Hydro-ecological responses of upland Arctic lakes to climate-related landscape disturbance

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Climate variability/change (CVC) in the Canadian arctic is expected to have far-reaching impacts on the hydrology and ecology of freshwater ecosystems as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2001,2007) and the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA 2005). Key effects include changes in regional climatology and related hydrology, alterations in the distribution, abundance and ecology of aquatic species, changes in the physical environment that makes up their habitat, changes to the chemical properties of that environment, and alterations to the processes that act on and within freshwater ecosystems. Arctic freshwater systems are particularly sensitive to CVC because numerous hydro-ecological processes respond to relatively small changes in climate and these in turn directly and indirectly affect landscape/catchment biogeochemical processes and associated ecological responses. Synoptic analyses of historical and contemporary records augmented by global and regional climate modelling have identified the western Arctic as being particularly vulnerable to present and future CVC. The proposed project focuses on filling key knowledge gaps on the hydro-ecology and sensitivity of upland Arctic lake/pond ecosystems to CVC in the Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk regions of the Canadian Arctic. This northern supplement program will support improving the interaction and collaboration with other northern researchers (University, College and Government-based), non-university organizations, and northern and Aboriginal communities in the study area and aide in providing necessary field-logistic and technical support. Community-based meetings are being planned in the region to inform local residents of the nature and significance of the research, and to provide updates on key findings as the work progresses. In addition, a primary goal of the project is to enhance and promote northern training opportunities and to produce qualified people with expertise in northern/cold-regions hydroecology. Canada remains behind many other "northern" countries in training appropriate experts in this area and the opportunities offered in this program help address this situation.