Bio
Kerstin joined SIL team at INSTAAR in May 2023. Together with her colleagues she runs, maintains and troubleshoots the fleet of mass spectrometers that analyze stable isotope ratios of carbon dioxide in atmospheric samples from around the world. All the analyses at SIL are part of the NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, and Kerstin helps with updating the database as new data are analyzed and maintaining the highest quality control standards.
Before joining INSTAAR, Kerstin researched past climates in southern Africa using stable isotopes and other proxies analyzed on speleothem carbonates.
Education
- PhD: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, 2014
- MS: University of Tuebingen, Germany, 2009
Selected publications
Braun, K., Cowling, R. M., Bar-Matthews, M., Matthews, A., Ayalon, A., Zilberman, T., Difford, M., R Lawrence Edwards, R. L., Xianglei Li, X., Curtis W Marean, C. W., 2023: Climatic stability recorded in speleothems may contribute to higher biodiversity in the Cape Floristic Region. Journal of Biogeography, 50(6): 1077-89.
Braun, K., Bar-Matthews, M., Matthews, A., Ayalon, A., Zilberman, T., Cowling, R. M., Fisher, E. C., Herries, A. I. R., Brink, J. S., Marean, C. W., 2020: Comparison of climate and environment on the edge of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain to the Little Karoo (South Africa) in Marine Isotope Stage 5 – 3 as indicated by speleothems. Quaternary Science Reviews, 235: 105803.
Braun, K., Nehme, C., Pickering, R., Rogerson, M., Scroxton, N., 2019: A window into Africa’s past hydroclimates: The SISAL_v1 database contribution. Quaternary, 2(1): 4.
