13/05/2025
We are deeply saddened to share with you, that Professor Andrew Thomas, our friend and colleague in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, passed away last month after a period of illness. He was a highly regarded geographer and soil scientist with a particular interest in dryland environments.
Andrew (or Tom, as he was known to many) was born in Somerset in 1970. He undertook a Geography degree at the University of Wales, Swansea, and continued his postgraduate studies there with a PhD on the impacts of fire and logging on soils, nutrients and hydrology in northern Portugal. Andrew took up his first academic position at the University of Reading in 1996, moving to the University of Salford in 1997 for a Lectureship in Physical Geography, and subsequently to Manchester Metropolitan University in 2002. Andrew joined the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University in 2012, also taking on the role of Aberystwyth Director of the Climate Change Consortium of Wales (C3W, 2012-2014) and Programme Leader for the new MSc in Environmental Change, Impacts and Adaptation (2014-2020). He was promoted to Reader in 2013 and Professor in 2016.
Andrew’s research took him to a number of field locations worldwide, including the drylands of northeast Spain, but most notably the Kalahari Desert in Botswana where he spent numerous happy and productive field seasons based at Berry Bush Farm. Following a meeting in South Africa in late 2014, he helped to co-found the international Wetlands in Drylands Research network. In recent years, Andrew’s hard-won dryland field data, often collected from remote locations under testing conditions, helped him to establish new international collaborations through the BIODESERT network. This global data synthesis and collaboration has delivered new insights into soil-climate-ecosystem interactions in the world’s drylands, with a string of high-profile publications including in Nature Climate Change, Science Advances and a Nature article in August 2024 that featured on the journal’s cover. Andrew’s research colleagues recall his outstanding ability as a field scientist, which combined with his humour, enthusiasm and adaptability, made him a brilliant companion on fieldwork. More recently, Andrew turned his attention to soil-climate-ecosystem issues closer to home in the Welsh uplands, developing productive collaborations with colleagues at Pwllpeiran Upland Research Platform and undertaking research on newly planted woodland at Brynau / Preswylfa in south Wales.
Throughout his career, Andrew not only contributed to fundamental advances in our scientific knowledge of dryland environments and beyond, but also advocated for societal application of the findings. He wanted to make a difference. Sustainability was a key theme; for example, soil management techniques for improving human livelihoods in drylands, soil carbon efflux measurements for enhanced carbon stock estimates in wetland areas of drylands, and new frameworks for better management of UK upland pastures.
Andrew brought his extensive research interests into his enthusiastic approach to teaching. He enjoyed teaching and put a huge effort into preparing lectures, laboratory practicals and field trips. He shared his love of soil science with undergraduate and postgraduate students in very practical ways such as setting up soil sensors around campus or building a wormery to illustrate the importance of earthworms in soils. His beloved cat Scampi became a feature of his online lectures during the pandemic, much to the delight of students. Most of all, he gave his time and encouragement to help students achieve their best, supporting those who were finding things difficult and providing opportunities to join ongoing field research projects in the UK, Spain and Botswana. We’ve received numerous comments from students which attest to his input being instrumental to successful completion of their studies or the direction their career path has taken – summed up here by one group: ‘All we can say is thank you for giving us the best start to being adults and making us realise our passions weren’t strange or odd but were a way for us to develop skills for our future chosen careers.’
Andrew enjoyed sports. He was a keen follower of rugby and had played during his Swansea days. He was a lifelong Bristol City supporter and many a conversation would be had about the ups and downs of Championship football. During his time in Aberystwyth, Andrew became a keen cyclist, taking on numerous challenges through the Welsh countryside with colleagues. He was a regular at spin classes, where he was highly competitive and always had something to say about the choice of music. Andrew – Tom - was someone you could put the world to rights with and feel better for it, whether over a coffee, b**r or round a campfire.
Andrew was an outstanding scientist and an inspiring teacher. We will miss a great colleague and an excellent friend. Our thoughts are with Andrew’s wife Sulafa, and their son Wilf, and with Andrew’s parents and sister.
My thanks to Stephen Tooth for his help in preparing this tribute, and to Stephen, Shubin Lan and Andy Dougill for sharing their photos and memories of friendship and fieldwork.
Sarah Davies
Head of Department
