A5087458371- Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
- Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Mercury impact and mitigation studies
- Heavy metals in environment
- Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
- Water Quality and Resources Studies
- Mine drainage and remediation techniques
- Diatoms and Algae Research
- Cryospheric studies and observations
- Geological formations and processes
- Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
- Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
University of Waterloo
2018-2024
Abstract Hydrological monitoring in complex, dynamic northern floodplain landscapes is challenging, but increasingly important as a consequence of multiple stressors. The Peace‐Athabasca Delta Alberta, Canada, Ramsar Wetland International Importance reliant on episodic river ice‐jam flood events to recharge abundant perched lakes and wetlands. Improved systematic landscape‐scale hydrological connectivity among freshwater ecosystems (rivers, channels, wetlands, lakes) needed guide stewardship...
Abstract Well-designed monitoring approaches are needed to assess effects of industrial development on downstream aquatic environments and guide environmental stewardship. Here, we develop apply a approach detect potential enrichment metals concentrations in surficial lake sediments the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), northern Alberta, Canada. Since ecological integrity PAD is strongly tied river floodwaters that replenish lakes delta, located Alberta oil sands, concerns have been raised over...
Abstract Sustainable approaches capable of tracking status, trends and drivers lake water balances in complex, remote landscapes are needed to inform ecosystem stewardship water-security actions. At the Peace-Athabasca Delta (Alberta, Canada), a globally recognized freshwater floodplain landscape, concerns about water-level drawdown multiple potential stressors have prompted need improve knowledge establish monitoring program. Yet, delta’s remoteness dynamic nature present challenges these...
Abstract Climate‐driven decline in freshwater supplied by rivers draining the hydrographic apex of western North America has ramifications for downstream ecosystems and society. For Peace‐Athabasca Delta (PAD), floods from Peace Athabasca are critical sustaining abundant shallow water habitat, but their frequency been decades over much its area. Here, we assess current hydrological limnological status PAD integrating spatial temporal data. Analysis isotope compositions chemistry measured at...
[1] Previous studies of river hydrometric records and Indigenous Knowledge holders claim that flood-induced recharge ecologically important perched basins decreased across the Peace-Athabasca Delta after 1968 due mainly to hydroelectric regulation Peace River flow. Natural deltaic processes climate are acknowledged as additional, lesser contributors, but challenging evaluate. We use sediment spanning ∼115 years from nine Athabasca test if unidirectional drying coincides with regulation....
Sediment quality monitoring is widely used to quantify extent of river pollution, but requires knowledge pre-disturbance conditions in the potentially altered landscape. This has long been identified as a critical aspect develop for addressing concerns pollution Alberta Oil Sands Region. Here, we use analyses sediment cores from eight floodplain lakes spanning 67 river-km transect across Athabasca Delta define pre-1920 (pre-industrial) baseline concentrations vanadium and five primary...
The Peace-Athabasca Delta, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in northeastern Alberta, is protected within Wood Buffalo National Park and contributes to its UNESCO World Heritage status yet threatened by climate change upstream energy projects. Recent drawdown the delta's abundant shallow lakes rivers has deteriorated vital habitat for wildlife impaired navigation routes. Here, we report continuous measurements at ~50 during open-water seasons 2018 2019 improve understanding...
The need to understand the influence of high-level factors that shape species richness and population size is becoming more important as global biodiversity losses threaten biotic communities. Here we investigate ecological drift on periphytic diatom community composition in arctic lakes. If strongly influenced by drift, hypothesize (i) alpha diversity will increase with increasing lake size, due decreasing drift-mediated local extinction, (ii) beta be greatest among small lakes lowest large...
Systematic and sustainable monitoring approaches capable of tracking the status trends keystone characteristics are critical for detecting aquatic ecosystem degradation, identifying influence multiple potential stressors, informing environmental protection policy anticipating future change. At remote lake-rich landscapes, ability to implement maintain long-term is often challenged by logistical financial constraints. Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD; northeastern Alberta, Canada), an...
Abstract Paleolimnological reconstructions provide insights into hydrological variability of dynamic floodplain lakes. However, spatial and temporal integration multiple often remains underdeveloped because the efficacy different paleolimnological measurements varies among lakes due to gradients in energy floodwaters sediment composition. Here, we use linear discriminant analysis identify 10 significant elemental concentrations obtained from sampling campaigns that distinguish three...
In a multistressor world, evidence-based stewardship of aquatic ecosystems requires long-term monitoring data to understand the timing and magnitude environmental change potential causes. At Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD; northeastern Alberta, Canada), concern for ecosystem degradation has triggered renewed urgent calls by Indigenous, national, international governance bodies implementation lake program capable tracking changes in hydrological conditions contaminant deposition attributable...
The Columbia Wetland complex is a rare example of North American river system with relatively little disturbance from human infrastructure and the only undammed portion main 2000 km stretch River. Declining flows in western America, including upper River, have reduced area open water wetlands floodplain raised concern that Wetlands will not remain viable under increasing climate change. In this study we use isotopes (δ18O δ2H) electrical conductivity to quantify proportion groundwater,...
Earth and Space Science Open Archive This work has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters. Version of RecordESSOAr is a venue early communication or feedback before peer review. Data may be preliminary. Learn more about preprints. preprintOpen AccessYou are viewing the latest version by default [v1]Multi-year isoscapes lake water balances across dynamic northern freshwater deltaAuthors Casey Remmer iD Laura K Neary Mitchell Louis Kay Brent B. Wolfe Roland I. Hall iDSee...
<p>Episodic flood events are critical for recharging water balance of floodplain lakes and maintaining their ecological integrity, yet subject to alteration in frequency magnitude by natural anthropogenic processes that operate over a range spatial temporal scales. To evaluate roles potential stressors, paleolimnological reconstructions used obtain insights into hydrological variability dynamic lakes. However, integration is often underdeveloped because different measurements...