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
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
*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