Lucy Edwards
Lucy Edwards is a Scientist Emeritus at the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center.
Lucy E Edwards focuses her research on the stratigraphy of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. Her specialty is dinoflagellates (a type of algae), and she studies their fossil cysts for what they reveal about the time and environment of deposition and how they came to be preserved in the fossil record. She also specializes in stratigraphic nomenclature and methods of stratigraphic correlation.
Mentorship/Outreach
- Courses taught at George Washington University, Indiana University, University of Kansas, University of Oslo, George Mason University, Türkiye Petrolleri AO.
Professional Experience
1974, 1975 (summers) Biostratigrapher, Exxon Production Research Co., Houston, TX
1977-2018 Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA
2018-present Scientist Emerita, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA
Education and Certifications
B.A. (Honors College), 1972, Geology, University of Oregon
Ph. D., 1977, Geological Sciences, University of California, Riverside
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Association for Advancement of Science (Fellow)
Geological Society of America (Fellow)
North American Micropaleontology Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology
The Paleontological Society (Fellow)
The Palynological Society
American Geophysical Union
USGS representative to North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 108
NACSN, note 67--Application for revision of Articles 36 and 37, Lithodemic units of the North American stratigraphic code NACSN, note 67--Application for revision of Articles 36 and 37, Lithodemic units of the North American stratigraphic code
Currently the North American Stratigraphic Code, (NACSN 2005, Article 37) sets restrictions on the use of the term “complex” for lithodemic units. With exceptions for “volcanic complex” and “structural complex,” a complex must consist of more than one genetic class of rock (i.e., sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic). Thus, the use of the term “complex” to describe masses of intrusive...
Authors
Robert M. Easton, Lucy E. Edwards, Randall C. Orndorff, Manuel Duguet, Ismael Ferrusquia-Villafranca
Cenozoic stratigraphy and structure of the Chesapeake Bay region Cenozoic stratigraphy and structure of the Chesapeake Bay region
The Salisbury embayment is a broad tectonic downwarp that is filled by generally seaward-thickening, wedge-shaped deposits of the central Atlantic Coastal Plain. Our two-day field trip will take us to the western side of this embayment from the Fall Zone in Washington, D.C., to some of the bluffs along Aquia Creek and the Potomac River in Virginia, and then to the Calvert Cliffs on the...
Authors
David S. Powars, Lucy E. Edwards, Susan M. Kidwell, J. Stephen Schindler
Short-term survival of ammonites in New Jersey after the end-Cretaceous bolide impact Short-term survival of ammonites in New Jersey after the end-Cretaceous bolide impact
A section containing the Cretaceous/Paleogene (= Cretaceous/Tertiary) boundary in Monmouth County, New Jersey, preserves a record of ammonites extending from the end of the Cretaceous into possibly the beginning of the Danian. The section includes the upper part of the Tinton Formation and lower part of the Hornerstown Formation. The top of the Tinton Formation is represented by a richly
Authors
Neil H. Landman, Matthew P. Garb, Remy Rovelli, Denton S. Ebel, Lucy E. Edwards
Preliminary physical stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and geophysical data of the USGS South Dover Bridge Core, Talbot County, Maryland Preliminary physical stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and geophysical data of the USGS South Dover Bridge Core, Talbot County, Maryland
The South Dover Bridge (SDB) corehole was drilled in October 2007 in Talbot County, Maryland. The main purpose for drilling this corehole was to characterize the Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the aquifers and confining units of this region. The data obtained from this core also will be used as a guide to geologic mapping and to help interpret...
Authors
Wilma B. Aleman Gonzalez, David S. Powars, Ellen Seefelt, Lucy E. Edwards, Jean M. Self-Trail, Colleen T. Durand, Arthur P. Schultz, Peter P. McLaughlin
Dinocyst taphonomy, impact craters, cyst ghosts, and the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) Dinocyst taphonomy, impact craters, cyst ghosts, and the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM)
Dinocysts recovered from sediments related to the Chesapeake Bay impact structure in Virginia and the earliest Eocene suboxic environment in Maryland show strange and intriguing details of preservation. Features such as curled processes, opaque debris, breakage, microborings and cyst ghosts, among others, invite speculation about catastrophic depositional processes, rapid burial and...
Authors
Lucy E. Edwards
Neither a year nor an annus can be a derived unit in the SI Neither a year nor an annus can be a derived unit in the SI
The year is not a unit of the SI. The only SI unit of measurement for time is the second. The word “annus” or “annum” does not appear anywhere in the current SI document. The word “year” is not in the table of “Non-SI units accepted for use with the International System of Units,” nor in the table of “Non-SI units whose values in SI units must be obtained experimentally,” nor even in the...
Authors
Lucy E. Edwards
An occurrence of the protocetid whale "Eocetus" wardii in the middle Eocene Piney Point Formation of Virginia An occurrence of the protocetid whale "Eocetus" wardii in the middle Eocene Piney Point Formation of Virginia
Two protocetid whale vertebrae, here referred to “Eocetus” wardii, have been recovered from the riverbed of the Pamunkey River in east-central Virginia. Neither bone was found in situ, but both were found with lumps of lithified matrix cemented to their surfaces. Most of this matrix was removed and processed for microfossils. Specimens of dinoflagellates were successfully recovered and...
Authors
Robert E. Weems, Lucy E. Edwards, Jason E. Osborne, A.A. Alford
Inside the crater, outside the crater: Stratigraphic details of the margin of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, Virginia, USA Inside the crater, outside the crater: Stratigraphic details of the margin of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, Virginia, USA
Two cores at the outer margin of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure show significant structural and depositional variations that illuminate its history. Detailed stratigraphy of the Watkins School core reveals that this site is outside the disruption boundary of the crater with respect to its lower part (nonmarine Cretaceous Potomac Formation), but just inside the boundary with respect...
Authors
Lucy E. Edwards, David S. Powars, J. Wright Horton,, Gregory Gohn, Jean Self-Trail, R. J. Litwin
Preliminary Physical Stratigraphy and Geophysical Data From the USGS Dixon Core, Onslow County, North Carolina Preliminary Physical Stratigraphy and Geophysical Data From the USGS Dixon Core, Onslow County, North Carolina
In October through November 2006, scientists from the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Eastern Region Earth Surface Processes Team (EESPT) and the Raleigh (N.C.) Water Science Center (WSC), in cooperation with the North Carolina Geological Survey (NCGS) and the Onslow County Water and Sewer Authority (ONWASA), drilled a stratigraphic test hole and well in Onslow County, N.C. The Dixon...
Authors
Ellen Seefelt, Wilma Aleman B. Gonzalez, Jean M. Self-Trail, Robert E. Weems, Lucy E. Edwards, Herbert A. Pierce, Colleen T. Durand
Supplemental materials for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville A, B, and C core holes, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Core-box photographs, coring-run tables, and depth-conversion files Supplemental materials for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville A, B, and C core holes, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Core-box photographs, coring-run tables, and depth-conversion files
During 2005-2006, the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program and the U.S. Geological Survey drilled three continuous core holes into the Chesapeake Bay impact structure to a total depth of 1766.3 m. A collection of supplemental materials that presents a record of the core recovery and measurement data for the Eyreville cores is available on CD-ROM at the end of this volume...
Authors
C.T. Durand, Lucy E. Edwards, M.L. Malinconico, David S. Powars
Comparison of clast frequency and size in the resurge deposits at the Chesapeake Bay impact structure (Eyreville A and Langley cores): Clues to the resurge process Comparison of clast frequency and size in the resurge deposits at the Chesapeake Bay impact structure (Eyreville A and Langley cores): Clues to the resurge process
Collapse and inward slumping of unconsolidated sedimentary strata expanded the Chesapeake Bay impact structure far beyond its central basement crater. During crater collapse, sediment-loaded water surged back to fill the crater. Here, we analyze clast frequency and granulometry of these resurge deposits in one core hole from the outermost part of the collapsed zone (i.e., Langley) as...
Authors
Jens Ormo, Erik Sturkell, J. Wright Horton,, David S. Powars, Lucy E. Edwards
Paleontological interpretations of crater processes and infilling of synimpact sediments from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure Paleontological interpretations of crater processes and infilling of synimpact sediments from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure
Biostratigraphic analysis of sedimentary breccias and diamictons in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure provides information regarding the timing and processes of late-stage gravitational crater collapse and ocean resurge. Studies of calcareous nannofossil and palynomorph assemblages in the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)-U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)...
Authors
Jean Self-Trail, Lucy E. Edwards, Ronald J. Litwin
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 108
NACSN, note 67--Application for revision of Articles 36 and 37, Lithodemic units of the North American stratigraphic code NACSN, note 67--Application for revision of Articles 36 and 37, Lithodemic units of the North American stratigraphic code
Currently the North American Stratigraphic Code, (NACSN 2005, Article 37) sets restrictions on the use of the term “complex” for lithodemic units. With exceptions for “volcanic complex” and “structural complex,” a complex must consist of more than one genetic class of rock (i.e., sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic). Thus, the use of the term “complex” to describe masses of intrusive...
Authors
Robert M. Easton, Lucy E. Edwards, Randall C. Orndorff, Manuel Duguet, Ismael Ferrusquia-Villafranca
Cenozoic stratigraphy and structure of the Chesapeake Bay region Cenozoic stratigraphy and structure of the Chesapeake Bay region
The Salisbury embayment is a broad tectonic downwarp that is filled by generally seaward-thickening, wedge-shaped deposits of the central Atlantic Coastal Plain. Our two-day field trip will take us to the western side of this embayment from the Fall Zone in Washington, D.C., to some of the bluffs along Aquia Creek and the Potomac River in Virginia, and then to the Calvert Cliffs on the...
Authors
David S. Powars, Lucy E. Edwards, Susan M. Kidwell, J. Stephen Schindler
Short-term survival of ammonites in New Jersey after the end-Cretaceous bolide impact Short-term survival of ammonites in New Jersey after the end-Cretaceous bolide impact
A section containing the Cretaceous/Paleogene (= Cretaceous/Tertiary) boundary in Monmouth County, New Jersey, preserves a record of ammonites extending from the end of the Cretaceous into possibly the beginning of the Danian. The section includes the upper part of the Tinton Formation and lower part of the Hornerstown Formation. The top of the Tinton Formation is represented by a richly
Authors
Neil H. Landman, Matthew P. Garb, Remy Rovelli, Denton S. Ebel, Lucy E. Edwards
Preliminary physical stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and geophysical data of the USGS South Dover Bridge Core, Talbot County, Maryland Preliminary physical stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and geophysical data of the USGS South Dover Bridge Core, Talbot County, Maryland
The South Dover Bridge (SDB) corehole was drilled in October 2007 in Talbot County, Maryland. The main purpose for drilling this corehole was to characterize the Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the aquifers and confining units of this region. The data obtained from this core also will be used as a guide to geologic mapping and to help interpret...
Authors
Wilma B. Aleman Gonzalez, David S. Powars, Ellen Seefelt, Lucy E. Edwards, Jean M. Self-Trail, Colleen T. Durand, Arthur P. Schultz, Peter P. McLaughlin
Dinocyst taphonomy, impact craters, cyst ghosts, and the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) Dinocyst taphonomy, impact craters, cyst ghosts, and the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM)
Dinocysts recovered from sediments related to the Chesapeake Bay impact structure in Virginia and the earliest Eocene suboxic environment in Maryland show strange and intriguing details of preservation. Features such as curled processes, opaque debris, breakage, microborings and cyst ghosts, among others, invite speculation about catastrophic depositional processes, rapid burial and...
Authors
Lucy E. Edwards
Neither a year nor an annus can be a derived unit in the SI Neither a year nor an annus can be a derived unit in the SI
The year is not a unit of the SI. The only SI unit of measurement for time is the second. The word “annus” or “annum” does not appear anywhere in the current SI document. The word “year” is not in the table of “Non-SI units accepted for use with the International System of Units,” nor in the table of “Non-SI units whose values in SI units must be obtained experimentally,” nor even in the...
Authors
Lucy E. Edwards
An occurrence of the protocetid whale "Eocetus" wardii in the middle Eocene Piney Point Formation of Virginia An occurrence of the protocetid whale "Eocetus" wardii in the middle Eocene Piney Point Formation of Virginia
Two protocetid whale vertebrae, here referred to “Eocetus” wardii, have been recovered from the riverbed of the Pamunkey River in east-central Virginia. Neither bone was found in situ, but both were found with lumps of lithified matrix cemented to their surfaces. Most of this matrix was removed and processed for microfossils. Specimens of dinoflagellates were successfully recovered and...
Authors
Robert E. Weems, Lucy E. Edwards, Jason E. Osborne, A.A. Alford
Inside the crater, outside the crater: Stratigraphic details of the margin of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, Virginia, USA Inside the crater, outside the crater: Stratigraphic details of the margin of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, Virginia, USA
Two cores at the outer margin of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure show significant structural and depositional variations that illuminate its history. Detailed stratigraphy of the Watkins School core reveals that this site is outside the disruption boundary of the crater with respect to its lower part (nonmarine Cretaceous Potomac Formation), but just inside the boundary with respect...
Authors
Lucy E. Edwards, David S. Powars, J. Wright Horton,, Gregory Gohn, Jean Self-Trail, R. J. Litwin
Preliminary Physical Stratigraphy and Geophysical Data From the USGS Dixon Core, Onslow County, North Carolina Preliminary Physical Stratigraphy and Geophysical Data From the USGS Dixon Core, Onslow County, North Carolina
In October through November 2006, scientists from the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Eastern Region Earth Surface Processes Team (EESPT) and the Raleigh (N.C.) Water Science Center (WSC), in cooperation with the North Carolina Geological Survey (NCGS) and the Onslow County Water and Sewer Authority (ONWASA), drilled a stratigraphic test hole and well in Onslow County, N.C. The Dixon...
Authors
Ellen Seefelt, Wilma Aleman B. Gonzalez, Jean M. Self-Trail, Robert E. Weems, Lucy E. Edwards, Herbert A. Pierce, Colleen T. Durand
Supplemental materials for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville A, B, and C core holes, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Core-box photographs, coring-run tables, and depth-conversion files Supplemental materials for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville A, B, and C core holes, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Core-box photographs, coring-run tables, and depth-conversion files
During 2005-2006, the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program and the U.S. Geological Survey drilled three continuous core holes into the Chesapeake Bay impact structure to a total depth of 1766.3 m. A collection of supplemental materials that presents a record of the core recovery and measurement data for the Eyreville cores is available on CD-ROM at the end of this volume...
Authors
C.T. Durand, Lucy E. Edwards, M.L. Malinconico, David S. Powars
Comparison of clast frequency and size in the resurge deposits at the Chesapeake Bay impact structure (Eyreville A and Langley cores): Clues to the resurge process Comparison of clast frequency and size in the resurge deposits at the Chesapeake Bay impact structure (Eyreville A and Langley cores): Clues to the resurge process
Collapse and inward slumping of unconsolidated sedimentary strata expanded the Chesapeake Bay impact structure far beyond its central basement crater. During crater collapse, sediment-loaded water surged back to fill the crater. Here, we analyze clast frequency and granulometry of these resurge deposits in one core hole from the outermost part of the collapsed zone (i.e., Langley) as...
Authors
Jens Ormo, Erik Sturkell, J. Wright Horton,, David S. Powars, Lucy E. Edwards
Paleontological interpretations of crater processes and infilling of synimpact sediments from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure Paleontological interpretations of crater processes and infilling of synimpact sediments from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure
Biostratigraphic analysis of sedimentary breccias and diamictons in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure provides information regarding the timing and processes of late-stage gravitational crater collapse and ocean resurge. Studies of calcareous nannofossil and palynomorph assemblages in the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)-U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)...
Authors
Jean Self-Trail, Lucy E. Edwards, Ronald J. Litwin
*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