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Program / Module 2

Module 2 - Permafrost and Aquatic Ecosystems

Module Leader: Scott Lamoureux

ADAPT research on permafrost watershed hydrology and biogeochemistry in this module will focus on how the concentration and composition of solutes, nutrients and organic compounds in permafrost soils are mobilized by the deepening of the active layer. This research module will undertake a highly integrated interdisciplinary approach to determine the primary vectors that mobilize water, sediment, solutes and nutrients in permafrost soils through hydrological processes, active-layer development and localized permafrost disturbance, and their cumulative effects on downstream rivers and lakes at a broad range of northern spatial and temporal scales. This ADAPT module will also examine the hydrology, limnology and biogeochemistry of thermokarst lake systems. Lake-rich thermokarst landscapes are productive northern 'oases' that provide important habitats for abundant wildlife, but these critical places are particularly vulnerable to climate change.