Charles Savrda headshot
Charles Savrda
Department of Geosciences
Professor Emeritus

Research Areas: Trace fossils (ichnofossils or biogenic sedimentary structures) and their use in stratigraphic, paleoenvironmental, and paleoceanographic studies

Office: 2084 Beard Eaves Coliseum

Address: 2050 Beard Eaves Coliseum
Auburn, AL 36849

Email: savrdce@auburn.edu


Education
Ph.D., Geosciences, University of Southern California
1986
M.S., Geosciences, University of Southern California
1983
B.A., Geology, Rutgers University
1980


Professional Employment
Professor Emeritus, Auburn University
2020 - Present
Professor, Auburn University
1995 - 2020
Interim Dean, COSAM, Auburn University
2010 - 2013
Professor and Chair, Auburn University
2005 - 2010
Associate Professor, Auburn University
1991 - 1995


Research and Teaching Interests

Dr. Savrda teaches undergraduate courses in Historical Geology, Sedimentary Petrology, and Field Camp. On the graduate level, he teaches Directed Studies in Ichnology and co-teaches Geology of Organic Matter, Facies Analysis and Sequence Stratigraphy, and Cycles through Earth History. Dr. Savrda’s research emphasizes trace fossils (ichnofossils or biogenic sedimentary structures) and their use in stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental analyses. Recent interests include: (1) organic-rich mudrocks and benthic oxygenation histories of Phanerozoic marine basins; (2) orbital-climate forcing and rhythmic bedding in North American Cretaceous chalk/marl sequences; (3) Cretaceous and Tertiary sequence stratigraphy and the ichno-sedimentologic record of sea-level dynamics in marine strata; and (4) bedrock bioerosion in freshwater aquatic systems. Dr. Savrda currently serves the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) as Paleontology Councilor and Associate Editor of the journal Palaios. Previously, he served as Co-Editor of Palaios, Associate Editor for the journal Ichnos, and as a distinguished lecturer for the Paleontological Society.


Selected Publications

  1. Urash, R.G., and Savrda, C.E., 2017, Ichnology of an Eocene shallow marine passive margin condensed section, eastern Gulf coastal plain, Alabama, U.S.A.: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 471, p. 58-70.
  2. Udgata, D.B.P., and Savrda, C.E., 2016, Relationships between glauconite and sequence stratigraphic units in a Lower Paleocene passive margin shelf succession (Clayton Formation, central Alabama): Southeastern Geology, v. 52, p. 61-78.
  3. Savrda, C.E., Bingham, P.S., and Daymond, P.A., 2016, Rhizocorallium in estuarine Ingersoll shale (Upper Cretaceous Eutaw Formation, eastern Alabama coastal plain): Cretaceous Research, v. 63, p. 54-62.
  4. Savrda, C.E., Daymond, P.A., and Hespel, A-M., 2016, Preservation of mucus trails by early pyritization in Cretaceous Ingersoll shale (Eutaw Formation, eastern Alabama, U.S.A.): Palaios, v. 31, p. 25-34.
  5. Savrda, C.E., 2014, Limited ichnologic fidelity and temporal resolution in pelagic sediments: Paleoenvironmental and paleoecologic implications: Palaios, v. 29, p. 210-217.






Last updated: 01/25/2023