Mackenzie River delta water quality, 2004.

The Mackenzie River Delta effects water quality program investigated the influence of delta floodplain lakes on the water quality of Mackenzie River water as it passed through its delta before delivery to the Arctic Ocean. Through the summer of 2004, we monitored a representative subset of delta floodplain lakes for general water quality, carbon, and nutrient patterns along with three delta-wide helicopter surveys of Mackenzie River delta channel water quality. We found that floodplain lakes sequestered suspended sediment and inorganic nutrients while enriching river water with organic matter before discharge offshore. This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, with support from the Canada Research Chair Program, Polar Continental Shelf Project, and the Northern Scientific Training Program. We appreciate technical and logistical support from the Inuvik Research Center/Aurora Research Institute, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, and Water Survey of Canada.

Publication DOI: 10.1029/2006GB002856 (Mackenzie River nutrient delivery to the Arctic Ocean and effects of the Mackenzie Delta during open water conditions)