Disappearing and flooding prairie lakes: Solving an aquatic whodunnit

水是影响加拿大南部草原繁荣的最重要的资源之一。加拿大这一大片地区有数百万个湖泊，对这些湖泊的有效管理需要对气候变化和人类互动对湖泊和湿地水文的影响有充分的了解。在大草原的许多地区，水位的下降限制了这些湖泊的娱乐和工业用途，而在该地区的其他地区，水位的上升正在造成重大的财产损失，道路封闭，房屋拆除和农业用地的丧失。该项目正在研究大草原地区四个湖泊的水位长期历史和相关生态变化：马尼托湖（位于萨斯喀彻温省西部马斯登附近）、瓦尔德西湖和死驼鹿湖（萨斯喀彻温省中南部洪堡附近）和羚羊湖（萨斯喀彻温省南部Swift Current附近）。这些湖泊目前都面临着严重的水位问题（Manito和Antelope的水位很低，Waldsea和Deadmoose的水位很低）。将确定这些流域的长期变化，并将其与可能的因果机制联系起来，例如气候和水文变化、集水区土地利用和排水改造。

Water is one of the most critical resources affecting the prosperity of the southern Canadian Prairies. There are literally millions of lakes in this large region of Canada and effective management of these lakes demands a sound understanding of the impact that climate change and human interaction have on the lacustrine and wetland hydrology. In many areas of the Prairies, declining water levels are limiting the recreational and industrial usefulness of these lakes, whereas in other parts of the region rising lake levels are causing significant property damage, road closures, demolition of homes, and loss of agricultural land. This project is examining the long-term history of water level and related ecological changes in four lakes in the Prairies region: Manito Lake (located near Marsden in western Saskatchewan), Waldsea and Deadmoose lakes (nearHumboldt in south-central Saskatchewan), and Antelope Lake (near Swift Current in southern Saskatchewan).  Each of these lakes is currently facing significant water level issues (very low levels in Manito and Antelope and flooding in Waldsea and Deadmoose). The long-term changes in these basins will be identified and related to likely causal mechanisms, such as changing climate and hydrology, catchment land use and drainage modifications.