| Principal Investigator: | Hille, Erika C (13) |
| Licence Number: | 16532 |
| Organization: | Aurora Research Institute |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2019
2018
|
| Issued: | Apr 12, 2019 |
| Project Team: | Steve Kokelj, Scott Lamoureux, Ashley Rudy, Edwin Amos, Greg Elias |
Objective(s): To examine how the water quality of streams varies spatially and determine what drives these differences, and to examine how the water quality of streams varies temporally and determine what/how seasonal changes in water flow control water quality.
Project Description: The objectives are: 1) to examine how the water quality of streams varies spatially and determine what drives these differences (i.e., latitude, vegetation, surficial geology); and, 2) to examine how the water quality of streams varies temporally and determine what/how seasonal changes in water flow control water quality. The research team will collect water samples from a suite of study sites located along the Dempster and Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highways. All of the sites are accessible from the road. Samples will be collected once a week during the spring snowmelt period (approximately mid-May to mid-June) and once per month during the summer and fall period (approximately mid-June to mid-October). Samples will be analyzed for sediment content, major ions, nutrients, and carbon by Taiga Laboratories in Yellowknife, NT. Stream velocity measurements will also be taken and used to calculate stream discharge, and the volume of water moving through the stream. When coupled with the water quality measurements, the stream discharge measurements will provide information on the volume of material being transported by each stream. Local Environmental Monitors will assist with data collection. The Environmental Monitors will be paired with an Aurora Research Institute Research Technician and an Aurora Research Institute Summer Student. The information collected in this study can be used by Indigenous, co-management, and government organizations to make informed decisions about land use in the Beaufort Delta region. Project updates and preliminary results will be made available via the Aurora Research Institute website. The project team is planning a public presentation for Fall 2019 or Winter 2020. This will be delivered in Inuvik, NT. The data collected in this study will be made available via an online information management system. This will be developed in 2019. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from May 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019.
