Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area
Tags: physical sciences, climate change, limnology, delta ecosystem, thermokarst, delta lakes, biogeochemistry, delta floodplain
| Principal Investigator: | Lesack, Lance (26) |
| Licence Number: | 13330 |
| Organization: | Simon Fraser University |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2017
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| Issued: | Jun 22, 2002 |
| Project Team: | Andrea Rie |
Objective(s): Understanding of hydrologic and biogeochemical interactions among large rivers and lakes within their floodplains and the ecological roles of these systems remains limited. There are numerous major river deltas in the arctic circumpolar region, which are lake-rich because of thermokarst effects. These systems are complex and may collectively represent several hundred thousand lakes that function as critical aquatic habitat for fish, birds, and mammals. They are located in a region of the world where climate is changing more rapidly than anywhere else. The long term goal of this research is to develop a biogeochemical model for lakes in the Mackenzie Delta, and ultimately, a more generalized ecosystem model for floodplains and deltas of major world rivers that will facilitate assessing the effects of multiple stresses on rivers resulting from global change. Short range goals during the next several years will focus on further resolving patterns of water transparency to light and UV-radiation, nutrient supply and aquatic production among photosynthetic organisms and bacteria, plus development of simple models to describe the patterns and processes.
