Paleoclimatology, Chemical oceanography, Marine geochemistry

B.S., Chemistry, Princeton University, 1979
Ph.D., Oceanography, University of Washington, 1995

Galbraith Marine Science Laboratory
727-864-7884 (Office), 727-864-7964 (Fax)
hastindw@eckerd.edu

My research focuses on using minor and trace elements in the marine environment as a tool for understanding the history of past climate change and marine biogeochemical processes, as well as the history and severity of anthropogenic contamination. It addresses environmental concerns, and is multi-disciplinary in scope.

My primary research interest is paleoclimatology, which is to reveal the history of past climate changes. I am exploring the utility of a proxy for sea surface temperature based on the incorporation of Mg and Sr into the shells of foraminifera, a ubiquitous marine protist, as well as other microfossils such as ostracods, The reconstruction of ocean temperature is an essential component in understanding the controls of past and future climate change throughout Earth's history. The beauty of this method is that by measuring ¹⁸O on the same sample – a standard procedure - we can also determine changes in salinity, which can be directly related to central climate processes including meltwater discharge and evaporation/precipitation. Currently, I am focusing on rapid climate changes in the Gulf of Mexico during the deglacial period, to determine how the timing meltwater pulses relates to possible changes in thermohaline circulation.

My research is funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Comer Foundation, as well as internal grants from Eckerd College. In the past, I have received funding from the National Science Foundation, and the American Chemical Society. Teaching activities are supported by grants from Florida Institute of Oceanography, Digital Library for Earth Science Education (DLESE), and Florida Campus Contract.

Courses offered:

Chemical and Physical Oceanography, Global Environmental Change, Introduction to Marine Science, General Chemistry, Oceanography of Tampa Bay, Climate Change: Past and Present; Geochemical Tracers (intensive lab-based course); Chemistry and Oceanography of Tampa Bay (field course); Natural History of the Galapagos (field course); Earth Systems Science of the Everglades (field course)

Research Advisor and Undergraduate Thesis Committee Chair for:

Christopher Maupin, May 2006. High-resolution record of climate proxies from fast growing coral Acropora cervicornis to identify extreme weather events.

Danielle Greenhowe, May 2006. West Florida Shelf Phosphate Concentration Analysis Using In Situ Determination.

Melissa Gilbert, December 2005. A high-resolution deglacial record of climate and melt water discharge in the Gulf of Mexico.

Jennifer Flannery, 2005. Records of oceanic and continental response to abrupt climate changes during the late Holocene (2,000 BP - present) from the PigmyBasin, Gulf of Mexico

Terill Hollweg, May 2004. A multi-proxy, multi-species approach to determining climate change in Tampa Bay, Fl over the past 21,000 years.

Jenna LoDico, May 2003. A multi-proxy approach to distinguish between past changes in sea surface temperature and meltwater input in the Gulf of Mexico.

Anne Whitko, May 2002. New paleotemperature calibration and estimates in the South China Sea.

Amanda Hopkins, May 2001. Bioavailable trace metal concentrations in Tampa Bay, FL.

John Akl, December 2000, Properties of Colored Dissolved Organic Matter Along the Orinoco River Plume.

Selected Publications:
Flower, B. P., D. W. Hastings, H. W. Hill and T. M. Quinn (2004). Phasing of deglacial warming and Laurentide ice sheet meltwater in the Gulf of Mexico.  Geology, 32(7):597-600.

Whitko, A. N., D. W. Hastings, and B. P. Flower (2002). Past sea surface temperatures inthe tropical South China Sea based on a new foraminiferal Mg calibration. MARSci., DOI:01.020101.

Shen, C. C., D. W. Hastings, T. Lee, C. H. Chiu, M. Y Lee, K. Y. Wei, and R. L Edwards (2001). High-precision glacial-interglacial benthic foraminiferal Sr/Ca record from the eastern equatorial Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 190:197-209.

Villanueva, J., and D. W. Hastings (2000). A century scale record of the preservation of chlorophyll and its transformation products in anoxic sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 64: 2281-2294.

Hastings, D. W., A. Russell and Emerson S. (1998). Foraminiferal magnesium in G.sacculifer as a paleotemperature proxy. Paleoceanography, 13:161-169.

Hastings, D. W., S. Emerson, J. Erez, and B. Nelson (1996). Vanadium in foraminiferal calcite: Evaluation of a method to determine paleo-seawater vanadium concentrations. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 60: 3701-3715.

Hastings, D. W., S. Emerson, and A. Mix (1996). Vanadium in foraminiferal calcite as a tracer for changes in the areal extent of reducing sediments. Paleoceanography, 11: 665-678.

Hastings, D. W., S. Emerson, and B. Nelson (1996). Determination of picogram quantities of vanadium in foraminiferal calcite and seawater by isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with electrothermal vaporization. Analytical Chemistry, 68: 371-378.

Links to some current research and teaching activities:

Reconstructing the Ocean's Secret Past: Implications for future climate change
Seminar given at USF/St Petersburg , Environmental Studies on November 18, 2008

Simulation of international negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Tampa Bay study: History and Prehistory: Sediment Cores

Gulf of Mexico Integrated Science - Tampa Bay Study - Historical and Prehistorical Record of Tampa Bay Environments

Research Vessel Marion Dufresne Cores Tampa Bay, Florida