Lesleigh Anderson
I study past climates and environments using sediments from lakes, wetlands, and permafrost with an emphasis on water isotope tracers. The continuous records that I develop extend from the present through past decades, centuries, millennia, and previous glaciations and reflect hydroclimatic processes on global, regional, and local scales.
My main study areas are the North America cordilleran west, from Alaska to the southern Rockies. My main interests are to discover water isotope data which documents how and why changes in climate have affected alpine and arctic landscapes across space and through time. In addition to paleoclimatology and geochronological methods, my research also includes multiple perspectives from aspects of paleolimnology (lake sedimentology, geochemistry, hydrology), geomorphology, and the modern climatology of North Pacific ocean-atmosphere interactions.
Professional Experience
2005 – present, Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey Geoscience and Environmental Change Science Center
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Geosciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst (2005)
M.Sc., Geology, University of Massachusetts Amherst (2000)
B.Sc., Chemistry, University of Utah (1985)
Science and Products
Holocene paleohydrology from alpine lake sediment, Emerald Lake, Wasatch Plateau of central Utah, USA
A stable isotope record of late Quaternary hydrologic change in the northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska (eastern Beringia)
Holocene hydroclimatic reorganizations in northwest Canada inferred from lacustrine carbonate oxygen isotopes
USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources
Persistence and plasticity in conifer water-use strategies
Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in northern Interior Alaska: The interplay of climate, fire, and subsurface hydrology
An assessment of plant species differences on cellulose oxygen isotopes from two Kenai Peninsula, Alaska peatlands: Implications for hydroclimatic reconstructions
Fish Lake limnology and watershed aqueous geochemistry, Fish Lake Plateau, Utah
Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska
A North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) of the Common Era
High sensitivity of gross primary production in the Rocky Mountains to summer rain
A synthesis of thermokarst lake water balance in high-latitude regions of North America from isotope tracers
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Past Perspectives of Water in the West
Holocene Hydroclimate of Western North America
Stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions of precipitation samples from selected Colorado and Utah National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) sites
Tree-ring widths of Picea engelmannii at Andrews Meadow, Rocky Mountain National Park
Data Release for Holocene Paleohydrology from alpine lake sediment, Emerald Lake, Wasatch Plateau of central Utah, USA
Data Release for "Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in northern Interior Alaska: the interplay of climate, fire, and subsurface hydrology"
Data release for Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska
Science and Products
Holocene paleohydrology from alpine lake sediment, Emerald Lake, Wasatch Plateau of central Utah, USA
A stable isotope record of late Quaternary hydrologic change in the northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska (eastern Beringia)
Holocene hydroclimatic reorganizations in northwest Canada inferred from lacustrine carbonate oxygen isotopes
USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources
Persistence and plasticity in conifer water-use strategies
Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in northern Interior Alaska: The interplay of climate, fire, and subsurface hydrology
An assessment of plant species differences on cellulose oxygen isotopes from two Kenai Peninsula, Alaska peatlands: Implications for hydroclimatic reconstructions
Fish Lake limnology and watershed aqueous geochemistry, Fish Lake Plateau, Utah
Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska
A North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) of the Common Era
High sensitivity of gross primary production in the Rocky Mountains to summer rain
A synthesis of thermokarst lake water balance in high-latitude regions of North America from isotope tracers
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.