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
Pressure-driven, shoreline currents in a perennially ice-covered, pro-glacial lake in Antarctica, identified from a LiCl tracer injected into a pro-glacial stream
Publication Date: 2015-04-30
Type: Journal Article
Influence of Leaching Solution and Catchment Location on the Fluorescence of Water-Soluble Organic Matter
Publication Date: 2015-04-07
Type: Journal Article
Transformations in autochthonous DOM: An Antarctic supraglacial case study
Publication Date: 2015-03-22
Type: Conference Proceeding
Life in the Main Channel: Long-Term Hydrologic Control of Microbial Mat Abundance in McMurdo Dry Valley Streams, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2015-03-01
Type: Journal Article
Fractionation of Fulvic Acid by Iron and Aluminum Oxides-Influence on Copper Toxicity to Ceriodaphnia dubia
Publication Date: 2014-10-21
Type: Journal Article
Abiotic and biotic factors influencing the mobility of arsenic in groundwater of a through-flow island in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
Mladenov N; Wolski P; Hettiarachchi GM; Murray-Hudson M; Enriquez H; Damaraju S; Galkaduwa MB; McKnight DM; Masamba W...
- Mladenov N
- Wolski P
- Hettiarachchi GM
- Murray-Hudson M
- Enriquez H
- Damaraju S
- Galkaduwa MB
- McKnight DM
- Masamba W
Publication Date: 2014-10-10
Type: Journal Article
Morning, noon, and night: DOM photochemistry and understanding the biogeochemical pulse of river ecosystems
Publication Date: 2014-08-10
Type: Conference Proceeding
From the litter layer to the saprolite: Chemical changes in water-soluble soil organic matter and their correlation to microbial community composition
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Fluorescence Indices and Their Interpretation
Type: Chapter
Diel flow pulses drive particulate organic matter transport from microbial mats in a glacial meltwater stream in the McMurdo Dry Valleys
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Characterization of fulvic acid fractions of dissolved organic matter during ice-out in a hyper-eutrophic, coastal pond in Antarctica
Cawley KM; McKnight DM; Miller P; Cory R; Fimmen RL; Guerard J; Dieser M; Jaros C; Chin Y-P; Foreman C...
- Cawley KM
- McKnight DM
- Miller P
- Cory R
- Fimmen RL
- Guerard J
- Dieser M
- Jaros C
- Chin Y-P
- Foreman C
Publication Date: 2013-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Characterization of IHSS Pony Lake fulvic acid dissolved organic matter by electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and fluorescence spectroscopy
Publication Date: 2013-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Physicochemical and biological dynamics in a coastal Antarctic lake as it transitions from frozen to open water
Dieser M; Foreman CM; Jaros C; Lisle JT; Greenwood M; Laybourn-Parry J; Miller PL; Chin Y-P; McKnight DM...
- Dieser M
- Foreman CM
- Jaros C
- Lisle JT
- Greenwood M
- Laybourn-Parry J
- Miller PL
- Chin Y-P
- McKnight DM
Publication Date: 2013-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Environmental factors influencing diatom communities in Antarctic cryoconite holes
Publication Date: 2013-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Microbial growth under humic-free conditions in a supraglacial stream system on the Cotton Glacier, Antarctica
Foreman CM; Cory RM; Morris CE; SanClements MD; Smith HJ; Lisle JT; Miller PL; Chin Y-P; McKnight DM...
- Foreman CM
- Cory RM
- Morris CE
- SanClements MD
- Smith HJ
- Lisle JT
- Miller PL
- Chin Y-P
- McKnight DM
Publication Date: 2013-09-01
Type: Journal Article
The influence of stream thermal regimes and preferential flow paths on hyporheic exchange in a glacial meltwater stream
Publication Date: 2013-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Increasing ARD and rare earth metal concentrations in an alpine watershed
Type: Conference Proceeding
Wetland Photochemistry as a Major Control on the Transport of Metals in an Acid Mine Drainage Impacted Watershed
Type: Conference Proceeding
The role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality in the growth enhancement of Alexandrium fundyense (Dinophyceae) in laboratory culture
Publication Date: 2013-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Hydrologic controls on the transport and cycling of carbon and nitrogen in a boreal catchment underlain by continuous permafrost
Publication Date: 2013-06-01
Type: Journal Article
The carbon stable isotope biogeochemistry of streams, Taylor Valley, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2013-05-01
Type: Journal Article
Redox reactivity of humic substances in aquatic ecosystems: Multiple lines of evidence and the potential for understanding natural systems using fluorescence spectroscopy
Publication Date: 2013-04-07
Type: Journal Article
Bacteria and diatom co-occurrence patterns in microbial mats from polar desert streams
Publication Date: 2013-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Spectral evaluation of watershed DOM and DBP precursors
Publication Date: 2013-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Quantifying sources of increasing zinc from acid rock drainage in an alpine catchment under a changing hydrologic regime
Publication Date: 2013-02-28
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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