INSTAAR: Diane McKnight

Fellow of INSTAAR; Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder.

Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1979.

Diane.McKnight@colorado.edu
(303) 492-4687

INSTAAR Directorate Members

Specialty: Limnology, biogeochemistry of lakes and streams.

Research Interests: Research focuses on interactions between hydrologic, chemical and biological processes in controlling the dynamics in aquatic ecosystems. This research is carried out through field-scale experiments, modeling, and laboratory characterization of natural substrates. Main field sites are located in the Rocky Mountains and in the Transantarctic Mountains, and include pristine and stressed ecosystems, such as acid mine drainage influences mountain streams. Conducts research focusing on interactions between freshwater biota, trace metals, and natural organic material in diverse freshwater environments, including lakes and streams in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. Develops interactions with state and local groups involved in mine drainage and watershed issues in the Rocky Mountains. A co-principal investigator in the McMurdo Dry Valley LTER and in the Niwot Ridge LTER.

Outstanding Award: Meritorious Service Award, USGS, 1995. Fellow of AGU, 2004.

Selected Publications:

Scott, D. T., R. L. Runkel, D. M. McKnight, B. M. Voelker, B. A. Kimball, and E.R. Carraway. 2003. Transport and cycling of iron and hydrogen peroxide in a freshwater stream: Influence of organic acids. Water Resour. Res. 39: 1308
Hood, E.W., D.M. McKnight, and M.W. Williams, 2003. Sources and chemical quality of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) across an alpine/subalpine ecotone, Green lakes Valley, Colorado Front Range, USA. Water Resour. Res. 39:1188.
Runkel RL, McKnight DM, Rajaram H, 2003. Modeling hyporheic zone processes. Preface. Adv. Water Resour. 26 (9): 901-905.
Niyogi, D.K., W.M. Lewis, and D.M. McKnight. 2003. Direct and indirect effects of mine drainage on bacterial processes in mountain streams. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 22 (2): 276-291
Gooseff, M. N., McKnight, D. M., Runkel, R. L., and Vaughn, B. H. 2003. Determining long time-scale hyporheic zone flow paths in Antarctic streams. Hydrol Process 17 (9): 1691-1710.
Her N, Amy G, McKnight D, Sohn J, Yoon YM. 2003. Characterization of DOM as a function of MW by fluorescence EEM and HPLC-SEC using UVA, DOC, and fluorescence detection. Water Res. 37 (17): 4295-4303.
Gooseff, MN, DM McKnight, RL Runkel, and JH Duff. 2004. Denitrification and hydrologic transient storage in a glacial meltwater stream, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Limnol. Oceanogr. 49:1884-1895.
McKnight, D. M. and S. Duren. 2004. Biogeochemical processes controlling midday ferrous iron maxima in stream waters affected by acid rock drainage. Appl. Geochem. 19: 1075-1084.
Fulton, J. R., D. McKnight, C. Foreman, R. Cory, C. Stedmon, and E. Blunt. 2004. Changes in fulvic acid redox state through the oxycline of a permanently ice-covered Antarctic lake. Aquat. Sci. 66:27-46.
McKnight, DM, Runkel, RL, Tate, CM, Duff, JH, Moorhead, DL. 2004. Inorganic N and P dynamics of Antarctic glacial meltwater streams as controlled by hyporheic exchange and benthic autotrophic communities. J. N. Amer. Benthol. Soc. 23: 171-188.
Brown, A., D. M. McKnight, Y. Chin, M. Uhle and E. Roberts. 2004. Biogeochemistry of dissolved humic substances in a saline coastal pond in Antarctica. Marine Chem. 89: 327-337.
Gooseff, MN, DM McKnight, and RL Runkel. 2004. Reach-scale cation exchange controls on major ion chemistry of an Antarctic glacial meltwater stream. Aqu. Geochem. 3:221-238.

See Also:

Diane M. McKnight