Dr Graham Wilson | University of Chester

Senior Lecturer, Single Honours Geography Programme Leader and Department Research co-ordinator

Graham is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography in the Division of Humanities, Cultures and Environment. His current areas of responsibility include: BSc Geography Programme leader (2016-present); Global Environmental Change and Hazard Management research group co-ordinator (2016-present); Department / Programme Area research co-ordinator (2017-present); Research Excellent Framework Unit of Assessment 14: Geography and Environmental Studies co-ordinator (2017-present); Ethics committee member (2023-present).

Graham teaches in the area of earth and environmental sciences, specifically: palaeoclimatology; Late Quaternary sea-level change and coastal evolution; limnology and palaeolimnology; palaeoecology; isotope geochemistry; tidal wetlands; blue carbon; environmental contamination. Teaching-related duties and experience includes: programme leadership; undergraduate programme development; securing accreditation status for undergraduate programmes; module development and delivery; multiple module and strand leadership, including final year Dissertation; postgraduate research supervision (M.Res., M.Phil., Ph.D.); external examination of undergraduate programmes; external examination of postgraduate research.

Graham’s research focusses on using sediment deposits to reconstruct past climate and sea-level. He has generated detailed fossil diatom records from European lake sediment sequences to help better resolve abrupt climate change events during glacials and interglacials, and to assess the character and pace of ecosystem response to rapid climate warming at glacial terminations. Exploring the mode and tempo of millennial-scale climate variability under evolving boundary conditions provides insights into tipping points in different parts of the Earth system and can facilitate a more detailed understanding of climate teleconnections and phase relationships between Earth system components. Graham also specialises in stable isotope analysis of lake sediments to reconstruct hydroclimate and sediment provenance, with current research focussed on applying these techniques to generate climate records of the last glacial-interglacial transition in the Durmitor mountains, SE Europe. This interval is the most recent example of rapid warming in the absence of anthropogenic forcing and is characterised by abrupt climate change events thought to involve components of the ocean-cryosphere system crossing critical thresholds, with associated impacts cascading through global climate systems. This research is providing insights into deglacial climate instability in SE Europe and addresses emerging questions about the character of abrupt events and their expression in a region where important atmospheric systems intersect. Graham also has a long-standing interest in sea-level research and led pioneering work into the development and application of stable carbon isotope and element geochemical analysis to reconstruct Holocene sea-level change in tidal marsh environments.

Wilson, G.P., Frogley, M.R., Hughes, P.D., Roucoux, K.H., Margari, V., Jones, T.D., Leng, M.J., Tzedakis, P.C. (2020). Persistent millennial-scale climate vatiability in Southern Europe during Marine Isotope Stage 6. Quaternary Science Advances 3. DOI.10.1016/j.qsa.2020.100016.

Wilson, G.P. (2017). On the application of contemporary bulk sediment organic carbon isotope and geochemical datasets for Holocene sea-level reconstruction in NW Europe. Geocheimica et Cosmochimica Acta 214, 191-208. DOI.10.1016/j.gca.2017.07.038.

Wilson, G.P., Reed, J.M., Frogley, M.R., Hughes, P.D., Tzedakis, P.C. (2015). Reconciling diverse lacustrine and terrestrial system response to penultimate. Geology 43, 818-822. DOI:10.1130/G36807.1.

Wilson, G.P., Frogley, M.R., Roucoux, K.H., Jones, T.D., Leng, M.J., Lawson, I.T., Hughes, P.D. (2013). Limnetic and terrestrial responses to climate change during the onset of the penultimate glacial stage in NW Greece. Global and Planetary Change 107, 213-225. DOI:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.05.015.

Inkpen, R.I., Wilson, G.P. (2013). Science, Philosophy and Physical Geography. Second Edition. Routledge: Oxon. ISBN: 978-0-415-67966-4.

Jones, T.D., Lawson, I.T., Reed, J.M., Wilson, G.P., Leng, M.J., Gierga, M., Bernasconi, S., Smittenberg, R., Hajdas, I., Bryant, C., Tzedakis, P.C. (2013). Diatom-inferred Late Pleistocene and Holocene palaeolimnological changes in the Ioannina basin, northwest Greece. Journal of Paleolimnology49, 185-204. DOI:10.1007/s10933-012-9654x.

Wilson, G.P., Lamb, A.L. (2012). An assessment of the utility of regional diatom-based tidal-level transfer functions. Journal of Quaternary Science 27, 360-370. DOI:10.1002/jqs.1553.

Inkpen, R., Wilson, G.P. (2009). Explaining the past: abductive and Bayesian reasoning. The Holocene 19, 329-334. DOI:10.1177/0959683608100577.

Wilson, G.P., Reed, J.M., Lawson, I.T., Frogley, M.R., Tzedakis, P.C., Preece, R.C. (2008). Diatom response to the last glacial-interglacial transition in the Ioannina basin, northwest Greece: Implications for Mediterranean palaeoclimate reconstruction. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, 428-440. DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.10.013.

Lamb, A.L., Vane, C.H., Wilson, G.P., Rees, J.G., Moss-Hayes, V.L. (2007). Assessing δ13C and C/N ratios from stored organic material as Holocene sea-level and palaeoenvironmental indicators in the Humber Estuary, UK. Marine Geology 244, 109-128. DOI:10.1016/j.margeo.2007.06.012.

Lamb, A.L., Wilson, G.P., Leng, M.J. (2006). A review of coastal palaeoclimate and relative sea-level reconstructions using δ13C and C/N ratios in organic material. Earth-Science Reviews 75, 29-57. DOI:10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.10.003.

Wilson, G., Lamb, A., Leng, M., Gonzalez, S., Huddart, D (2005). Variability of organic δ13C and C/N in the Mersey Estuary, U.K. and its implications for sea-level reconstruction studies. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 64, 685-698. DOI:10.1016/j.ecss.2005.04.003.

Wilson, G., Lamb, A., Leng, M., Gonzalez, S., Huddart, D (2005). δ13C and C/N as potential coastal palaeoenvironmental indicators in the Mersey Estuary, UK. Quaternary Science Reviews 24, 2015-2029. DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.11.014.

Wilson, G., Lamb, A., Gonzales, S., Leng, M., Huddart, D. (2004). The potential of carbon isotope ratios as indicators of coastal palaeoenvironmental change: preliminary results from the Mersey Estuary, North West England. In: R.C. Chiverrell, A.J. PLater, G.S.P. Thomas (eds.), The Quaternary of the Isle of Man and North West England: Field Guide, Quaternary Research Association, London, 217-225.

Wilson, G. (2002). Leash Fen. In: D. Huddart, N.F. Glasser (eds.), Quaternary of Northern England, Geological Conservation Review Series, No. 25, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, 493-499.

PhD (LJMU)
MSc (Liverpool)
BSc (Liverpool)
PgCLTHE (Portsmouth)

Professional Affiliations

Quaternary Research Association
European Geophysical Union
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy