Biogeochemistry of Lakes in the Mackenzie Delta
Principal Investigator: Lesack, Lance (26)
Licence Number: 12849
Organization: Dept.'s of Geography & Biological Sciences Simon Fraser University
Licensed Year(s): 2017 2016 2015 2014 2010 2009 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993
Issued: Apr 29, 1996
Project Team: Margaret Cobbett (MSc student), Kathryn Pipke (MSc student) Murray Hay (MSc student)

Objective(s): Flooding and annual delivery of nutrient-rich sediments are perceived to control the productivity of lakes & wetlands associated with floodplains and deltas of major world rivers. There is little understanding of how nutrients cycles through these ecosystems. A long term goal of this research is to develop a model of the interacting biogeochemical and hydrologic processes that control the nutrient balance and primary productivity of lakes in the Mackenzie Delta region, and a more general model for lakes associated with the floodplains & deltas of major world rivers. The shorter range goal is to identify and develop models of critical interlinkages between biogeochemical and hydrologic processes that are important to ecological characteristics of Mackenzie Delta Lakes.

Project Description: Evaluation of the strength of methane emissions from lakes in the Mackenzie Delta relative to lakes on the adjacent arctic tundra. Will involve collecting water and sediment samples from 27 lakes in the Mackenzie Delta near Inuvik and from an additional 27 lakes located within the Havik Pak Creek and Trail Valley Creek study basins. Evaluation of diatom (algae) communities as predictors of flooding regime within lakes in the Mackenzie Delta. This investigation may allow us to determine the degree to which the flooding regime of the Mackenzie Rover has changed over the last several hundred years. This work involves the same lakes as that investigating methane emissions.