Meeting Information

Buried Surprises -- A Paleontologist Tells Tales of the Greatest Impact Crater in the U.S.

November 18, 2009
American Center for Physics
College Park, MD

EdwardsSpeaker: Dr. Lucy Edwards, U.S. Geological Survey

Time and Location: Talk starts at 1:00 pm with Q&A to follow. It will be held in one of the first floor conference rooms at the American Center for Physics, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD. This is located off River Road, between Kenilworth Ave. and Paint Branch Parkway.

Abstract: The largest known impact crater in the United States lies completely buried under the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay, the eastern shore of Virginia, and adjacent parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Dr. Lucy Edwards is a paleontologist who has been studying fossil algae for the U.S. Geological Survey for over 30 years. In this lecture, she will: tell you a bit about herself, tell you a bit about the crater, tell you how she and the crater came together, and amuse you with personal tales of the investigation into the crater (melted fossils, a mile-deep core hole, edible experiments).

Biography:  Dr. Edwards is a research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey where she studies the geologic framework and the dinoflagellate biostratigraphy and paleoecology of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. Recently she has been involved in diverse aspects of the Intercontinental Scientific Drilling Program-USGS deep corehole into the “moat” of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure. She is a fellow of the Geological Society of America and the American Association for Advancement of Science. She received her B.A. (Honors College) in geology at the University of Oregon and her Ph. D. in geological sciences at the University of California, Riverside.