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
Dinocyst taphonomy, impact craters, cyst ghosts, and the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM)
Preliminary physical stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and geophysical data of the USGS South Dover Bridge Core, Talbot County, Maryland
Neither a year nor an annus can be a derived unit in the SI
An occurrence of the protocetid whale "Eocetus" wardii in the middle Eocene Piney Point Formation of Virginia
Inside the crater, outside the crater: Stratigraphic details of the margin of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, Virginia, USA
Preliminary Physical Stratigraphy and Geophysical Data From the USGS Dixon Core, Onslow County, North Carolina
Postimpact deposition in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Variations in eustasy, compaction, sediment supply, and passive-aggressive tectonism
Geologic columns for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville A and B cores, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Sediment-clast breccias, 1096 to 444 m depth
High-resolution seismic-reflection images across the ICDP-USGS Eyreville deep drilling site, Chesapeake Bay impact structure
Geologic columns for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville B core, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Impactites and crystalline rocks, 1766 to 1096 m depth
Rock-avalanche and ocean-resurge deposits in the late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Evidence from the ICDP-USGS Eyreville cores, Virginia, USA
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
Science and Products
- Maps
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 105
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 biological andAuthorsLucy E. EdwardsPreliminary 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 well data froAuthorsWilma B. Alemán González, David S. Powars, Ellen Seefelt, Lucy E. Edwards, Jean M. Self-Trail, Colleen T. Durand, Arthur P. Schultz, Peter P. McLaughlinNeither 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 tableAuthorsLucy E. EdwardsAn 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 this floraAuthorsRobert E. Weems, Lucy E. Edwards, Jason E. Osborne, A.A. AlfordInside 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 to its uppAuthorsLucy E. Edwards, David S. Powars, J. Wright Horton,, Gregory Gohn, Jean Self-Trail, R. J. LitwinPreliminary 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 corehole was cAuthorsEllen Seefelt, Wilma Aleman B. Gonzalez, Jean M. Self-Trail, Robert E. Weems, Lucy E. Edwards, Herbert A. Pierce, Colleen T. DurandPostimpact deposition in the Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Variations in eustasy, compaction, sediment supply, and passive-aggressive tectonism
The Eyreville and Exmore, Virginia, core holes were drilled in the inner basin and annular trough, respectively, of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, and they allow us to evaluate sequence deposition in an impact crater. We provide new high-resolution geochronologic (<1 Ma) and sequence-stratigraphic interpretations of the Exmore core, identify 12 definite (and four possible) postimpact depositAuthorsA.A. Kulpecz, K.G. Miller, J.V. Browning, Lucy E. Edwards, David S. Powars, P.P. McLaughlin, A.D. Harris, M.D. FeigensonGeologic columns for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville A and B cores, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Sediment-clast breccias, 1096 to 444 m depth
The Eyreville A and B cores, recovered from the “moat” of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, provide a thick section of sediment-clast breccias and minor stratified sediments from 1095.74 to 443.90 m. This paper discusses the components of these breccias, presents a geologic column and descriptive lithologic framework for them, and formalizes the Exmore Formation. From 1095.74 to ~867 m, the corAuthorsLucy E. Edwards, David S. Powars, Gregory Gohn, H. DypvikHigh-resolution seismic-reflection images across the ICDP-USGS Eyreville deep drilling site, Chesapeake Bay impact structure
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) acquired two 1.4-km-long, high-resolution (~5 m vertical resolution) seismic-reflection lines in 2006 that cross near the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)–USGS Eyreville deep drilling site located above the late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure in Virginia, USA. Five-meter spacing of seismic sources and geophones produced high-resAuthorsDavid S. Powars, Rufus D. Catchings, Mark R. Goldman, Gregory Gohn, J. Wright Horton,, Lucy E. Edwards, Michael J. Rymer, G. GandhokGeologic columns for the ICDP-USGS Eyreville B core, Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Impactites and crystalline rocks, 1766 to 1096 m depth
The International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)-U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Eyreville drill cores from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure provide one of the most complete geologic sections ever obtained from an impact structure. This paper presents a series of geologic columns and descriptive lithologic information for the lower impactite and crystalline-rock sections in the coAuthorsJ. Wright Horton, R.L. Gibson, W.U. Reimold, A. Wittmann, Gregory Gohn, Lucy E. EdwardsRock-avalanche and ocean-resurge deposits in the late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure: Evidence from the ICDP-USGS Eyreville cores, Virginia, USA
An unusually thick section of sedimentary breccias dominated by target-sediment clasts is a distinctive feature of the late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure. A cored 1766-m-deep section recovered from the central part of this marine-target structure by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)-U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drilling project contains 678 m of these breccAuthorsGregory Gohn, David S. Powars, H. Dypvik, Lucy E. EdwardsComparison 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 well as a corAuthorsJens Ormo, Erik Sturkell, J. Wright Horton,, David S. Powars, Lucy E. Edwards
*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