Christopher Bernhardt, Ph.D.
Biography
Education
♦ University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D. (2009)
♦ University of Akron, M.S. (2000)
♦ Baldwin Wallace College, B.S. (1998)
Science and Products
Palynology Laboratory
In this lab, we specialize in extracting pollen palynomorphs from geologic field samples. We also assist our center's scientists with outreach programs to educate students and inform policy makers as to the importance of our science.
Estimating late 19th century hydrology in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: An integration of paleoecologic data and models
Determining hydrologic conditions prior to instrumental records is a challenge for restoration of freshwater ecosystems worldwide. Paleoecologic data provide this information on past conditions and when these data are used to adjust hydrologic models, allow conditions to be hindcast that may not be directly estimated from the paleo-data alone. In...
Marshall, Frank E.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Wingard, G. Lynn Application of a regional climate model to assess changes in the climatology of the Eastern US and Cuba associated with historic landcover change
We examine the annual, seasonal, monthly, and diurnal climate responses to the land use change (LUC) in eastern United States and Cuba during four epochs (1650, 1850, 1920, and 1992) with ensemble simulations conducted with the RegCM4 regional climate model that includes the Biosphere Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS1e) surface physics package (...
Hostetler, Steven W.; Reker, R; Alder, Jay R.; Loveland, Thomas; Willard, Debra A.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Sundquist, Eric T.; Thompson, Renee L. Rapid inundation of the southern Florida coastline despite low relative sea-level rise rates during the late-Holocene
Sediment cores from Florida Bay, Everglades National Park were examined to determine ecosystem response to relative sea-level rise (RSLR) over the Holocene. High-resolution multiproxy analysis from four sites show freshwater wetlands transitioned to mangrove environments 4–3.6 ka, followed by estuarine environments 3.4–2.8 ka, during a period of...
Jones, Miriam; Wingard, G. Lynn; Stackhouse, Bethany; Keller, Katherine; Willard, Debra A.; Marot, Marci E.; Landacre, Bryan D.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.
Geology of the Hardeeville NW Quadrangle and parts of the Brighton and Pineland Quadrangles, Jasper County, South Carolina
IntroductionThis publication portrays the geology of the Hardeeville NW quadrangle and parts of the Brighton and Pineland quadrangles that are within Jasper County, South Carolina. The study area is located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, approximately 50 to 70 kilometers (km) inland from the coast. The data are compiled from geological...
Swezey, Christopher S.; Schultz, Arthur P.; Doar, William R.; Garrity, Christopher P.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Crider, Ernest Allen; Edwards, Lucy E.; McGeehin, John P. The impact of late Holocene land-use change, climate variability, and sea-level rise on carbon storage in tidal freshwater wetlands on the southeastern United States Coastal Plain
This study examines Holocene impacts of changes in climate, land use, and sea-level rise (SLR) on sediment accretion, carbon accumulation rates (CAR), and vegetation along a transect of tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) to oligohaline marsh along the Waccamaw River, South Carolina (4 sites) and along the Savannah River, Georgia (4 sites)....
Jones, Miriam; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Krauss, K.W.; Noe, Gregory B. The role of the upper tidal estuary in wetland blue carbon storage and flux
Carbon (C) standing stocks, C mass balance, and soil C burial in tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) and TFFW transitioning to low‐salinity marshes along the upper estuary are not typically included in “blue carbon” accounting, but may represent a significant C sink. Results from two salinity transects along the tidal Waccamaw and Savannah...
Krauss, Ken W.; Noe, Gregory B.; Duberstein, Jamie A.; Conner, William H.; Stagg, Camille L.; Cormier, Nicole; Jones, Miriam C.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Lockaby, B. Graeme; From, Andrew S.; Doyle, Thomas W.; Day, Richard H.; Ensign, Scott H.; Pierfelice, Katherine N.; Hupp, Cliff R.; Chow, Alex T.; Whitbeck, Julie L. A North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) of the Common Era
This study presents a synthesis of century-scale hydroclimate variations in North America for the Common Era (last 2000 years) using new age models of previously published multiple proxy-based paleoclimate data. This North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) examines regional hydroclimate patterns and related environmental indicators,...
Rodysill, Jessica R. ; Anderson, Lesleigh; Cronin, Thomas M.; Jones, Miriam C.; Thompson, Robert S.; Wahl, David B.; Willard, Debra A.; Addison, Jason A.; Alder, Jay R.; Anderson, Katherine H.; Anderson, Lysanna; Barron, John A.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Hostetler, Steven W.; Kehrwald, Natalie M.; Khan, Nicole; Richey, Julie N.; Starratt, Scott W.; Strickland, Laura E.; Toomey, Michael; Treat, Claire C.; Wingard, G. Lynn Reconstructing Common Era relative sea-level change on the Gulf Coast of Florida
To address a paucity of Common Era data in the Gulf of Mexico, we reconstructed ~ 1.1 m of relative sea-level (RSL) rise over the past ~ 2000 years at Little Manatee River (Gulf Coast of Florida, USA). We applied a regional-scale foraminiferal transfer function to fossil assemblages preserved in a core of salt-marsh peat and...
Gerlach, Matthew J.; Engelhart, Simon E.; Kemp, Andrew C.; Moyer, Ryan P.; Smoak, Joseph M.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Cahill, Niamh The role of paleoecology in restoration and resource management—The past as a guide to future decision-making: Review and example from the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, U.S.A
Resource managers around the world are challenged to develop feasible plans for sustainable conservation and/or restoration of the lands, waters, and wildlife they administer—a challenge made greater by anticipated climate change and associated effects over the next century. Increasingly, paleoecologic and geologic archives are being used to...
Wingard, G. Lynn; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Wachnicka, Anna Extended late Holocene relative sea-level histories for North Carolina, USA
We produced ∼3000-year long relative sea-level (RSL) histories for two sites in North Carolina (USA) using foraminifera preserved in new and existing cores of dated salt-marsh sediment. At Cedar Island, RSL rose by ∼2.4 m during the past ∼3000 years compared to ∼3.3 m at Roanoke Island. This spatial difference arises primarily from...
Kemp, Andrew C.; Kegel, Jessica J.; Culver, Stephen J.; Barber, Donald C.; Mallinson, David J.; Leorri, Eduardo; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Cahill, Niamh; Riggs, Stanley R.; Woodson, Anna L.; Mulligan, Ryan P.; Horton, Benjamin P. Contemporary deposition and long-term accumulation of sediment and nutrients by tidal freshwater forested wetlands impacted by sea level rise
Contemporary deposition (artificial marker horizon, 3.5 years) and long-term accumulation rates (210Pb profiles, ~150 years) of sediment and associated carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) were measured in wetlands along the tidal Savannah and Waccamaw rivers in the southeastern USA. Four sites along each river spanned an...
Noe, Gregory B.; Hupp, Cliff R.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Krauss, Ken W. Accommodation space, relative sea level, and the archiving of paleo-earthquakes along subduction zones
The spatial variability of Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) change influences the capacities of coastal environments to accommodate a sedimentary record of paleoenvironmental change. In this study we couch a specific investigation in more general terms in order to demonstrate the applicability of the relative sea-level history approach to...
Kelsey, Harvey M.; Engelhart, Simon E.; Pilarczyk, Jessica E.; Horton, Benjamin P.; Rubin, Charles; Daryono, Mudrik; Ismail, Nazli; Hawkes, Andrea D.; Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Cahill, Niamh
The 1st Annual Florence Bascom Geoscience Center Big Science Blowout
This year, the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center is proud to announce it's first annual Big Science Blowout. Team members will have the opportunity to share abstacts they have presented at various conferences over the past year.
When: 23 May 2019, 9:00AM - 3:00PM EST
Where: Doug Rankin Memorial Map Compilation Room and...