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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

The Florence Bascom Geoscience Center (FBGC) is at the leading edge of scientific research addressing critical societal issues and providing unbiased data and information to decision makers and the public. Our research center is built around five broad science themes: Paleoclimate & Paleoecology, Landscape Science, Geologic Mapping, Hazards, and Special Geologic Studies. 

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Story on Mid-Atlantic Stream & Sediment Science

An image taken along Western Branch in Maryland

FBGC's ecologist Greg Noe's work is highlighted in this great article discussing legacy erosion and sedimentation in Mid-Atlantic watersheds.

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Climate Change Impacts on Mangrove Forests

The shore along the edges of an island playa in Florida

FBGC scientists Miriam Jones and Lynn Wingard were recently interviewed by NPR regarding climate change and mangrove forests. 

Listen to Interview

A Brief Biography of Florence Bascom

Photograph of Florence Bascom

The video in the link below is a brief but informative introduction to the life and work of Florence Bascom.

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News

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Memorial to Jack B. Epstein (1935-2020)

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National Preparedness Month 2020: Landslides and Sinkholes

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Floodplain Ecosystem Service Mapper Released

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Publications

Surface ocean warming and acidification driven by rapid carbon release precedes Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is recognized by a major negative carbon isotope (δ13C) excursion (CIE) signifying an injection of isotopically light carbon into exogenic reservoirs, the mass, source, and tempo of which continue to be debated. Evidence of a transient precursor carbon release(s) has been identified in a few localities, although it remains equivocal whether there is a gl
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Preliminary geologic map of the Cherry Hill quadrangle, Dinwiddie, Sussex, and Greensville Counties, Virginia

The Cherry Hill 7.5-minute quadrangle straddles the Coastal Plain and Piedmont Provinces along the Tidewater Fall Line. Rocks of the eastern Piedmont Roanoke Rapids terrane crop out in the western part of the quadrangle and consist of greenschist- to amphibolite-facies Neoproterozoic felsic to intermediate metavolcanic rocks, some of which contain flattened quartz phenocrysts and are locally isocl
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

The Anthropocene as an event, not an epoch

Over the course of the last decade the concept of the Anthropocene has become widely established within and beyond the geoscientific literature but its boundaries remain undefined. Formal definition of the Anthropocene as a chronostratigraphical series and geochronological epoch following the Holocene, at a fixed horizon and with a precise global start date, has been proposed, but fails to account
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
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Science

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Sediment Sources graphic

New Review of Sediment Science Informs Choices of Management Actions in the Chesapeake

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) is pursuing restoration efforts to improve habitats and associated water quality for fisheries, both in the watershed and estuary. Excess sediment decreases light in tidal waters for submerged aquatic vegetation, harms oysters, carries contaminants, and impairs stream health throughout the watershed. The CBP is implementing management actions and policies...
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Core Science Systems, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
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New Review of Sediment Science Informs Choices of Management Actions in the Chesapeake

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) is pursuing restoration efforts to improve habitats and associated water quality for fisheries, both in the watershed and estuary. Excess sediment decreases light in tidal waters for submerged aquatic vegetation, harms oysters, carries contaminants, and impairs stream health throughout the watershed. The CBP is implementing management actions and policies...
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Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Task 4 Image

Task 4-Synthesis of Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basin Stratigraphy

The objective of Task 4 is to develop an improved understanding of the lithostratigraphic framework of the Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basins, with specific emphasis on how the lithologic characteristics of strata that accumulate in a sedimentary basin have been controlled by variations in tectonics, sea level, and climate. The resulting improved understanding of stratigraphy will aid...
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
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Task 4-Synthesis of Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basin Stratigraphy

The objective of Task 4 is to develop an improved understanding of the lithostratigraphic framework of the Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basins, with specific emphasis on how the lithologic characteristics of strata that accumulate in a sedimentary basin have been controlled by variations in tectonics, sea level, and climate. The resulting improved understanding of stratigraphy will aid...
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Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Task 3

Task 3-Coastal Transect Mapping and Landform Change

The area encompassed by Task 3 includes various coastal regions of the Great Lakes, with initial focus on several sites with coastal erosion hazards along the east margin of Lake Michigan.The objectives of Task 3 are listed as follows:1) Improve automatic procedures of extracting cliff tops and toes;2) Conduct sensitivity assessment of the automatic procedure of extracting cliff tops and toes to...
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Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
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Task 3-Coastal Transect Mapping and Landform Change

The area encompassed by Task 3 includes various coastal regions of the Great Lakes, with initial focus on several sites with coastal erosion hazards along the east margin of Lake Michigan.The objectives of Task 3 are listed as follows:1) Improve automatic procedures of extracting cliff tops and toes;2) Conduct sensitivity assessment of the automatic procedure of extracting cliff tops and toes to...
Learn More
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