Paul A. Carling obtained his first degree in Geography from the University of Leicester and a PhD from the University of Wales (Swansea) for research into intertidal sedimentation. He worked for what is now known as the UK Centre for Hydrology and Ecology from 1977 to 1994, before taking up a Professorship in Geography at the University of Lancaster. He took up the post of Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Southampton in 2000, and is currently chief editor of the journal Sedimentology.