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. 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:

Gardner, E. M., McKnight, D. M., Lewis, W. M., and Miller, M. P., 2008: Effects of nutrient enrichment on phytoplankton in an alpine lake, Colorado, USA. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, 40(1): 55-64.
Mladenov, N., Huntsman-Mapila, P., Wolski, P., Masarnba, W. R. L., and McKnight, D. M., 2008: Dissolved organic matter accumulation, reactivity, and redox state in ground water of a recharge wetland. Wetlands, 28(3): 747-759.
Brooks, M. L., McKnight, D. M., and Clements, W. H., 2007: Photochemical control of copper complexation by dissolved organic matter in Rocky Mountain streams, Colorado. Limnology and Oceanography 52(2): 766-779.
McKnight, D. M., Tate, C. M., Andrews, E. D., Niyogi, D. K., Cozzetto, K., Welch, K., Lyons, W. B., and Capone, D. G., 2007: Reactivation of a cryptobiotic stream ecosystem in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: A long-term geomorphological experiment. Geomorphology 89: 186-204.
Gooseff, M. N., W. B Lyons, D. M McKnight, B. H. Vaughn, A.G. Fountain and C. Dowling. 2006. A stable isotopic investigation of a polar desert hydrologic system, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Arctic, Antarctic & Alpine Research, 38(1): 60-71.
Miller, M. P., McKnight, D. M., Cory, R. M., and Williams, M. W., 2006: Hyporheic exchange and fulvic acid redox reactions in an alpine stream/wetland ecosystem, Colorado Front Range. Environmental Science & Technology, 40(19): 5943-5949
Cory, R. M, McKnight, D. M. 2005. Fluorescence spectroscopy reveals ubiquitous presence of oxidized and reduced quinones in dissolved organic matter. Environmental Science & Technology, 39(21): 8142-8149.
Gooseff, M. N., McKnight, D. M., Runkel, R. L., and Duff, J. H., 2004: Denitrification and hydrologic transient storage in a glacial meltwater stream, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Limnology and Oceanography 49(5): 1884-1895.
Hood, E. W., McKnight, D. M., and Williams, M. W., 2003: Sources and chemical quality of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) across an alpine/subalpine ecotone, Green lakes Valley, Colorado Front Range, USA. Water Resources Research, 39(7): 1188.
Doran, P. T., Priscu, J. C., Lyons, W. B., Walsh, J. E., Fountain, A. G., McKnight, D. M., Moorhead, D. L., Virginia, R. A., Wall, D. H., Clow, G. D., Fritsen, C. H., McKay, C. P., and Parsons, A. N., 2002: Antarctic climate cooling and terrestrial ecosystem response. Nature, 415(6871): 517-520.
McKnight, D. M., Boyer, E. W., Westerhoff, P.K., Doran, P. T., Kulbe, T., and Andersen, D. T., 2001: Spectrofluorometric characterization of dissolved organic matter for indication of precursor organic material and aromaticity. Limnology and Oceanography, 46(1): 38-48.

See Also:

Diane M. McKnight