Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · 7d

Not about the archaeology or the former “green corridors”, but for anyone who is interested in the wonderful #NamibSandSea #desert #drylands heres a short 🎦 for you…

youtu.be/AFSbln9uN-4?...

@uomseed.bsky.social @uomhums.bsky.social

"Dunes, diamonds and dust": An invited lecture for the RGS (Royal Geographical Society)

YouTube video by TheAbiStone

youtu.be

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Reposted by Abi Stone

Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk · 8d

Using luminescence dating, @abistone.bsky.social and her colleagues aim to shine a light on a neglected part of Africa’s archaeological record, out in the remote, hyper-arid landscapes of the Namib Sand Sea. @pans-river-namib.bsky.social
👉 media.leverhulme.ac.uk/feature/astone

Dried lakebed in desert landscape, dunes in the distance, dramatic clouds overhead, shrubs in foreground.

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · 8d

Many congratulations Inèz! 🥳

Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · 12d

One to line up for the new intake of #WSPM (Water, Science Policy & Management) MSc students ready for the Climate and Catchment modeuke @oxfordgeography.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1029/2025...

Peak Groundwater: Aquifer‐Scale Limits to Groundwater Withdrawals

Peak Groundwater is the maximum groundwater withdrawal rate from an aquifer followed by reduced withdrawal rates caused by depletion effects Peak Groundwater traces dynamic flow pathways across g...

doi.org

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · 19d

Very cool research by Weaver et al. (2025)

www.nature.com/articles/s43...

Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · 19d

Dinosaurs as #ecosystemengineers !

#biogeomorphology

www.newscientist.com/article/2496...

The death of dinosaurs dramatically re-engineered Earth's landscapes

Changes in rock formations from before and after the mass extinction event 66 million years ago may reflect how dinosaurs acted as ecosystem engineers, shaping vegetation and even the meandering of ri...

www.newscientist.com

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Aug 21

The day before the #UKLum25 conference @standrewssgsd.bsky.social we had a fabulous day working with a fleet of #portableluminescencereaders

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Aug 13

I’m looking forward to the #luminescence community catch-up next week at the conference in St Andrews, and the opportunity talk about the work Shashank is leading on establishing the timing of dune accumulation in the western part of the Thar Desert.

#UKLum2025
@uomseed.bsky.social

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Reposted by Abi Stone

European Space Agency @esa.int · Aug 13

🌎 Tonight, we ushered in a new era of weather and climate monitoring.

EUMETSAT's MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite – which hosts the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission – successfully launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

🔗 www.esa.int/Applications...

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Aug 10

A cold dip and mini rainbows in the sky on holiday in Germany…

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Aug 10

🚨New paper alert

doi.org/10.1017/dry....

Quaternary dryland dynamics: perspectives and prospects | Cambridge Prisms: Drylands | Cambridge Core

Quaternary dryland dynamics: perspectives and prospects - Volume 2

doi.org

Reposted by Abi Stone

British Geological Survey @bgs.ac.uk · Aug 2

It's tempting to pick a spot on the beach near cliffs: they provide shade and wind protection.
But take a look at this pic: can you see the potential risks?

Click here to find the answers, and learn more about beach safety: www.resortdorset.com/features/227...

A painting of a beach scene, with lots of risks taken by people on the beach, including fossil spotting under the cliff, standing at the cliff edge and people ignoring coastal warning signs.

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Reposted by Abi Stone

PANS Namib Sand Sea Project @pans-river-namib.bsky.social · Aug 1

More #FieldworkFriday
The site of Khommabes in the north of the #NamibSandSea, which contains a palimpsest of ESA, MSA & LSA #archaeology

This view looks northeast from a patch of nebkah dunes. Off to the left of the photo is a calcrete-capped interdune pan that used to hold water

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Jul 28

🚨 New paper landing soon.
An invited review for Cambridge Prisms: Drylands (www.cambridge.org/core/journal...) about #Quaternary #dryland dynamics. Some areas of emerging consensus, plus remaining contradictions. A short review (<5,000 words): selective not exhaustive

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Jul 23

And in the afternoon in session 28 #SAfA2025 from Selina Amaral, @matzearch.bsky.social, our work from @pans-river-namib.bsky.social & Heinrich Kurt

#archaeology
#openair
#surfacesites
#lithics
#kalahari
#namib
#MSA
#ESA

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Jul 22

A fascinating morning so far in session 28 #SAfA2025 hearing about the Kgalagadi District: survey, luminescence dating, duricrust formation & lithics from @khoproject.bsky.social members @isotopesrule.bsky.social @taylorgrandfield.bsky.social Inez Faul & Rowena Winterhalder

#lithics
#archaeology

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Jul 21

Many thanks to you to you & all the volunteers for such a friendly welcome at the registration desks!
Aren’t the tote bags a gorgeous colour.
Have a great conference!

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Jul 18

Really looking forward to heading to my first Society of African Archaeologists conference next week, talking about our group’s research out in the Namib Sand Seaz

#SANDS
#PANS
#archaeology
#safaconference2025
#lithics
#NamibSandSea
#EarlierStoneAge
#MiddleStoneAge

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Reposted by Abi Stone

Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk · Jul 7

To mark our 100th anniversary, the Trust Board is pleased to announce the Leverhulme Centenary Awards – a £100 million investment to support pioneering research centres, doctoral scholars and rising academic leaders.

Read more here: www.leverhulme.ac.uk/news/100mill...

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Jul 7

Some excellent news for Monday morning

Professor Anna Vignoles @annavignoles.bsky.social · Jul 7

Big news. @leverhulme.ac.uk are investing £100m in blue skies research and doctoral scholarships, as set out here in @timeshighered.bsky.social

www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ps100-m...

£100 million investment ‘shows confidence’ in blue-sky research

Leverhulme Trust puts more money into UK sector ‘under strain’ to mark centenary year

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Jul 2

#dust #Quaternary over the last 30,000 years with millennial pacing

“variability in proportions of Nn vs. Sn hemisphere sourced dust in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific is indicative of large climate-related meridional shifts (>7°) in the average position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone”

Chris Stringer @chrisbstringer.bsky.social · Jul 2

Millennial pulses of African dust and ITCZ shifts in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Millennial pulses of African dust and ITCZ shifts in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific - Nature Communications

African dust from the Saharan desert makes its way to the Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean in greater proportions during cold millennial pulses of the last deglacial. The pulsing of African-sourced du...

www.nature.com

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · May 6

Fantastic news!
Congratulations & well done everyone. I can’t wait to read it!

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Abi Stone @abistone.bsky.social · Apr 7

The annual fieldclass begins…
@uomseed.bsky.social

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Reposted by Abi Stone

PANS Namib Sand Sea Project @pans-river-namib.bsky.social · Mar 21

Abi Stone is a dryland Quaternary scientist & geochronologist interested in long-term landscape & environmental change, based at @uomseed.bsky.social @uniofmanchester.bsky.social
She's worked in the Namib on & off since ~2005, & range of other deserts.

research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/a...

Abi in the Namib Sand Sea, at the site of Namib IV, sitting on a dune, with the sun setting. She wears a dusty top and is smiling at the camera.

A photo taken looking down at Abi in a geotrench, sampling for luminescence dating. There is an opaque tube in the sediment and a hammer in her right hand. She wears a black cap, shorts and t-shirt.

Abi is operating a Dormer Engineering hand-operated sand auger on a dune flank at Namib IV. She is twisting the auger with a silly look on her face. She wears walking boots and shorts and t-shirt, with sunglasses. The sky is blue and the sand very orange, with tufts of grass less than a meter tall.

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Reposted by Abi Stone

Natalia Jagielska @nataliajagielska.bsky.social · Mar 8

Happy International Women's Day! Despite the efforts, while much more women enter scientific fields, due to numerous factors, few manage to remain in the field or secure senior positions. Support your coworkers, call out harmful systemic behaviour. 😘

"Scissor Graph" showing men overtaking women in proportional representation in sciences after doctorate

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