Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences

Dr. Kayla Cahoon is new to the GES department and will be teaching introductory labs. Her research focuses on applying coastal geomorphology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction to derive depositional models, geologic maps, and reconstructions of past sea-level changes. Her work focuses on time periods immediately before and after major glacial periods in the middle and late Pleistocene and, through collaboration, works to further understand glacial-isostatic adjustment and related sea-level processes. The primary goal of her research is to use the “memory of past sea level” preserved in coastal deposits to improve sea-level change predictions in the future. This work pulls from other fields including (but not limited to) thermochronology, glacial morphology, physical oceanography, mantle dynamics, geoarchaeology, and sediment transport mechanics.

Dr. Cahoon is also engaged in broad audience science communication using non- traditional learning methods. In this capacity, she participated in the WHRO documentary Against the Current and collaborated with the Barrier Islands Center to reach local farmers, K-12 educators, and local government officials to provide information and insights into the risk associated with modern sea-level rise.

Education

• B.S. College of William and Mary
• Ph.D. Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Courses Taught

• GES 1102 - Introduction to Historical Geology (labs)
• GES 2250 - Evolution of the Earth (labs)

CV

• Dr. Cahoon's Curriculum Vitae

Recent Publications

View Dr. Cahoon's profile on Google Scholar.

• Cahoon, Kayla M., Hein, C.J., Fenster, M., Clarke, Cl., and Ramsey, K.W., (2025) Updated stratigraphic mapping reveals insights into the Late Pleistocene evolutionary history of the Virginia Eastern Shore, US Mid-Atlantic Coast. Stratigraphy, vol. 22, no. 2, p. 99-134. (https://doi.org/10.29041/strat.22.2.02)
• Cahoon, Kayla M., Hein, C.J., Fenster, M., and Huot, S., (2026) Refined late-Pleistocene evolutionary and sea-level history for the Delmarva Peninsula, US Mid-Atlantic Coast. Marine Geology (in press). (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2026.107736)
• Frank-DePue L., Vaschula R.S., Balascio N.L., Cahoon K.M., Canuel E.A., and Kaste J.M., (2023) Shape shifts in sedimentary charcoal corresponds with broad-scale land use changes: insights gained fom a 300-year lake sediment record from eastern Virginia, USA. Journal of Paleolimnology, v. 69, p. 21-36.