Kristine L. DeLong

Dr. Kristine L. DeLong is a Professor in the Department of Geography & Anthropology at Louisiana State University. She specializes in paleoclimatology, marine geochemistry, and coral reef studies. Her research focuses on reconstructing past environmental conditions using coral records, isotopic analysis, and sedimentary archives. She is affiliated with the PAST Lab and teaches courses on sclerochronology, paleoclimatology, and environmental change.

Education:

• Ph.D., University of South Florida, 2008
• M.S., University of South Florida
• B.S., University of South Florida

Research Interests:

• Coral records of Anthropocene boundary stratigraphy
• Paleoenvironmental reconstructions using submerged forests and marine proxies
• Isotope geochemistry of seawater and biogenic carbonates
• Climate variability in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea
• Development of coral-based proxy databases (e.g., CoralHydro2k)

Key Contributions: Her work on the Flower Garden Banks coral as a potential Anthropocene Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) has been groundbreaking. She also leads efforts to reconstruct Holocene climate and oceanographic changes using coral Sr/Ca and δ18O data.

Labs & Teams: Directs the PAST Lab, which focuses on paleoclimate and environmental change research. Collaborates on interdisciplinary projects involving coral reef ecosystems and submerged paleoenvironments.