. EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Marie-Curie grant agreement No. 660343. 

Year 1

Pre registration field-course to Keswick 

GEOG 10422 - Dynamic Earth (Lecturer)

Year 2 

GEOG 21431 - Quaternary Climates and Landscapes (Lecturer)                    

GEOG 21512 - Geomorphology (Convener)

GEOG 20072 - Overseas Fieldcourse: Pyrenees and Ebro Basin (Lecturer)

Year 3

GEOG 30531 - Dryland Environments: past, present and future (Convenor) 

GEOG 31011 - Decolonising Geography (Lecturer) 

Postgraduate

GEOG 60111 Environmental Change & Reconstruction 1: Concepts in Stratigraphy and Geochronology

GEOG 60531 - Dryland Environments: past, present and future (Convenor) 

GEOG 60982 - Environmental Governance and Geographies of Outer Space (Lecturer)