Ten species of planktic foraminifera from PETM sediments in southern Maryland. The scale bars measure 150 microns (0.015 cm). Each specimen is similar in size to a grain of sand.
Marci M Robinson, Ph.D.
Marci M Robinson is a Research Geologist at the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center.
Marci is a Research Geologist specializing in planktic and benthic foraminifera and is the Project Chief of the Eastern Coastal Plain Studies project. The Eastern Coastal Plain Studies project aims to develop a greater understanding of the geology of the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain Province through the development of geologic maps and complementary geochronologic and paleontologic data. Detailed and regional-scale geologic mapping, subsurface investigations, and focused studies of landscape evolution and paleoclimate are combined to address geologic framework problems, paleoecological reconstructions, and applied water resource issues such as water-resource availability and sustainability. Within this project, Marci's work focuses on Eocene Hyperthermals.
Education and Certifications
- Ph.D. Environmental Science and Policy (Geology), George Mason University, 2007
- Thesis: Paleo-inlet dynamics and the genesis of shelf sand ridges via benthic foraminifera: Old Currituck Inlet, Virginia/North Carolina (Advisor: Randolph A. McBride)
- B.S. Earth Systems Science (High Distinction), George Mason University, 1996
- Thesis: Planktonic foraminiferal assemblages and sea surface temperature estimates for the Benguela Current region of Southwest Africa (Advisor: Richard J. Diecchio)
Professional Experience
Research Geologist, USGS (Reston), 2009-Present - Specializing in planktic and benthic foraminifera, changes in shallow shelf environments and paleoclimate research. Current projects focus on the Pliocene and Eocene Hyperthermals
Mendenhall Post-doctoral Fellow, USGS (Reston), 2007-2009 - Project Title: Integrated Multi-proxy Analyses of mid-Pliocene Ocean Temperatures for an Improved Paleoclimate Reconstruction
Science and Products
Geological Investigations of the Neogene
Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM4)
Geological Investigations of the Neogene Project
Eocene Hyperthermals Project
PlioMIP (Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project) Strategy, Communications and Synthesis for the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC AR5)
Pliocene Planktic Foraminiferal Census Data from the Northeast Indian Ocean and Southeast Virginia
Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 3 (PlioMIP3) Data Distribution
Paleocene-Eocene foraminifer census data from South Dover Bridge and Mattawoman Creek-Billingsley Road coreholes
PRISM4 (mid-Piacenzian) Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction Data
Alkenone and foraminifer abundance data from Miocene and Pliocene Atlantic Coastal Plain sediments
Planktic foraminifer census data for ODP Sites 907, 909 and 911
PRISM late Pliocene (Piacenzian) alkenone - derived SST data
Ten species of planktic foraminifera from PETM sediments in southern Maryland. The scale bars measure 150 microns (0.015 cm). Each specimen is similar in size to a grain of sand.
A USGS marine sediment core from southern Maryland. The changes in deposition at the PETM are clearly apparent in the core as it changes abruptly from dark sand (lower right side of box is oldest) to lighter clay (upper left side of box is youngest), indicating sudden environmental changes associated with a large pulse of atmospheric carbon.
A USGS marine sediment core from southern Maryland. The changes in deposition at the PETM are clearly apparent in the core as it changes abruptly from dark sand (lower right side of box is oldest) to lighter clay (upper left side of box is youngest), indicating sudden environmental changes associated with a large pulse of atmospheric carbon.
Benthic foraminiferal community changes across the Miocene climatic optimum Identified by SHEBI analysis (SHE analysis for biozone identification), Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA
Paleoenvironmental and paleoecological dynamics of the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain prior to and during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
Paleogene Earth perturbations in the US Atlantic Coastal Plain (PEP-US): Coring transects of hyperthermals to understand past carbon injections and ecosystem responses
What the cliffs near America’s earliest settlements tell us about climate change
Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 3 (PlioMIP3) – Science plan and experimental design
Early Pliocene (Zanclean) stratigraphic framework for PRISM5/PlioMIP3 time slices
Assessing environmental change associated with early Eocene hyperthermals in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA
Planktic foraminifera
The relative stability of planktic foraminifer thermal preferences over the past 3 million years
Ratification of Neogene subseries as formal units in international chronostratigraphy
Very high Middle Miocene surface productivity on the U.S. mid-Atlantic shelf amid glacioeustatic sea level variability
Astrochronology of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum on the Atlantic Coastal Plain
Science and Products
Geological Investigations of the Neogene
Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM4)
Geological Investigations of the Neogene Project
Eocene Hyperthermals Project
PlioMIP (Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project) Strategy, Communications and Synthesis for the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC AR5)
Pliocene Planktic Foraminiferal Census Data from the Northeast Indian Ocean and Southeast Virginia
Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 3 (PlioMIP3) Data Distribution
Paleocene-Eocene foraminifer census data from South Dover Bridge and Mattawoman Creek-Billingsley Road coreholes
PRISM4 (mid-Piacenzian) Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction Data
Alkenone and foraminifer abundance data from Miocene and Pliocene Atlantic Coastal Plain sediments
Planktic foraminifer census data for ODP Sites 907, 909 and 911
PRISM late Pliocene (Piacenzian) alkenone - derived SST data
Ten species of planktic foraminifera from PETM sediments in southern Maryland. The scale bars measure 150 microns (0.015 cm). Each specimen is similar in size to a grain of sand.
Ten species of planktic foraminifera from PETM sediments in southern Maryland. The scale bars measure 150 microns (0.015 cm). Each specimen is similar in size to a grain of sand.
A USGS marine sediment core from southern Maryland. The changes in deposition at the PETM are clearly apparent in the core as it changes abruptly from dark sand (lower right side of box is oldest) to lighter clay (upper left side of box is youngest), indicating sudden environmental changes associated with a large pulse of atmospheric carbon.
A USGS marine sediment core from southern Maryland. The changes in deposition at the PETM are clearly apparent in the core as it changes abruptly from dark sand (lower right side of box is oldest) to lighter clay (upper left side of box is youngest), indicating sudden environmental changes associated with a large pulse of atmospheric carbon.