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Position at Coweeta LTER:  Principle Investigator
Specialty: Quaternary Studies, Geomorphology, Geoarcheology, Environmental, and Soils
Habitat: 
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Education:
B.A., University of Colorado, Geography, 1982
M.A., University of Wisconsin, Geography, 1988
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Geography, 1991

Appointments:
Associate Professor, University of Georgia, 1991-present
RA, TA, Instructor, University of Wisconsin, 1985-1991
Geomorphologist, Center for American Archaeology, 1982-1985

Publications (Five as examples of research foci):
Leigh, D.S. 2001. Buried artifacts in sandy soils: techniques for evaluating pedoturbation versus sedimentation. Pages 269-296 in V.T.H.P. Goldberg and R. Ferring, eds. Earth science and archaeology. Plenum, New York.

Ivester, A.H., D.S. Leigh, and D.I. Godfrey-Smith. 2001. Chronology of inland eolian dunes on the coastal plain of Georgia, USA. Quaternary Research 55:293-302.    

Leigh, D.S. 1998. A >12,000 year record of natural levee sedimentation along the Broad River near Columbia, South Carolina. Southeastern Geographer 38:95-111.

Leigh, D.S. 1997. Mercury tainted overbank sediment from past gold mining in north Georgia, USA. Environmental Geology 30:244-251.

Leigh, D.S. 1996. Alluvial soil chronosequence of Brasstown Creek in the Blue Ridge Mountains of north Georgia, U.S.A. Catena 26:99-114.

Synergistic Activities:
1. Dr. Leigh’s research on the correlation between geomorphology and aquatic biology in the Etowah River Basin of north Georgia has stimulated considerable interest among governmental and non-governmental organizations regarding guidelines for Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) criteria for sediment in Georgia.  The Etowah study is one of the few studies in the Southeast that has data correlating sediment concentrations to indices of biotic integrity, and these data are heavily relied upon to shape environmental policy in Georgia.

2. Dr. Leigh is an executive committee member of the River Basin Science and Policy Center at the University of Georgia, which helps to shape public policy regarding rivers, streams, lakes, and groundwater in Georgia.

3. Dr. Leigh teaches annual classes and graduate seminars on stream geomorphology and many of his students have applied knowledge from these classes to stream restoration activities in the Southeast.

4. Dr. Leigh serves on the Science Advisory Board for the Upper Chattahoochee River Keeper, a non-governmental outreach organization that works toward protection of water resources in north Georgia.