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| Paul Wignall | |
|---|---|
| Name | Paul Wignall |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields | Paleontology; Stratigraphy; Sedimentology; Earth history |
| Workplaces | University of Leeds; University of Oxford; University of Dublin |
| Alma mater | University of Liverpool; University of Leeds |
| Known for | Work on mass extinctions; Permian–Triassic boundary studies; Black shales research |
Paul Wignall is a British paleontologist and stratigrapher noted for research on mass extinctions, the Permian–Triassic boundary, and black shale deposition. He has held academic positions at several United Kingdom and Irish institutions and contributed influential hypotheses linking volcanism, ocean anoxia, and biosphere crises. Wignall's work connects field geology, geochemistry, and paleobiology across Earth history.
Wignall was educated in the United Kingdom, undertaking undergraduate and doctoral studies that placed him in contact with figures and institutions such as University of Liverpool, University of Leeds, British Geological Survey, Natural History Museum, London, and mentors associated with Royal Society networks. His formative training engaged stratigraphic fieldwork in regions linked to classic localities for the Permian and Triassic systems, including exposures comparable to those at Zechstein Basin, Dolomites, Himalayas research programmes, and North Sea geology projects involving organizations like BP and Shell. During his education he interacted with researchers associated with University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, and international collaborators from Smithsonian Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Max Planck Society.
Wignall has held positions at prominent universities and research centres such as University of Leeds, where he led sedimentology and paleontology initiatives, and visiting or collaborative roles with institutions including University of Oxford, Trinity College Dublin, University College London, Imperial College London, University of Manchester, University of Bristol, and University of Glasgow. His career involved partnerships with geological surveys and museums like the British Geological Survey, Natural History Museum, London, National Museum of Wales, and international bodies such as the Geological Society of London, International Commission on Stratigraphy, American Geophysical Union, and European Geosciences Union. He participated in field campaigns with teams from University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, Harvard University, Caltech, and research consortia connected to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management projects and collaborative units funded by agencies such as the National Science Foundation and European Research Council.
Wignall's research focuses on extinction mechanisms across deep time, notably linking large igneous province volcanism, exemplified by the Siberian Traps and Deccan Traps, to environmental perturbations at boundaries like the Permian–Triassic extinction event and the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. He advanced ideas about widespread marine anoxia and euxinia recorded in black shales and organic-rich sediments such as the Posidonia Shale, Kupferschiefer, and Barnett Shale. His work integrates paleontological datasets referencing taxa from groups including trilobites, brachiopods, ammonites, conodonts, bivalves, foraminifera, and radiolarians to reconstruct biotic crises and recovery patterns comparable to events studied by researchers at Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of Texas at Austin, and University of California, Los Angeles. Wignall promoted multidisciplinary approaches combining proxies like carbon isotope excursions, sulfur isotopes, trace metal enrichments, and mercury anomalies used by teams at GEOTOP, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, and University of Tokyo. His hypotheses often referenced climatic forcings such as greenhouse gas release, ocean stratification, nutrient cycling, and links to terrestrial ecosystems akin to research from Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Montreal Botanical Garden collaborations.
Wignall authored and co-authored influential papers and monographs published in journals and series associated with Nature, Science, Geology (journal), Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Journal of the Geological Society, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, and edited volumes for Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and the Elsevier geoscience imprint. His works synthesize field data from classic localities like the Zechstein, Himalayan Tethys, Karoo Basin, Zagros Mountains, South China Block, and Antarctic Peninsula. Collaborators include researchers from University of Leeds, University of Oxford, Trinity College Dublin, University of California, Berkeley, Harvard University, University of Tokyo, Peking University, and Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Throughout his career Wignall received recognition from professional bodies such as the Geological Society of London, Palaeontological Association, British Sedimentological Research Group, Royal Society of Edinburgh, European Geosciences Union, and international fellowships and visiting professorships linked to Smithsonian Institution, National Research Council (Italy), and Royal Society. He has been an invited speaker at conferences hosted by American Geophysical Union, International Union of Geological Sciences, International Paleontological Association, International Congress on Stratigraphy, and thematic symposia at University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.
Wignall engaged in public outreach through lectures and media collaborations with organizations such as the BBC, Royal Geographical Society, Science Museum, London, and contributions to educational initiatives with Natural History Museum, London and university outreach offices at University of Leeds and Trinity College Dublin. He has mentored students who have taken positions at institutions including University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University of California, Berkeley, and National Taiwan University. Wignall participated in documentary programmes and public lectures alongside scientists connected to Royal Institution, The Geological Society, and international media outlets.
Category:British paleontologists