Breadcrumb

Bio
My 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. 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.
Main field sites are located in the Rocky Mountains and in the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica, and include pristine and stressed ecosystems. A co-principal investigator in the McMurdo Dry Valley LTER and in the Niwot Ridge LTER.
Develops interactions with state and local groups involved in mine drainage and watershed issues in the Rocky Mountains.
CU Connections interview "Five Questions for Diane McKnight."
Education
- PhD: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1979
Awards
- Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado System, 2021
- Robert E. Horton Medal, American Geophysical Union, 2021
- AEESP Distinguished Lecturer, Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors Foundation, 2019
- John Dalton Medal, European Geosciences Union, 2015
- Distinguished Research Lectureship, CU Boulder, 2015
- Hydrology Section Award, American Geophysical Union, 2014
- Elected member, National Academy of Engineering, 2012
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2009
- Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 2004
- Meritorious Service Award, U.S. Geological Survey, 1995
Research
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Publications
Recent publications
Differentiating physical and biological storage of N along an intermittent Antarctic stream corridor
Publication Date: 2023-09-01
Type: Journal Article
To Remediate or Not? Source Identification in an Acid Mine Drainage Stream, Warden Gulch, Colorado
Publication Date: 2023-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Long-Term Changes in Concentration and Yield of Riverine Dissolved Silicon From the Poles to the Tropics
Jankowski KJ; Johnson K; Sethna L; Julian P; Wymore AS; Shogren AJ; Thomas PK; Sullivan PL; Mcknight DM; Mcdowell WH...
- Jankowski KJ
- Johnson K
- Sethna L
- Julian P
- Wymore AS
- Shogren AJ
- Thomas PK
- Sullivan PL
- Mcknight DM
- Mcdowell WH
Publication Date: 2023-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Nitrogen fixation facilitates stream microbial mat biomass across the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2023-07-19
Type: Journal Article
Riparian Bird Occupancy in a Mountain Watershed in the Colorado Mineral Belt Appears Resilient to Climate-Change-Driven Increases in Metals and Rare Earth Elements in Water and Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
Publication Date: 2023-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Identifying photochemical alterations of dissolved pyrogenic organic matter using fluorescence spectroscopy
Publication Date: 2023-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Identification of next-generation International Humic Substances Society reference materials for advancing the understanding of the role of natural organic matter in the Anthropocene
Chin Y-P; McKnight DM; D’Andrilli J; Brooks N; Cawley K; Guerard J; Perdue EM; Stedmon CA; Tratnyek PG; Westerhoff P...
- Chin Y-P
- McKnight DM
- D’Andrilli J
- Brooks N
- Cawley K
- Guerard J
- Perdue EM
- Stedmon CA
- Tratnyek PG
- Westerhoff P
Publication Date: 2023-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Antarctic lake phytoplankton and bacteria from near-surface waters exhibit high sensitivity to climate-driven disturbance
Publication Date: 2022-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Dissolved Organic Carbon Chemostasis in Antarctic Polar Desert Streams
Publication Date: 2022-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Whither Winter: The Altered Role of Winter for Freshwaters as the Climate Changes
Publication Date: 2022-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Long-term stream hydrology and meteorology of a Polar Desert, the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2022-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Long-term ecological research and the COVID-19 anthropause: A window to understanding social-ecological disturbance
Gaiser EE; Kominoski JS; McKnight DM; Bahlai CA; Cheng C; Record S; Wollheim WM; Christianson KR; Downs MR; Hawman PA...
- Gaiser EE
- Kominoski JS
- McKnight DM
- Bahlai CA
- Cheng C
- Record S
- Wollheim WM
- Christianson KR
- Downs MR
- Hawman PA
Publication Date: 2022-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Blowin' in the wind: Dispersal, structure, and metacommunity dynamics of aeolian diatoms in the McMurdo Sound region, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2022-02-01
Type: Journal Article
From the Heroic Age to today: What diatoms from Shackleton's Nimrod expedition can tell us about the ecological trajectory of Antarctic ponds
Publication Date: 2021-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Spatiotemporal patterns in hydrologic connectivity within a semi-arid montane headwater catchment in central Colorado
Type: Journal Article
Effects of hydrologic variability and remedial actions on first flush and metal loading from streams draining the Silverton caldera, 1992-2014
Publication Date: 2021-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Dissolved Organic Carbon Chemostasis in Antarctic Polar Desert Streams
Type: Journal Article
Using an unmanned aerial vehicle water sampler to gather data in a pit-lake mining environment to assess closure and monitoring
Publication Date: 2021-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Supporting Simultaneous Air Revitalization and Thermal Control in a Crewed Habitat With Temperate Chlorella vulgaris and Eurythermic Antarctic Chlorophyta
Publication Date: 2021-08-24
Type: Journal Article
Enhanced Rare Earth Element Mobilization in a Mountain Watershed of the Colorado Mineral Belt with Concomitant Detection in Aquatic Biota: Increasing Climate Change-Driven Degradation to Water Quality
Publication Date: 2021-08-04
Type: Journal Article
Phytoplankton Drivers of Dissolved Organic Material Production in Colorado Reservoirs and the Formation of Disinfection By-Products
Publication Date: 2021-07-30
Type: Journal Article
The Role of Hyporheic Connectivity in Determining Nitrogen Availability: Insights From an Intermittent Antarctic Stream
Publication Date: 2021-05-01
Type: Journal Article
Connectivity: insights from the US Long Term Ecological Research Network
Iwaniec DM; Gooseff M; Suding KN; Samuel Johnson D; Reed DC; Peters DPC; Adams B; Barrett JE; Bestelmeyer BT; Castorani ...
- Iwaniec DM
- Gooseff M
- Suding KN
- Samuel Johnson D
- Reed DC
- Peters DPC
- Adams B
- Barrett JE
- Bestelmeyer BT
- Castorani MCN
Publication Date: 2021-05-01
Type: Journal Article
Diatoms in Hyporheic Sediments Trace Organic Matter Retention and Processing in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2021-02-01
Type: Journal Article
Geochemistry of contrasting stream types, Taylor Valley, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2021-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Pages
Teaching
Current courses
- CVEN 5323: Applied Stream Ecology
Past courses
- CVEN 3434: Introduction to Applied Ecology
- CVEN 3454: Water Chemistry
- CVEN 5454: Environmental Engineering Chemistry
- CVEN 6404: Advanced Aquatic Chemistry
Current students
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