Debra A Willard, Ph.D.
I am a palynologist (pollen and spores) with expertise in paleoecology, paleoclimatology, and biostratigraphy. My biostratigraphic expertise extends from the Carboniferous to the Holocene, with an emphasis on Euramerica (Paleozoic) and the Northern Hemisphere. My paleoclimate expertise includes the late Paleozoic and the Paleogene to Holocene intervals.
Editorial Boards
- Global and Planetary Change
- Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution – Paleoecology section Review Editor
- Quaternary
- Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
Professional Experience
2021-Present Research Geologist, US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia
2011-2021 Coordinator, USGS Climate Research & Development Program
1991-2011 Research Geologist, US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia
1990-1991 Postdoctoral Researcher, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Education and Certifications
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Ph.D., Botany 1990
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - M.S., Botany 1985
The Pennsylvania State University - B.S., Botany 1982
Stephens College - A.A., Geology 1980
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Geophysical Union
Geological Society of America
The Palynological Society
Science and Products
Pollen census data from southern Florida; sites along a nutrient gradient in water conservation area 2A
Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound
Pliocene–Pleistocene pollen assemblages from the Yermak Plateau, Arctic Ocean: Sites 910 and 911
Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound
Southeast Atlantic marine and terrestrial response to middle Pliocene climate change
Preliminary report on the distribution of modern fauna and flora at selected sites in north-central and north-eastern Florida Bay
Preliminary paleontologic report on core T-24, Little Madeira Bay, Florida
Preliminary analysis of down-core biotic assemblages Bob Allen Keys, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay
Paleoecology of the Springfield Coal Member (Desmoinesian, Illinois Basin) near the Leslie Cemetery paleochannel, southwestern Indiana
Joint investigations of the Middle Pliocene climate I: PRISM paleoenvironmental reconstructions
Palynological record from the North Atlantic region at 3 Ma: Vegetational distribution during a period of global warmth
PRISM 8 degrees X 10 degrees North Hemisphere paleoclimate reconstruction; digital data
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 100
Pollen census data from southern Florida; sites along a nutrient gradient in water conservation area 2A
No abstract available.AuthorsD. A. Willard, P.E. MalinNeogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound
No abstract available.AuthorsGregory Gohn, G. L. Brewster-Wingard, Thomas M. Cronin, Lucy E. Edwards, T. G. Gibson, Meyer Rubin, D. A. WillardPliocene–Pleistocene pollen assemblages from the Yermak Plateau, Arctic Ocean: Sites 910 and 911
Palynological and paleobotanical research on upper Pliocene sediments from Meighen Island, Kap København, and deep-sea sites in the North Atlantic Ocean has indicated the presence of forest tundra far north of its present limits and warmer conditions than present. New pollen data from samples obtained on Ocean Drilling Program Leg 151 (Sites 910 and 911) on the Yermak Plateau of the Arctic Ocean pAuthorsDebra A. WillardNeogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound
During April and May, 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drilled a 510-ft-deep, continuously cored, stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound, as part of a field study of the Neogene and Quaternary geology of the Mississippi coastal area. The USGS drilled two new holes at the Horn Island site. The first hole was continuously cored to a depth of 510 ft; coring stopped at this dAuthorsGregory S. Gohn, G. Lynn Brewster-Wingard, Thomas M. Cronin, Lucy E. Edwards, Thomas G. Gibson, Meyer Rubin, Debra A. WillardSoutheast Atlantic marine and terrestrial response to middle Pliocene climate change
Analysis of planktic foraminifers and pollen from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 532 located on the continental margin of southwest Africa provides information on the link between Pliocene paleoceanographic conditions and paleoenvironments of southwest Africa. Increased upwelling at Site 532 correlates with southward migration of onshore vegetation regions. Both terrestrial and marine changes canAuthorsH. Dowsett, D. WillardPreliminary report on the distribution of modern fauna and flora at selected sites in north-central and north-eastern Florida Bay
No abstract available.AuthorsG. L. Brewster-Wingard, S. E. Ishman, Lucy E. Edwards, D. A. WillardPreliminary paleontologic report on core T-24, Little Madeira Bay, Florida
No abstract available.AuthorsS. E. Ishman, G. L. Brewster-Wingard, D. A. Willard, Thomas M. Cronin, Lucy E. Edwards, C. W. HolmesPreliminary analysis of down-core biotic assemblages Bob Allen Keys, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay
IntroductionA series of short piston cores (< 2m) were taken from eleven stations in Florida Bay in May, 1994 by researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (St. Petersburg, FL., Woods Hole, MA., and Denver CO.) in cooperation with South Florida Water Management District, and the Everglades National Park, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Core 6A from Bob Allen Keys (AuthorsG. L. Brewster-Wingard, S. E. Ishman, Thomas M. Cronin, Lucy E. Edwards, Debra A. Willard, R. B. HalleyPaleoecology of the Springfield Coal Member (Desmoinesian, Illinois Basin) near the Leslie Cemetery paleochannel, southwestern Indiana
The Springfield Coal Member (Carbondale Group, Petersburg Formation of Indiana) is split locally in Warrick and Gibson Counties, Indiana, by clastic rocks of the Folsomville Member (Carbondale Group, Petersburg Formation) that represent the Leslie Cemetery paleochannel, part of a large, interconnected paleochannel system in the Springfield coal bed. This study incorporated analysis of miospore andAuthorsDebra A. Willard, William A. DiMichele, Donald L. Eggert, James C. Hower, Carl B. Rexroad, Andrew C. ScottJoint investigations of the Middle Pliocene climate I: PRISM paleoenvironmental reconstructions
The Pliocene epoch represents an important transition from a climate regime with high-frequency, low-amplitude oscillations when the Northern Hemisphere lacked substantial ice sheets, to the typical high-frequency, high-amplitude Middle to Late Pleistocene regime characterized by glacial—interglacial cycles that involve waxing and waning of major Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. Analysis of middleAuthorsHarry J. Dowsett, Robert S. Thompson, John A. Barron, Thomas M. Cronin, Farley R. Fleming, Scott Ishman, Richard Z. Poore, Debra A. Willard, Thomas R. HoltzPalynological record from the North Atlantic region at 3 Ma: Vegetational distribution during a period of global warmth
Pollen assemblages from five mid-Pliocene, deep-marine and shallow-marine sites in the North Atlantic Ocean region were analyzed quantitatively to estimate vegetational composition and terrestrial paleoclimates during a time interval centered at about 3 Ma. Three subarctic sites (58–67°N latitude) from the Norwegian Sea, northern Iceland, and the Labrador Sea yielded pollen assemblages characterisAuthorsDebra A. WillardPRISM 8 degrees X 10 degrees North Hemisphere paleoclimate reconstruction; digital data
The PRISM 8?x10? data set represents several years of investigation by PRISM (Pliocene Research, Interpretation, and Synoptic Mapping) Project members. One of the goals of PRISM is to produce time-slice reconstructions of intervals of warmer than modern climate within the Pliocene Epoch. The first of these was chosen to be at 3.0 Ma (time scale of Berggren et al., 1985) and is published in GlobalAuthorsJohn A. Barron, Thomas M. Cronin, Harry J. Dowsett, Farley R. Fleming, Thomas R. Holtz, Scott E. Ishman, Richard Z. Poore, Robert S. Thompson, Debra A. Willard - News
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government