Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences

Dr. Benfield is a Quaternary Paleoecologist and Geologist who specializes in understanding the recent geological and ecological history of forests, lakes, and wetlands. He uses a variety of research methods including fossil pollen (palynology), sedimentology, and biogeochemistry. Prior to coming to App State, he completed a PhD at Penn State and a Postdoc at Franklin and Marshall College. Major research projects include understanding the carbon cycling of temperate wetlands, the Quaternary history of the southern Appalachians, and using palaeoecological methods to inform the conservation and restoration of river-wetland corridors. 

Education

• Ph.D., Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University

• MSc., Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lehigh University

• BSc., Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University

Research interests

• Paleoclimatology

• Wetlands

• Terrestrial Carbon Cycle

• Palynology

Courses taught

• GES 1103 Environmental Geology

• GES 2250 Evolution of the Earth

• GES XXXX Paleoclimatology (Fall 2026)

Website and CV

• Dr Benfield's Google Scholar profile

• Dr Benfield's CV

Publications

• Hodelka, B.N, Black, M., Benfield, A.J., Ivory, S.J., Woolery, E.W., Woller, K., Zimmerman, S.R.H., and McGlue, M.M., 2025. Sedimentary records of late Pleistocene-Holocene paleoenvironments from Convict Lake (California, USA). Quaternary International, 724. 109739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109739

• Hodelka, B.N., McGlue, M.M., Benfield, A.J., Ivory, S.J., Starratt, S.W., and Zimmerman, S.R.H., 2024. Late Quaternary ostracode stratigraphy of Mono Lake (California, USA): Evidence for benthic ecosystem sensitivity to high-latitude climate forcing. Journal of Quaternary Science, 39(4), 648-664. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3607

• Benfield, A.J., Ivory, S.J, Hodelka, B., Zimmerman, S.R.H., McGlue, M.M., 2023, Terrestrial ecosystem response to abrupt climate change during the last deglaciation around Mono Lake, California, USA, Quaternary Research, 1-18, https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2022.70

• Kooyman, R.M., Ivory, S.J., Benfield, A.J., Wilf, P.D., 2022, Gondwanan survivor lineages and the high-risk biogeography of Anthropocene Southeast Asia, Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 60(4) 715-727, https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12853

• Benfield, A. J., Yu, Z., and Benavides, J.C., 2021, Environmental controls over Holocene carbon accumulation in Distichia muscoides-dominated peatlands in the Eastern Andes of Colombia, Quaternary Science Reviews, 251, 106687, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106687