Christopher Bernhardt, Ph.D.
Chris Bernhardt is the Center Director of the USGS Florence Bascom Geoscience Center.
Education and Certifications
University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D. (2009)
University of Akron, M.S. (2000)
Baldwin Wallace College, B.S. (1998)
Science and Products
Ecological, Geomorphological, Sedimentological, and Geochemical Records of Pre- and Post-Colonial Riparian Ecosystems in Anne Arundel County, Maryland
This data release includes data collected in the pursuit of identifying pre- and post-colonial riparian ecosystems found throughout Anne Arundel County, Maryland, USA. A single raster file is included, and represents a topological classification of the entire county according to a hydrologically conditioned Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Ten shapefiles are also included, nine of which represent th
Carbon budget assessment of tidal freshwater forested wetland and oligohaline marsh ecosystems along the Waccamaw and Savannah rivers, U.S.A. (2005-2016)
Data to support carbon (C) budget assessment of tidal freshwater forested wetland and oligohaline marsh ecosystems along the Waccamaw and Savannah rivers, U.S.A. This work represents the first estimates of C standing stocks, C mass balance, soil C burial, and lateral C export to aquatic environments in tidal freshwater forested wetlands undergoing transition to oligohaline marsh.
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 field mapping, light detection and ranging (lidar) el
Filter Total Items: 30
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 this context, the paleo-data provide real-world es
Authors
Frank E. Marshall, Christopher E. Bernhardt, G. Lynn Wingard
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 (Dickinson et al., 1993). We derived the land use (LU)
Authors
Steven W. Hostetler, R Reker, Jay R. Alder, Thomas Loveland, Debra A. Willard, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Eric T. Sundquist, Renee L. Thompson
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 enhanced climate variability. We calculate a RSLR ra
Authors
Miriam Jones, G. Lynn Wingard, Bethany Stackhouse, Katherine Keller, Debra A. Willard, Marci E. Marot, Bryan D. Landacre, Christopher E. Bernhardt
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). We use pollen, plant macrofossils, accretion, and C
Authors
Miriam Jones, Christopher E. Bernhardt, K. W. Krauss, Gregory Noe
Geographic attribution of soils using probabilistic modeling of GIS data for forensic search efforts
Examinations of soil traces associated with forensic evidence can be used to narrow potential source area(s) by characterizing features of the trace soil assemblage, some of which are limited to specific regions. Soil characteristics may be used to infer the likelihoods of the soil trace being derived from distinct areas within digital maps, including both maps of discrete classes such as formatio
Authors
Libby A Stern, Jodi B Webb, Debra A. Willard, Christopher E. Bernhardt, David Korejwo, Maureen Bottrell, Garrett McMahon, nancy McMillan, Jared Schuetter, Patrick Wheatley, Jack Hieptas
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 rivers of the US Atlantic Coast show total C standin
Authors
Ken W. Krauss, Gregory B. Noe, Jamie A. Duberstein, William H. Conner, Camille L. Stagg, Nicole Cormier, Miriam C. Jones, Christopher E. Bernhardt, B. Graeme Lockaby, Andrew S. From, Thomas W. Doyle, Richard H. Day, Scott H. Ensign, Katherine N. Pierfelice, Cliff R. Hupp, Alex T. Chow, Julie L. Whitbeck
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, including vegetation, lake water elevation, stream flow and
Authors
Jessica R. Rodysill, Lesleigh Anderson, Thomas M. Cronin, Miriam C. Jones, Robert S. Thompson, David B. Wahl, Debra A. Willard, Jason A. Addison, Jay R. Alder, Katherine H. Anderson, Lysanna Anderson, John A. Barron, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Steven W. Hostetler, Natalie M. Kehrwald, Nicole Khan, Julie N. Richey, Scott W. Starratt, Laura E. Strickland, Michael Toomey, Claire C. Treat, G. Lynn Wingard
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
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 organic silt that was dated using radiocarbon and recognition of pollutio
Authors
Matthew J. Gerlach, Simon E. Engelhart, Andrew C. Kemp, Ryan P. Moyer, Joseph M. Smoak, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Niamh Cahill
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 extend the period of record of observed data and provide
Authors
G. Lynn Wingard, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Anna Wachnicka
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 differential GIA that caused late Holocene RSL rise to be 0.1–0.2
Authors
Andrew C. Kemp, Jessica J. Kegel, Stephen J. Culver, Donald C. Barber, David J. Mallinson, Eduardo Leorri, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Niamh Cahill, Stanley R. Riggs, Anna L. Woodson, Ryan P. Mulligan, Benjamin P. Horton
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 upstream-to-downstream salinification gradient, from upriver tidal f
Authors
Gregory Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Ken W. Krauss
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 paleoseismic investigations. Using subsidence stratigraphy
Authors
Harvey M. Kelsey, Simon E. Engelhart, Jessica E. Pilarczyk, Benjamin P. Horton, Charles Rubin, Mudrik Daryono, Nazli Ismail, Andrea D. Hawkes, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Niamh Cahill
Science and Products
Ecological, Geomorphological, Sedimentological, and Geochemical Records of Pre- and Post-Colonial Riparian Ecosystems in Anne Arundel County, Maryland
This data release includes data collected in the pursuit of identifying pre- and post-colonial riparian ecosystems found throughout Anne Arundel County, Maryland, USA. A single raster file is included, and represents a topological classification of the entire county according to a hydrologically conditioned Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Ten shapefiles are also included, nine of which represent th
Carbon budget assessment of tidal freshwater forested wetland and oligohaline marsh ecosystems along the Waccamaw and Savannah rivers, U.S.A. (2005-2016)
Data to support carbon (C) budget assessment of tidal freshwater forested wetland and oligohaline marsh ecosystems along the Waccamaw and Savannah rivers, U.S.A. This work represents the first estimates of C standing stocks, C mass balance, soil C burial, and lateral C export to aquatic environments in tidal freshwater forested wetlands undergoing transition to oligohaline marsh.
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 field mapping, light detection and ranging (lidar) el
Filter Total Items: 30
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 this context, the paleo-data provide real-world es
Authors
Frank E. Marshall, Christopher E. Bernhardt, G. Lynn Wingard
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 (Dickinson et al., 1993). We derived the land use (LU)
Authors
Steven W. Hostetler, R Reker, Jay R. Alder, Thomas Loveland, Debra A. Willard, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Eric T. Sundquist, Renee L. Thompson
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 enhanced climate variability. We calculate a RSLR ra
Authors
Miriam Jones, G. Lynn Wingard, Bethany Stackhouse, Katherine Keller, Debra A. Willard, Marci E. Marot, Bryan D. Landacre, Christopher E. Bernhardt
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). We use pollen, plant macrofossils, accretion, and C
Authors
Miriam Jones, Christopher E. Bernhardt, K. W. Krauss, Gregory Noe
Geographic attribution of soils using probabilistic modeling of GIS data for forensic search efforts
Examinations of soil traces associated with forensic evidence can be used to narrow potential source area(s) by characterizing features of the trace soil assemblage, some of which are limited to specific regions. Soil characteristics may be used to infer the likelihoods of the soil trace being derived from distinct areas within digital maps, including both maps of discrete classes such as formatio
Authors
Libby A Stern, Jodi B Webb, Debra A. Willard, Christopher E. Bernhardt, David Korejwo, Maureen Bottrell, Garrett McMahon, nancy McMillan, Jared Schuetter, Patrick Wheatley, Jack Hieptas
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 rivers of the US Atlantic Coast show total C standin
Authors
Ken W. Krauss, Gregory B. Noe, Jamie A. Duberstein, William H. Conner, Camille L. Stagg, Nicole Cormier, Miriam C. Jones, Christopher E. Bernhardt, B. Graeme Lockaby, Andrew S. From, Thomas W. Doyle, Richard H. Day, Scott H. Ensign, Katherine N. Pierfelice, Cliff R. Hupp, Alex T. Chow, Julie L. Whitbeck
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, including vegetation, lake water elevation, stream flow and
Authors
Jessica R. Rodysill, Lesleigh Anderson, Thomas M. Cronin, Miriam C. Jones, Robert S. Thompson, David B. Wahl, Debra A. Willard, Jason A. Addison, Jay R. Alder, Katherine H. Anderson, Lysanna Anderson, John A. Barron, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Steven W. Hostetler, Natalie M. Kehrwald, Nicole Khan, Julie N. Richey, Scott W. Starratt, Laura E. Strickland, Michael Toomey, Claire C. Treat, G. Lynn Wingard
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
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 organic silt that was dated using radiocarbon and recognition of pollutio
Authors
Matthew J. Gerlach, Simon E. Engelhart, Andrew C. Kemp, Ryan P. Moyer, Joseph M. Smoak, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Niamh Cahill
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 extend the period of record of observed data and provide
Authors
G. Lynn Wingard, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Anna Wachnicka
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 differential GIA that caused late Holocene RSL rise to be 0.1–0.2
Authors
Andrew C. Kemp, Jessica J. Kegel, Stephen J. Culver, Donald C. Barber, David J. Mallinson, Eduardo Leorri, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Niamh Cahill, Stanley R. Riggs, Anna L. Woodson, Ryan P. Mulligan, Benjamin P. Horton
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 upstream-to-downstream salinification gradient, from upriver tidal f
Authors
Gregory Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Ken W. Krauss
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 paleoseismic investigations. Using subsidence stratigraphy
Authors
Harvey M. Kelsey, Simon E. Engelhart, Jessica E. Pilarczyk, Benjamin P. Horton, Charles Rubin, Mudrik Daryono, Nazli Ismail, Andrea D. Hawkes, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Niamh Cahill