Lesleigh Anderson
Dr. Lesleigh Anderson is a Research Geologist who uses sedimentology, geochemistry, and remote sensing tools in freshwater systems (e.g., lakes, wetlands, and permafrost) in support of water resource management, including salt lakes and natural hazards. Dr. Anderson manages the Quaternary Research Facility for sediment core processing and analyses.
Main study areas are in the North America cordilleran west, from Alaska to the southern Rockies. Research focuses on the development of water isotope tracers and sedimentary records to investigate hydrologic change across space and through time to better understand implications for local to regional water availability, ecosystem transformations, and geologic hazards.
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
M.Sc., Geology, University of Massachusetts Amherst
B.Sc., Chemistry, University of Utah
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 28
A stable isotope record of late Quaternary hydrologic change in the northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska (eastern Beringia) A stable isotope record of late Quaternary hydrologic change in the northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska (eastern Beringia)
A submillennial-resolution record of lake water oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) from chironomid head capsules is presented from Burial Lake, northwest Alaska. The record spans the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ~20–16k cal a bp) to the present and shows a series of large lake δ18O shifts (~5‰). Relatively low δ18O values occurred during a period covering the LGM, when the lake was a...
Authors
Amanda L. King, Lesleigh Anderson, Mark B. Abbott, Mary Edwards, Matthew S. Finkenbinder, Bruce P. Finney, Matthew J. Wooller
Holocene hydroclimatic reorganizations in northwest Canada inferred from lacustrine carbonate oxygen isotopes Holocene hydroclimatic reorganizations in northwest Canada inferred from lacustrine carbonate oxygen isotopes
Sub-centennial oxygen (δ18O) isotopes of ostracod and authigenic calcite from Squanga Lake provides evidence of hydroclimatic extremes and a series of post-glacial climate system reorganizations for the interior region of northwest Canada. Authigenic calcite δ18O values range from −16‰ to −21‰ and are presently similar to modern lake water and annual precipitation values. Ostracod δ18O...
Authors
G. Everett Lasher, Mark B. Abbott, Lesleigh Anderson, Lindsey Yasarer, Michael Rosenheimer, Bruce P. Finney
USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with university, Federal, Tribal, and independent partners, conducts fundamental research on the distribution, vulnerability, and importance of permafrost in arctic and boreal ecosystems. Scientists, land managers, and policy makers use USGS data to help make decisions for development, wildlife habitat, and other needs. Native villages...
Authors
Mark P. Waldrop, Lesleigh Anderson, Mark Dornblaser, Li H. Erikson, Ann E. Gibbs, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Stephanie R. James, Miriam C. Jones, Joshua C. Koch, Mary-Cathrine Leewis, Kristen L. Manies, Burke J. Minsley, Neal J. Pastick, Vijay Patil, Frank Urban, Michelle A. Walvoord, Kimberly P. Wickland, Christian Zimmerman
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Land Change Science Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Volcano Science Center
Persistence and plasticity in conifer water-use strategies Persistence and plasticity in conifer water-use strategies
The selective use of seasonal precipitation by vegetation is critical to understanding the residence time and flow path of water in watersheds, yet there are limited datasets to test how climate alters these dynamics. Here, we use measurements of the seasonal cycle of tree ring 18O for two widespread conifer species in the Rocky Mountains of North America to provide a multi-decadal...
Authors
Max Berkelhammer, Chris Still, Francois Ritter, Matthew Winnik, Lesleigh Anderson, Rosemary Carroll, Mariah Carbone, Kenneth Williams
Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in northern Interior Alaska: The interplay of climate, fire, and subsurface hydrology Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in northern Interior Alaska: The interplay of climate, fire, and subsurface hydrology
The current state of permafrost in Alaska and meaningful expectations for its future evolution are informed by long-term perspectives of previous permafrost degradation. Thermokarst processes in permafrost landscapes often lead to widespread lake formation and the spatial and temporal evolution of thermokarst lake landscapes reflects the combined effects of climate, ground conditions...
Authors
Lesleigh Anderson, Mary E. Edwards, Mark D. Shapley, Bruce P. Finney, Catherine Langdon
An assessment of plant species differences on cellulose oxygen isotopes from two Kenai Peninsula, Alaska peatlands: Implications for hydroclimatic reconstructions An assessment of plant species differences on cellulose oxygen isotopes from two Kenai Peninsula, Alaska peatlands: Implications for hydroclimatic reconstructions
Peat cores are valuable archives of past environmental change because they accumulate plant organic matter over millennia. While studies have primarily focused on physical, ecological, and some biogeochemical proxies, cores from peatlands have increasingly been used to interpret hydroclimatic change using stable isotope analyses of cellulose preserved in plant remains. Previous studies...
Authors
Miriam Jones, Lesleigh Anderson, Katherine Keller, Bailey Nash, Virginia Littell, Matthew J. Wooller, Chelsea Jolley
Non-USGS Publications**
Abbott M.B., Anderson, L., 2009, Lake-Level Fluctuations, in, Gornitz, V., ed., Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments: Springer-Verlag.
Anderson, L., Abbott, M.B., Finney, B.P. and Burns, S.J., 2007, Late Holocene moisture balance variability in the southwest Yukon Territory, Canada: Quaternary Science Reviews, 26: 130-141.
Anderson, L., Abbott, M.B., Finney, B.P. and Burns, S.J., 2005, Regional atmospheric circulation change in the North Pacific during the Holocene inferred from lacustrine carbonate oxygen isotopes, Yukon Territory, Canada: Quaternary Research 64: 21-35. Erratum 65: 350-351.
Anderson, L., Abbott, M.B., Finney, B.P. and Edwards, M.E., 2005, Paleohydrology of the southwest Yukon Territory, Canada, based on multi-proxy lake sediment core analyses from a depth transect: The Holocene 15(8): 1172-1183.
Pilcher, J., Bradley, R.S. Francus, P. and Anderson, L., 2005, A Holocene tephra record from the Lofoten Islands, Arctic Norway: Boreas 34: 136-156.
Fisher, D.A., Wake, C., Kreutz, K., Yalcin, K., Steig, E., Mayewski, P., Anderson, L., Zheng, J., Rupper, S., Zdanowicz, C., Demuth, M., Waskiewicz, M., Dahl-Jensen, D., Goto-Azuma, K., Bourgeois, J.B., Koerner, R.M., Sekerka, J., Osterberg, E., Abbott, M.B., Finney, B.P., Burns, S.J., 2004, Stable Isotope records from Mount Logan, Eclipse ice cores and nearby Jellybean Lake. Water cycle of the North Pacific over 2000 years and over five vertical kilometers: sudden shifts and tropical connections: Géographie physique et Quaternaire 58: 337-352.
Anderson, L., Abbott, M.B., and Finney, B.P., 2001, Holocene Climate from Oxygen Isotope Ratios in Lake Sediments, Central Brooks Range, Alaska: Quaternary Research 55: 313-321.
**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.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 28
A stable isotope record of late Quaternary hydrologic change in the northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska (eastern Beringia) A stable isotope record of late Quaternary hydrologic change in the northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska (eastern Beringia)
A submillennial-resolution record of lake water oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) from chironomid head capsules is presented from Burial Lake, northwest Alaska. The record spans the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ~20–16k cal a bp) to the present and shows a series of large lake δ18O shifts (~5‰). Relatively low δ18O values occurred during a period covering the LGM, when the lake was a...
Authors
Amanda L. King, Lesleigh Anderson, Mark B. Abbott, Mary Edwards, Matthew S. Finkenbinder, Bruce P. Finney, Matthew J. Wooller
Holocene hydroclimatic reorganizations in northwest Canada inferred from lacustrine carbonate oxygen isotopes Holocene hydroclimatic reorganizations in northwest Canada inferred from lacustrine carbonate oxygen isotopes
Sub-centennial oxygen (δ18O) isotopes of ostracod and authigenic calcite from Squanga Lake provides evidence of hydroclimatic extremes and a series of post-glacial climate system reorganizations for the interior region of northwest Canada. Authigenic calcite δ18O values range from −16‰ to −21‰ and are presently similar to modern lake water and annual precipitation values. Ostracod δ18O...
Authors
G. Everett Lasher, Mark B. Abbott, Lesleigh Anderson, Lindsey Yasarer, Michael Rosenheimer, Bruce P. Finney
USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with university, Federal, Tribal, and independent partners, conducts fundamental research on the distribution, vulnerability, and importance of permafrost in arctic and boreal ecosystems. Scientists, land managers, and policy makers use USGS data to help make decisions for development, wildlife habitat, and other needs. Native villages...
Authors
Mark P. Waldrop, Lesleigh Anderson, Mark Dornblaser, Li H. Erikson, Ann E. Gibbs, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Stephanie R. James, Miriam C. Jones, Joshua C. Koch, Mary-Cathrine Leewis, Kristen L. Manies, Burke J. Minsley, Neal J. Pastick, Vijay Patil, Frank Urban, Michelle A. Walvoord, Kimberly P. Wickland, Christian Zimmerman
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Land Change Science Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Volcano Science Center
Persistence and plasticity in conifer water-use strategies Persistence and plasticity in conifer water-use strategies
The selective use of seasonal precipitation by vegetation is critical to understanding the residence time and flow path of water in watersheds, yet there are limited datasets to test how climate alters these dynamics. Here, we use measurements of the seasonal cycle of tree ring 18O for two widespread conifer species in the Rocky Mountains of North America to provide a multi-decadal...
Authors
Max Berkelhammer, Chris Still, Francois Ritter, Matthew Winnik, Lesleigh Anderson, Rosemary Carroll, Mariah Carbone, Kenneth Williams
Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in northern Interior Alaska: The interplay of climate, fire, and subsurface hydrology Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in northern Interior Alaska: The interplay of climate, fire, and subsurface hydrology
The current state of permafrost in Alaska and meaningful expectations for its future evolution are informed by long-term perspectives of previous permafrost degradation. Thermokarst processes in permafrost landscapes often lead to widespread lake formation and the spatial and temporal evolution of thermokarst lake landscapes reflects the combined effects of climate, ground conditions...
Authors
Lesleigh Anderson, Mary E. Edwards, Mark D. Shapley, Bruce P. Finney, Catherine Langdon
An assessment of plant species differences on cellulose oxygen isotopes from two Kenai Peninsula, Alaska peatlands: Implications for hydroclimatic reconstructions An assessment of plant species differences on cellulose oxygen isotopes from two Kenai Peninsula, Alaska peatlands: Implications for hydroclimatic reconstructions
Peat cores are valuable archives of past environmental change because they accumulate plant organic matter over millennia. While studies have primarily focused on physical, ecological, and some biogeochemical proxies, cores from peatlands have increasingly been used to interpret hydroclimatic change using stable isotope analyses of cellulose preserved in plant remains. Previous studies...
Authors
Miriam Jones, Lesleigh Anderson, Katherine Keller, Bailey Nash, Virginia Littell, Matthew J. Wooller, Chelsea Jolley
Non-USGS Publications**
Abbott M.B., Anderson, L., 2009, Lake-Level Fluctuations, in, Gornitz, V., ed., Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments: Springer-Verlag.
Anderson, L., Abbott, M.B., Finney, B.P. and Burns, S.J., 2007, Late Holocene moisture balance variability in the southwest Yukon Territory, Canada: Quaternary Science Reviews, 26: 130-141.
Anderson, L., Abbott, M.B., Finney, B.P. and Burns, S.J., 2005, Regional atmospheric circulation change in the North Pacific during the Holocene inferred from lacustrine carbonate oxygen isotopes, Yukon Territory, Canada: Quaternary Research 64: 21-35. Erratum 65: 350-351.
Anderson, L., Abbott, M.B., Finney, B.P. and Edwards, M.E., 2005, Paleohydrology of the southwest Yukon Territory, Canada, based on multi-proxy lake sediment core analyses from a depth transect: The Holocene 15(8): 1172-1183.
Pilcher, J., Bradley, R.S. Francus, P. and Anderson, L., 2005, A Holocene tephra record from the Lofoten Islands, Arctic Norway: Boreas 34: 136-156.
Fisher, D.A., Wake, C., Kreutz, K., Yalcin, K., Steig, E., Mayewski, P., Anderson, L., Zheng, J., Rupper, S., Zdanowicz, C., Demuth, M., Waskiewicz, M., Dahl-Jensen, D., Goto-Azuma, K., Bourgeois, J.B., Koerner, R.M., Sekerka, J., Osterberg, E., Abbott, M.B., Finney, B.P., Burns, S.J., 2004, Stable Isotope records from Mount Logan, Eclipse ice cores and nearby Jellybean Lake. Water cycle of the North Pacific over 2000 years and over five vertical kilometers: sudden shifts and tropical connections: Géographie physique et Quaternaire 58: 337-352.
Anderson, L., Abbott, M.B., and Finney, B.P., 2001, Holocene Climate from Oxygen Isotope Ratios in Lake Sediments, Central Brooks Range, Alaska: Quaternary Research 55: 313-321.
**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.