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Over the past year, we have released new software that enables multi-dimensional annual growth measurements on both corals (sclerochronology) and trees (dendrochronology). The software features easy-to-use tools in a graphical user interface (GUI), as well as automated ring/band detection and tracing. Perhaps most importantly, the software applications are linked to cloud-based repositories that store not only the raw image datasets but also user interpretations of the images. Together, this offers a key advance for data sharing and transparency in the fields, bringing them in line with the FAIR principles. The coral software is called CoralCT and its repository is called CoralCache. Publications describing the system can be found here: https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lom3.10661 and here: https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/18/3341/2026/ The tree software is called TreeTracer and its repository is called TreeTrove. Both are described in a pre-print here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6767880 
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The Reef Lab recently acquired two major sources of funding for our new drone-based research projects. The NSF Physical Oceanography Program is funding a project to use aerial Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) to study water flow over coral reefs. The idea is to combine in-water measurements of water velocities and pressure gradients with LiDAR bathymetry to "back out" the friction term in hydrodynamic momentum equations. We are collecting these data across a range of reefs worldwide to develop new algorithms for estimating bottom roughness. This work is led by Ph.D. student Brooke Rodriguez. Louisiana Sea Grant is funding a project investigating the characteristics of restored oyster reefs that lead to successful ecosystem outcomes. We are using aerial LiDAR on a variety of restored oyster reefs across Louisiana, combined with wave measurements to identify the effects of the reefs on wave attenuation, marsh stabilization, and overall coastline-reef erosion or accretion. This project is led by Ph.D. student Avi Strange.  At the end of the Spring 2026 semester, undergraduate students Claudia Miller and Terese (Tess) Padon successfully defended their honors theses on research they conducted in The Reef Lab. Claudia’s project focused on drone-based LiDAR data collected on a restored oyster reef in Cocodrie, LA. Tess’ thesis project focused on integrating global in situ coral reef temperature data with high-resolution habitat maps. After graduation, Claudia will attend ETH Zurich for a masters in Earth Science and Tess will be working as an environmental consultant throughout the Gulf South. Congratulations to both Claudia and Tess on successful defenses!  The Reef Lab is excited to share that first-year PhD student Avi Strange has received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) award, and fellow first-year PhD student Angela Larson received an Honorable Mention for their applications. The NSF GRFP is one of the nation’s most competitive graduate fellowships, supporting outstanding students pursuing research-based graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Avi’s proposed research focuses on using drone-based LiDAR and field observations to study how restored oyster reefs influence shoreline stability and coastal erosion in Louisiana. Angela’s proposed research is centered around statistical modeling on coral reef ecosystems to improve global coral bleaching predictions utilizing the Reef Lab's data product Coral Reef In Situ Product (CRISP). We are incredibly proud of both Avi and Angela for this recognition and look forward to seeing their future research contributions at Tulane and beyond.
This past school year, PhD students Angela, Avi, and Brooke visited eight local New Orleans schools to teach students about coral and how it grows its skeleton. Each visit included a hands-on craft activity where kids built their own coral polyp and skeleton to understand how coral grows. These activities and participation were in conjunction with Tulane’s Center for K-12 STEM education.
The Sclero lab is moving to the Earth and Environmental Sciences department at Tulane University in Fall 2024! We will be launching some exciting new projects and seeking students at all levels. Please get in touch if interested, and check back here for more information and opportunities.
 The key results: higher saturation state during and after bleaching, relative to before. The first publication of work conducted entirely in the Sclero Lab is out today in L&O Letters. Sclero-lab alumnus Hanna Mantanona used Raman spectrometry to analyze coral skeletal cores with prominent bleaching-induced stress bands. Using the Raman data, Hanna calculated calcifying fluid saturation states before, during, and after the bleaching events. And the results were, well, surprising! Saturation state increased during the bleaching, and remained elevated afterwards. This paper will be a key contribution to the literature not because it provides all the answers (we don't fully know the mechanism behind this observation), but because it refutes existing notions in the literature and raises new questions. Way to go, Hanna!  Some of the stress bands that we analyzed. These are CT scans of coral skeletal cores, and the bright white bands indicate unusually high density, which occurs during coral bleaching. With funding from NSF, we will be working on a 5-year project focused on advancing analysis of coral skeletal cores. This will include the creation of a virtual core repository, developing new tools for analyzing CT scans, and engaging the public in the analyses. Read more about the project here.
 by Hannah Whitaker The physical and chemical properties of a coral’s skeleton can tell us a lot about past ocean conditions; some coral species maintain environmental records that go back hundreds of years. The Sclerochronology lab has a collection of coral cores from all over the world, and this past summer, we expanded our library to include 10 new specimens from here on ‘Oahu!  Under a permit from the Division of Aquatic Resources, our team of divers (Dr. Tom DeCarlo and graduate students Hannah Whitaker and Jess Hankins) identified and cored colonies of Porites lobata in Waimanalo Bay over the course of five dives. Lobe coral is one of three dominant coral species on the island, and its massive growth form and long-lived nature make it an excellent candidate for sclerochronology.  The drill we use is pneumatic—powered by pressurized air—and produces cores that are 5 cm in diameter, about as big around as a water bottle. Once the core is removed, we plug the hole with cement and marine epoxy to keep bioeroders out and so that the surrounding coral has a new surface over which to grow back. Within a few months, it’s like we were never there.  Back on land, we rinse, soak, sonicate (using a high-frequency sound bath to remove debris), oven-dry, and carefully wrap each core so they can be stored for later analysis. Our longest core from Waimanalo likely dates back over a hundred years, and the lab is excited to see what history is written in these growth bands.
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