Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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.

See Featured Story

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.

View Story

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

Creating 3D point clouds, digital elevation models, and orthomosaics from historical aerial imagery through structure from motion aided photogrammetry Creating 3D point clouds, digital elevation models, and orthomosaics from historical aerial imagery through structure from motion aided photogrammetry

Detailed and accurate historical data are crucial to characterizing landscape change, whether it is caused by natural phenomena or of anthropogenic origin. Aerial imagery has been periodically collected by government and nongovernment agencies, for a broad range of purposes, since the early 20th century. The acquisition of aerial images involves using standardized equipment with large...
Authors
Jessica D. DeWitt, Kathleen M. Boston, Sindhuja Sunder, Sandra Bond, Pete G. Chirico, Jennifer A. Curtis, Tom Nobles, Neffra Matthews
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Cambrian and Ordovician stratigraphy, conodont biostratigraphy, and microfacies analysis to support 1:24,000-scale geologic mapping of the southern Lake Champlain valley, New York and Vermont Cambrian and Ordovician stratigraphy, conodont biostratigraphy, and microfacies analysis to support 1:24,000-scale geologic mapping of the southern Lake Champlain valley, New York and Vermont

Authors
Randall C. Orndorff, Mercer Parker, Stephen A. Leslie, John E. Repetski, John T. Haynes
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Stratigraphic notes—Volume 3, 2026 Stratigraphic notes—Volume 3, 2026

This is the third volume in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) series of reports on stratigraphy entitled “Stratigraphic Notes,” which consists of short papers that highlight stratigraphic studies, changes in stratigraphic nomenclature, and explanations of stratigraphic names and concepts used on published geologic maps. “Stratigraphic Notes” is a long-term (multiyear), multivolume...
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
View All

Science

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...
Learn More
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
Nick Giro at Potomac River overlooking Washington, DC

500 Years of Extreme Potomac Floods at Washington D.C.

Large floods on the Potomac River in Washington D.C. can be documented as early as 1784, and based on historical data and recent measurements, have occurred with increasing frequency since the mid-19th century. Human modifications to the Potomac estuary since Washington D.C. was established as the Federal capital, as well as increasingly heavy rainfall and land clearance in the watershed, likely...
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
500 Years of Extreme Potomac Floods at Washington D.C.

500 Years of Extreme Potomac Floods at Washington D.C.

Large floods on the Potomac River in Washington D.C. can be documented as early as 1784, and based on historical data and recent measurements, have occurred with increasing frequency since the mid-19th century. Human modifications to the Potomac estuary since Washington D.C. was established as the Federal capital, as well as increasingly heavy rainfall and land clearance in the watershed, likely...
Learn More
View All
Was this page helpful?