Staff profile

I am a Professor in the Geography Department. My research is focused upon reconstructing Holocene and recent sea-level changes using microfossil-based reconstruction methods, in order to answer questions of ice sheet history, crustal response to surface loading and predictions of future sea-level change in vulnerable coastal areas. I’m currently involved in research looking at sea-level changes over the last millennia in Greenland and what they can tell us about the changing mass-balance history of the Greenland Ice Sheet over the recent past and over longer timescales. I also work on sea-level records from key locations far from the centres of former glaciation (e.g. Indian Ocean, Australia, South Africa) which provide information on the long-term melting histories of the large ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. My particular area of expertise is the development and application of sediment and microfossil-based methodologies in reconstructing sea-level change. My research aims to enhance accuracy and precision of sea-level reconstructions and to allow development of sea-level records from historically poorly studied locations such as low and high latitudes.

Chapter in book

• Reference water level and tidal datum
  Woodroffe, S., & Barlow, N. (2015). Reference water level and tidal datum. In I. Shennan, A. Long, & B. Horton (Eds.), Handbook of sea level research. Wiley
• Late Quaternary Sea-level Changes in Greenland.
  Woodroffe, S., & Long, A. (2012). Late Quaternary Sea-level Changes in Greenland. In S. Elias (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, 2nd edition. Elsevier

Journal Article

• On the varied impact of the Storegga tsunami in northwest Scotland
  Woodroffe, S. A., Hill, J., Bustamante‐Fernandez, E., Lloyd, J. M., Luff, J., Richards, S., & Shennan, I. (online). On the varied impact of the Storegga tsunami in northwest Scotland. Journal of Quaternary Science, 38(8), 1219-1232. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3539
• The importance of diatoms for understanding subduction zone earthquakes in Alaska
  Summers, G., Engelhart, S., & Woodroffe, S. (2024). The importance of diatoms for understanding subduction zone earthquakes in Alaska. PAGES Magazine, 32(1), 24-25. https://doi.org/10.22498/pages.32.1.24
• Timescales of glacial isostatic adjustment in Greenland: is transient rheology required?
  Pan, L., Mitrovica, J. X., Milne, G. A., Hoggard, M. J., & Woodroffe, S. A. (2024). Timescales of glacial isostatic adjustment in Greenland: is transient rheology required?. Geophysical Journal International, 237(2), 989-995. https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggae095
• GEORGIA: A Graph Neural Network Based EmulatOR for Glacial Isostatic Adjustment
  Lin, Y., Whitehouse, P. L., Valentine, A. P., & Woodroffe, S. A. (2023). GEORGIA: A Graph Neural Network Based EmulatOR for Glacial Isostatic Adjustment. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(18), https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl103672
• Stratigraphic evidence of relative sea level changes produced by megathrust earthquakes in the Jalisco subduction zone, Mexico. The signature of the 1995 Colima-Jalisco earthquake (Mw 8) as a modern analogue
  Bustamante Fernandez, E., Woodroffe, S., Lloyd, J. M., & Shennan, I. (2023). Stratigraphic evidence of relative sea level changes produced by megathrust earthquakes in the Jalisco subduction zone, Mexico. The signature of the 1995 Colima-Jalisco earthquake (Mw 8) as a modern analogue. Marine Geology, 463, Article 107100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2023.107100
• Missing sea level rise in southeastern Greenland during and since the Little Ice Age
  Woodroffe, S. A., Wake, L. M., Kjeldsen, K. K., Barlow, N. L. M., Long, A. J., & Kjær, K. H. (2023). Missing sea level rise in southeastern Greenland during and since the Little Ice Age. Climate of the Past, 19(8), 1585-1606. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1585-2023
• Relative sea level response to mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sediment loading along the Great Barrier Reef margin
  Lin, Y., Whitehouse, P. L., Hibbert, F. D., Woodroffe, S. A., Hinestrosa, G., & Webster, J. M. (2023). Relative sea level response to mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sediment loading along the Great Barrier Reef margin. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 607, Article 118066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118066
• Younger Dryas and early Holocene climate in south Greenland inferred from oxygen isotopes of chironomids, aquatic Moss, and Moss cellulose
  Puleo, P. J., Masterson, A. L., Medeiros, A. S., Schellinger, G., Steigleder, R., Woodroffe, S., Osburn, M. R., & Axford, Y. (2022). Younger Dryas and early Holocene climate in south Greenland inferred from oxygen isotopes of chironomids, aquatic Moss, and Moss cellulose. Quaternary Science Reviews, 296, Article 107810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107810
• A continental-scale chironomid training set for reconstructing Arctic temperatures
  Medeiros, A. S., Chipman, M. L., Francis, D. R., Hamerlík, L., Langdon, P., Puleo, P. J., Schellinger, G., Steigleder, R., Walker, I. R., Woodroffe, S., & Axford, Y. (2022). A continental-scale chironomid training set for reconstructing Arctic temperatures. Quaternary Science Reviews, 294, Article 107728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107728
• Reliability of mangrove radiocarbon chronologies: A case study from Mahé, Seychelles
  Sefton, J., Woodroffe, S., Ascough, P., & Khan, N. (2022). Reliability of mangrove radiocarbon chronologies: A case study from Mahé, Seychelles. Holocene, 32(6), 529-542. https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836221080756
• Glacier response to the Little Ice Age during the Neoglacial cooling in Greenland
  Kjær, K. H., Bjørk, A. A., Kjeldsen, K. K., Hansen, E. S., Andresen, C. S., Siggaard-Andersen, M.-L., Khan, S. A., Søndergaard, A. S., Colgan, W., Schomacker, A., Woodroffe, S., Funder, S., Rouillard, A., Jensen, J. F., & Larsen, N. K. (2022). Glacier response to the Little Ice Age during the Neoglacial cooling in Greenland. Earth-Science Reviews, 227, Article 103984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.103984
• Arctic chironomids of the northwest North Atlantic reflect environmental and biogeographic gradients
  Medeiros, A. S., Milošević, Đ., Francis, D. R., Maddison, E., Woodroffe, S., Long, A., Walker, I. R., Hamerlík, L., Quinlan, R., Langdon, P., Brodersen, K. P., & Axford, Y. (2021). Arctic chironomids of the northwest North Atlantic reflect environmental and biogeographic gradients. Journal of Biogeography, 48(3), 511-525. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14015
• Assessing the use of mangrove pollen as a quantitative sea‐level indicator on Mahé, Seychelles
  Sefton, J., & Woodroffe, S. (2021). Assessing the use of mangrove pollen as a quantitative sea‐level indicator on Mahé, Seychelles. Journal of Quaternary Science, 36(2), 311-323. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3272
• A reconciled solution of Meltwater Pulse 1A sources using sea-level fingerprinting
  Lin, Y., Hibbert, F., Whitehouse, P., Woodroffe, S., Purcell, A., Shennan, I., & Bradley, S. (2021). A reconciled solution of Meltwater Pulse 1A sources using sea-level fingerprinting. Nature Communications, 12, Article 2015. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21990-y
• Paleotsunamis on the Southern Hikurangi Subduction Zone, New Zealand, Show Regular Recurrence of Large Subduction Earthquakes
  Pizer, C., Clark, K., Howarth, J., Garrett, E., Wang, X., Rhoades, D., & Woodroffe, S. (2021). Paleotsunamis on the Southern Hikurangi Subduction Zone, New Zealand, Show Regular Recurrence of Large Subduction Earthquakes. The Seismic Record, 1(2), 75-84. https://doi.org/10.1785/0320210012
• Holocene glacier and ice cap fluctuations in southwest Greenland inferred from two lake records
  Larocca, L. J., Axford, Y., Woodroffe, S. A., Lasher, G. E., & Gawin, B. (2020). Holocene glacier and ice cap fluctuations in southwest Greenland inferred from two lake records. Quaternary Science Reviews, 246, Article 106529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106529
• Early Holocene Greenland-ice mass loss likely triggered earthquakes and tsunami
  Steffen, R., Steffen, H., Weiss, R., Lecavalier, B. S., Milne, G. A., Woodroffe, S. A., & Bennike, O. (2020). Early Holocene Greenland-ice mass loss likely triggered earthquakes and tsunami. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 546, Article 116443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116443
• Reef shallowing is a critical control on benthic foraminiferal assemblage composition on nearshore turbid coral reefs
  Johnson, J., Perry, C., Smithers, S., Morgan, K., & Woodroffe, S. (2019). Reef shallowing is a critical control on benthic foraminiferal assemblage composition on nearshore turbid coral reefs. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 533, Article 109240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109240
• Glacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet and a local ice cap in Qaanaaq, northwest Greenland
  Søndergaard, A., Larsen, N., Olsen, J., Strunk, A., & Woodroffe, S. (2019). Glacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet and a local ice cap in Qaanaaq, northwest Greenland. Journal of Quaternary Science, 34(7), 536-547. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3139
• Sedimentary records of coastal storm surges: Evidence of the 1953 North Sea event
  Swindles, G. T., Galloway, J. M., Macumber, A. L., Croudace, I., Emery, A. R., Woulds, C., Bateman, M. D., Parry, L., Jones, J. M., Selby, K., Rushby, G. T., Baird, A. J., Woodroffe, S. A., & Barlow, N. L. (2018). Sedimentary records of coastal storm surges: Evidence of the 1953 North Sea event. Marine Geology, 403, 262-270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2018.06.013
• Lack of evidence for a substantial sea-level fluctuation within the Last Interglacial
  Barlow, N., McClymont, E., Whitehouse, P., Stokes, C., Jamieson, S., Woodroffe, S., Bentley, M., Callard, S., Ó Cofaigh, C., Evans, D., Horrocks, J., Lloyd, J., Long, A., Margold, M., Roberts, D., & Sanchez-Montes, M. (2018). Lack of evidence for a substantial sea-level fluctuation within the Last Interglacial. Nature Geoscience, 11, 627-634. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0195-4
• Radiocarbon dating of mangrove sediments to constrain Holocene relative sea-level change on Zanzibar in the Southwest Indian Ocean
  Woodroffe, S., Long, A., Punwong, P., Selby, K., Bryant, C., & Marchant, R. (2015). Radiocarbon dating of mangrove sediments to constrain Holocene relative sea-level change on Zanzibar in the Southwest Indian Ocean. Holocene, 25(5), 820-831. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683615571422
• New constraints on late Holocene eustatic sea-level changes from Mahé, Seychelles
  Woodroffe, S., Long, A., Milne, G., Bryant, C., & Thomas, A. (2015). New constraints on late Holocene eustatic sea-level changes from Mahé, Seychelles. Quaternary Science Reviews, 115, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.02.011
• Reconstructing paleoseismic deformation, 2: 1000 years of great earthquakes at Chucalén, south central Chile
  Garrett, E., Shennan, I., Woodroffe, S., Cisternas, M., Hocking, E., & Gulliver, P. (2015). Reconstructing paleoseismic deformation, 2: 1000 years of great earthquakes at Chucalén, south central Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews, 113, 112-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.10.010
• A model of Greenland ice sheet deglaciation constrained by observations of relative sea level and ice extent
  Lecavalier, B., Milne, G., Simpson, M., Wake, L., Huybrechts, P., Tarasov, L., Kjeldsen, K., Funder, S., Long, A., Woodroffe, S., Dyke, A., & Larsen, N. (2014). A model of Greenland ice sheet deglaciation constrained by observations of relative sea level and ice extent. Quaternary Science Reviews, 102, 54-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.07.018
• Using relative sea-level data to constrain the deglacial and Holocene history of southern Greenland
  Woodroffe, S., Long, A., Lecavalier, B., Milne, G., & Bryant, C. (2014). Using relative sea-level data to constrain the deglacial and Holocene history of southern Greenland. Quaternary Science Reviews, 92, 345-356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.09.008
• Reconstructing paleoseismic deformation, 1: modern analogues from the 1960 and 2010 Chilean great earthquakes
  Garrett, E., Shennan, I., Watcham, E., & Woodroffe, S. (2013). Reconstructing paleoseismic deformation, 1: modern analogues from the 1960 and 2010 Chilean great earthquakes. Quaternary Science Reviews, 75, 11-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.04.007
• Salt marshes as late Holocene tide gauges
  Barlow, N., Shennan, I., Long, A., Gehrels, W., Saher, M., Woodroffe, S., & Hillier, C. (2013). Salt marshes as late Holocene tide gauges. Global and Planetary Change, 106, 90-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.03.003
• Modelling the effects of sediment compaction on salt marsh reconstructions of recent sea-level rise
  Brain, M., Long, A., Woodroffe, S., Petley, D., Milledge, D., & Parnell, A. (2012). Modelling the effects of sediment compaction on salt marsh reconstructions of recent sea-level rise. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 345-348, 180-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2012.06.045
• Century-scale relative sea-level changes in West Greenland — A plausibility study to assess contributions from the cryosphere and the ocean
  Wake, L., Milne, G., Long, A., Woodroffe, S., Simpson, M., & Huybrechts, P. (2012). Century-scale relative sea-level changes in West Greenland — A plausibility study to assess contributions from the cryosphere and the ocean. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 315-316, 86-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2011.09.029
• Relative sea-level change in Greenland during the last 700 years and ice sheet response to the Little Ice Age
  Long, A., Woodroffe, S., Milne, G., Bryant, C., Simpson, M., & Wake, L. (2012). Relative sea-level change in Greenland during the last 700 years and ice sheet response to the Little Ice Age. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 315-316, 76-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2011.06.027
• Isolation basins, sea-level changes and the Holocene history of the Greenland Ice Sheet
  Long, A., Woodroffe, S., Roberts, D., & Dawson, S. (2011). Isolation basins, sea-level changes and the Holocene history of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(27-28), 3748-3768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.10.013
• Reconstructing recent relative sea-level changes in West Greenland: local diatom-based transfer functions are superior to regional models
  Woodroffe, S., & Long, A. (2010). Reconstructing recent relative sea-level changes in West Greenland: local diatom-based transfer functions are superior to regional models. Quaternary International, 222(1-2), 91-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2009.06.005
• Relative sea level change in west Greenland during the last millennium
  Long, A., Woodroffe, S., Milne, G., Bryant, C., & Wake, L. (2010). Relative sea level change in west Greenland during the last millennium. Quaternary Science Reviews, 29(3-4), 367-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.09.010
• Testing models of mid to late Holocene sea-level change, North Queensland, Australia
  Woodroffe, S. (2009). Testing models of mid to late Holocene sea-level change, North Queensland, Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 28(23-24), 2474-2488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.05.004
• Salt marshes as archives of recent relative sea-level change in West Greenland.
  Woodroffe, S., & Long, A. (2009). Salt marshes as archives of recent relative sea-level change in West Greenland. Quaternary Science Reviews, 28(17-18), 1750-1761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.02.009
• Late Holocene relative sea level rise and the Neoglacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet
  Long, A., Woodroffe, S., Dawson, S., Roberts, D., & Bryant, L. (2009). Late Holocene relative sea level rise and the Neoglacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Journal of Quaternary Science, 24(4), 345-359. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1235
• Recognising subtidal foraminiferal assemblages: implications for quantitative sea-level reconstructions using a foraminifera-based transfer function.
  Woodroffe, S. (2009). Recognising subtidal foraminiferal assemblages: implications for quantitative sea-level reconstructions using a foraminifera-based transfer function. Journal of Quaternary Science, 24(3), 215-223. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1230
• Intertidal mangrove foraminifera from the central Great Barrier Reef shelf, Australia: Implications for sea-level reconstruction
  Woodroffe, S., Horton, B., Larcombe, P., & Whittaker, J. (2005). Intertidal mangrove foraminifera from the central Great Barrier Reef shelf, Australia: Implications for sea-level reconstruction. Journal of foraminiferal research, 35(3), 259-270. https://doi.org/10.2113/35.3.259
• Holocene sea-level changes in the Indo-Pacific
  Woodroffe, S., & Horton, B. (2005). Holocene sea-level changes in the Indo-Pacific. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 25(1), 29-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2004.01.009
• The development of a modern foraminiferal data set for sea-level reconstructions, Wakatobi Marine National Park, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia
  Horton, B., Whittaker, J., Thomson, K., Hardbattle, M., Kemp, A., Woodroffe, S., & Wright, M. (2005). The development of a modern foraminiferal data set for sea-level reconstructions, Wakatobi Marine National Park, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of foraminiferal research, 35(1), 1-14
• Contemporary foraminiferal distributions of the Great Barrier Reef coastline, Australia: implications for sea-level reconstructions.
  Horton, B., Larcombe, P., Woodroffe, S., Whittaker, J., Wright, M., & Wynn, C. (2003). Contemporary foraminiferal distributions of the Great Barrier Reef coastline, Australia: implications for sea-level reconstructions. Marine Geology, 198, 225-243