Limnology and Biogeochemistry of Arctic Delta Lakes

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Since 1991, my research has been fully dedicated to Arctic aquatic science. I am using the Mackenzie Delta as a "natural laboratory" to develop a general understanding of lakes on large river floodplains, not before possible, via teasing apart the varied mechanisms that create the particular combination of high productivity, hydrologic complexity, and biodiversity characteristic of these systems. Large river floodplains represent vast areas of aquatic habitat world-wide, and global change is modifying the complex historical water level regimes that created these important systems. The circumpolar Arctic coast is particularly rich in such habitat, and a region where climate is changing more rapidly than anywhere else. The Mackenzie Delta is the second largest river floodplain in this region, and one of the world's prominent aquatic ecosystems. It is also a key ecosystem of the Canadian north because it functions as a biological hotspot within the region. This delta is also on the leading edge of Arctic coastal changes because it is located in an area of subsidence that has enhanced relative sea level rise. Over the next 5 years, my goals are to advance our understanding of how recently detected reductions in peak water levels and rising low-water levels will affect: (1) the ability of microbial communities to either release the carbon in these waters to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases or convert the carbon to a form ultimately consumed by fish and other organisms; and (2) the ability of Arctic delta habitat to function as a biological hotspot that affects delivery of riverine carbon to the ocean. Each of the above goals represents an exceptional opportunity for training graduate students, northern research assistants, and other highly qualified people, in Arctic fieldwork and in fundamental research of broad interest in Arctic aquatic sciences. Goal (1), in particular, will use traditional knowledge of water flow patterns in the Mackenzie Delta.