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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

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WORK

USGS Scientists Help Address Conflict Mining

Artisanal miners digging a mining pit using simple tools such as shovels, buckets and water pumps.

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.

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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

Publications

Atlas of pollen and spores from forests and wetlands in the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA Atlas of pollen and spores from forests and wetlands in the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA

This atlas includes descriptions and illustrations of pollen and spores from plant species found in the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States of America, with a focus on taxa that grow in or near riparian wetlands. We include light micrographs and detailed descriptions of 141 species spanning 106 genera and 69 families. This atlas was compiled to facilitate the identification...
Authors
Debra A. Willard, Christopher E. Bernhardt
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

On the fidelity of oxygen isotope-based sea level reconstructions: A case study of Marine Isotope Stage 3 On the fidelity of oxygen isotope-based sea level reconstructions: A case study of Marine Isotope Stage 3

Although foraminiferal oxygen isotope records (δ18OF) have long been used to develop time-continuous estimates of past global ice volume, growing evidence indicates that the ice volume and temperature contributions to δ18OF diverge considerably over the last glacial cycle. Across Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; 57 to 29 ka), estimates of peak global sea level based on δ18OF are ∼30 m...
Authors
Tamara Pico, Jesse R. Farmer, Sarah Shackleton, Robert K. Poirier, Bradley R. Markle, Lorraine E. Lisiecki
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Springs of the Catskill Mountains: A conduit flow system in predominantly siliciclastic strata Springs of the Catskill Mountains: A conduit flow system in predominantly siliciclastic strata

The Catskill Mountains of New York state are composed of thick sequences of interbedded mudstone, sandstone, and siltstone that are intercalated with thin beds of paludal limestone and calcareous mudstone. Sandstones often contain rip-up clasts of calcareous material at their bases and contain minor amounts of carbonate cement throughout their mass. This minor amount of calcareous...
Authors
Daniel H. Doctor, Joshua R. Benton, Martin Briggs, William E. Odom, Neil C. Terry
By
New York Water Science Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
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Science

Riparian Assessment in Orson, Pennsylvania

Chesapeake Stream Team

Connecting Conservation Practices to Local Stream Health in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
Chesapeake Stream Team

Chesapeake Stream Team

Connecting Conservation Practices to Local Stream Health in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
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In a forest, USGS scientist Zach Clifton stands in a stream and assesses a streambank.

Evaluating the Effects of Stream-Restoration Practices in an Impaired Agricultural System

Stream-restoration practices are widely used throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed to improve stream health and function, but research into their effectiveness is limited in agricultural settings. A study in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, suggests that stream-restoration practices can significantly reduce streambank erosion and enhance floodplain deposition, changes that can reduce in-stream...
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
Evaluating the Effects of Stream-Restoration Practices in an Impaired Agricultural System

Evaluating the Effects of Stream-Restoration Practices in an Impaired Agricultural System

Stream-restoration practices are widely used throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed to improve stream health and function, but research into their effectiveness is limited in agricultural settings. A study in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, suggests that stream-restoration practices can significantly reduce streambank erosion and enhance floodplain deposition, changes that can reduce in-stream...
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Licking Creek, Maryland

The “sediment shadow” in Chesapeake Bay’s tidal freshwater rivers has important implications for restoration

Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts are focused on reducing nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads to the estuary. A new synthesis of existing long-term records of suspended-sediment concentrations suggests that only a limited amount of watershed sediment is currently transported by rivers past the tidal freshwater zone and into saltier waters of the Chesapeake Bay.
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
The “sediment shadow” in Chesapeake Bay’s tidal freshwater rivers has important implications for restoration

The “sediment shadow” in Chesapeake Bay’s tidal freshwater rivers has important implications for restoration

Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts are focused on reducing nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads to the estuary. A new synthesis of existing long-term records of suspended-sediment concentrations suggests that only a limited amount of watershed sediment is currently transported by rivers past the tidal freshwater zone and into saltier waters of the Chesapeake Bay.
Learn More
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