Meet the RISeR team: Graham Rush

My name is Graham Rush and I have recently joined the RISeR team at the University of Leeds as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Quaternary Foraminifera. My role will be mainly focussed on studying the foraminifera that are found in the North Sea core samples. Foraminifera are an excellent proxy for the water depth of an inter-tidal environment, and I will be studying the assemblages of these microfossils to help reconstruct sea level and contribute to quantifying the rates of sea-level change for the Last Interglacial.

Prior to joining the team at Leeds, I was a PhD student at the University of York. I applied similar techniques to measure the rapid sea-level rise that occurred around 8,500 years ago and from this was able to provide better understanding about the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and its role in driving past climate change. As with the RISeR project the work was provided important understanding of the possible future fate of Ice Sheets and sea levels around the Earth.

I returned to education having left school to become a professional footballer and then a plasterer. My work eventually took me to work at Halley Research Station in Antarctica. This, along with much travelling, including cycling from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires, fired a curiosity and passion for studying and teaching geography. I have since completed a BSc in Geography and an MSc in Applied Ecology at the University of Gloucestershire and worked as a GIS technician at the British Antarctic Survey and an Associate Lecturer at the University of York.

I’m excited to continue following my passion as part of the RISeR project and in my spare time, where as a keen runner and mountaineer I can normally be found exploring the outdoors.