Dr. Deborah Leslie is in environmental geochemistry, using stable isotopes as tools in hydrology, and groundwater-surface water interactions. Her ongoing research projects extend from her previous postdoctoral position with the USDA-ARS Delta Water Management Research Unit in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and relate to regional water quality and quantity. This interdisciplinary research focuses on groundwater management and recharge by combining hydrology, hydrogeology, agriculture, and water resource management disciplines. The overall research objective is to address alluvial aquifer declines in the Cache River Critical Groundwater Area in eastern Arkansas, with efforts to develop, test, and refine tactics for managed aquifer recharge. She collaborates with the Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research (CAESER) to further understanding of water resources in the Memphis area.
Geological Sciences, PhD, 2013, Ohio State University
Environmental Sciences, MS, 2008 Arkansas State University
Forensic Chemistry, BS, 2005, University of Mississippi
Leslie, D.L., Reba, M.L. and Czarnecki, J.B. (2023) Managed aquifer recharge using a borrow pit in connection with the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in northeastern Arkansas. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 78 (1): 44-57. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2023.00021.
Godwin, I., Reba, M.L., Leslie, D.L., Adams, R.F., and Rigby, J.R. (2022) Feasibility of farm-scale infiltration galleries for managed aquifer recharge in an agricultural alluvial aquifer of northeast Arkansas. Agricultural Water Management, 264: 107531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107531.
Leslie, D.L., Reba M.L., Godwin I.A., and Yaeger, M.A. (2022) Groundwater trend comparison during 1985-2019 in a critical groundwater of northeastern Arkansas. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation,77(1): 67-77. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2022.00170.
Smith, D.F., Saelens, E., Leslie, D.L., and Carey, A.E. (2021) Local meteoric water lines explain transformation of extratropical precipitation. Hydrological Processes, 35: e14059. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14059.
Harmon R.S., Leslie D.L., Lyons W.B., Welch K.A., and McKnight D.M. (2021) Geochemistry of contrasting stream types, Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 133: 425-448. https://doi.org/10.1130/B35479.1.
Grantz E.M., Leslie D.L., Reba M.L., and Willett C.D. (2020) Residual herbicide concentrations in on-farm water storage-tailwater recovery systems: Preliminary assessment. Agricultural and Environmental Letters. 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.20009
Reba, M.L., Massey, J.M., Adviento-Borbe, M.A.A., Anders, M., Leslie, D.L., Yaeger, M.A., and Farris J. (2017) Aquifer depletion in the Lower Mississippi River Basin: challenges and solutions. Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education Special Issue, 162 (1): 128-139.
Leslie D.L., Welch K.A., and Lyons, W.B. (2017) A temporal stable isotopic (δ18O and δD) comparison in glacier meltwater streams, Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Hydrological Processes, 31(17): 3069-3083.
Leslie D.L., Lyons W.B., Warner N., Vengosh A., Olesik J., Welch K., and Deuerling K. (2014) Boron isotopic geochemistry of the McMurdo Dry Valley lakes, Antarctica. Chemical Geology 386: 152-164.
