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
Effects of climate variability and human activities on Chesapeake Bay and the implications for ecosystem restoration
Climatic variability in the eastern United States over the past millennium from Chesapeake Bay sediments
Historical trends in Chesapeake Bay dissolved oxygen based on benthic foraminifera from sediment cores
Middle Pliocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction; PRISM2
Preliminary paleontologic report on core 37 from Pass Key, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay
A record of ecosystem change, Manatee Bay, Barnes Sound, Florida
Phanerozoic stratigraphy of Northwind Ridge, magnetic anomalies in the Canada Basin, and the geometry and timing of rifting in the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean
Preliminary paleontologic report on cores 19A and 19B, from Russell Bank, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay
Pollen and geochronological data from South Florida; Taylor Creek Site 2
Two new species of Scolecopteris (Marattiales), sources of Torispora securis Balme and Thymospora thiessenii (Kosanke) Wilson et Venkatachala
Paleontological data from Mud Creek Core 1, southern Florida
Palynological census data from surface samples in south Florida
Science and Products
Effects of climate variability and human activities on Chesapeake Bay and the implications for ecosystem restoration
Climatic variability in the eastern United States over the past millennium from Chesapeake Bay sediments
Historical trends in Chesapeake Bay dissolved oxygen based on benthic foraminifera from sediment cores
Middle Pliocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction; PRISM2
Preliminary paleontologic report on core 37 from Pass Key, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay
A record of ecosystem change, Manatee Bay, Barnes Sound, Florida
Phanerozoic stratigraphy of Northwind Ridge, magnetic anomalies in the Canada Basin, and the geometry and timing of rifting in the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean
Preliminary paleontologic report on cores 19A and 19B, from Russell Bank, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay
Pollen and geochronological data from South Florida; Taylor Creek Site 2
Two new species of Scolecopteris (Marattiales), sources of Torispora securis Balme and Thymospora thiessenii (Kosanke) Wilson et Venkatachala
Paleontological data from Mud Creek Core 1, southern Florida
Palynological census data from surface samples in south Florida
*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