Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
The primary mission of the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center (FBGC) is to provide detailed scientific data and assessments to support natural resource management, public safety, and national security. The FBGC specializes in:
Geologic mapping and hazards
Paleontology, stratigraphy, and environmental geology
Special geologic studies at the intersection of national security and mineral resources
USGS Scientists Help Address Conflict Mining
USGS Scientists Help Address Conflict Mining
The USGS has collaborated with several international organizations working to track and monitor illegal mining and armed groups funded by natural resources around the world.
Mid-Atlantic Stream & Sediment Science
Mid-Atlantic Stream & Sediment Science
FBGC's ecologist Greg Noe's work is highlighted in this great article discussing legacy erosion and sedimentation in Mid-Atlantic watersheds.
Climate Change Impacts on Mangrove Forests
Climate Change Impacts on Mangrove Forests
FBGC scientists Miriam Jones and Lynn Wingard were recently interviewed by NPR regarding climate change and mangrove forests.
Publications
The nonpoint source challenge: Obstacles and opportunities for meeting nutrient reduction goals in the Chesapeake Bay watershed The nonpoint source challenge: Obstacles and opportunities for meeting nutrient reduction goals in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
This document examines the Chesapeake Bay watershed response to nutrient and sediment reduction efforts under the Clean Water Act's total maximum daily load (TMDL) regulation. As the 2025 Chesapeake Bay TMDL deadline approaches, water quality goals remain unmet, primarily because of nonpoint source pollution, the largest remaining source of nutrients and sediment, and the primary...
Pysochron: A Python-based solution for calculating cosmogenic 26Al/10Be isochron burial ages Pysochron: A Python-based solution for calculating cosmogenic 26Al/10Be isochron burial ages
Cosmogenic 26Al/10Be isochron burial dating is a powerful tool for dating sediment burial over the past several million years. By measuring in-situ 26Al and 10Be in a suite of samples from the same depth in a buried deposit, it is possible to quantify the inventory of cosmogenic nuclides produced after burial, date the burial of shallow sediments, identify sediment reworking, and...
Ecological thresholds and transformations due to climate change: The role of abiotic stress Ecological thresholds and transformations due to climate change: The role of abiotic stress
An ecological threshold is the point at which a comparatively small environmental change triggers an abrupt and disproportionately large ecological response. In the face of accelerating climate change, there is concern that abrupt ecosystem transformations will become more widespread as critical ecological thresholds are crossed. There has been ongoing debate, however, regarding the...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Geographic Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center
Science
Coastal Wetland Vulnerability to Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise: Understanding Ecological Thresholds and Ecosystem Transformations
Eighteen USGS coastal scientists from all four coasts of the conterminous United States are working together to advance the understanding of climate change and sea-level rise impacts to coastal wetlands.
By
California Water Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Great Lakes Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Geographic Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Quaternary Geologic Mapping of the Glaciated Regions Project
Quaternary Geologic Mapping of the Glaciated Regions Project
Task 3 - Geologic Mapping of the (other) Non-Coalition Glaciated States
The area encompassed by Task 3 comprises the non-coalition (other) states within the glaciated region, including Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and New Jersey. The primary objective of Task 3 is to continue the compilation of existing and create new 1:500,000-scale Quaternary geologic maps for the region, and to conduct new 1:24,000-scale mapping in areas of...