Diane M. McKnight

Distinguished Professor •
• Limnology • Biogeochemistry of lakes and streams

Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering • Environmental Studies • Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Program

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

Physicochemical and biological dynamics in a coastal Antarctic lake as it transitions from frozen to open water

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors:

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

Published in: Antarctic Science
Publication Date: 2013-10-01
Type: Journal Article

Characterization of fulvic acid fractions of dissolved organic matter during ice-out in a hyper-eutrophic, coastal pond in Antarctica

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors:

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

Published in: Environmental Research Letters
Publication Date: 2013-10-01
Type: Journal Article

Environmental factors influencing diatom communities in Antarctic cryoconite holes

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Stanish LF; Bagshaw EA; McKnight DM; Fountain AG; Tranter M

Published in: Environmental Research Letters
Publication Date: 2013-10-01
Type: Journal Article

The influence of stream thermal regimes and preferential flow paths on hyporheic exchange in a glacial meltwater stream

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Gooseff, Michael N

All Authors: Cozzetto KD; Bencala KE; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM

Published in: Water Resources Research
Publication Date: 2013-09-01
Type: Journal Article

Increasing ARD and rare earth metal concentrations in an alpine watershed

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Rue G; Crouch C; McKnight D

Publication Date: 2013-08-06
Type: Conference Proceeding

Wetland Photochemistry as a Major Control on the Transport of Metals in an Acid Mine Drainage Impacted Watershed

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Duren SM; McKnight DM

Publication Date: 2013-08-06
Type: Conference Proceeding

Microbial growth under humic-free conditions in a supraglacial stream system on the Cotton Glacier, Antarctica

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; SanClements, Michael

All Authors:

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

Published in: Environmental Research Letters
Publication Date: 2013-07-01
Type: Journal Article

The role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality in the growth enhancement of Alexandrium fundyense (Dinophyceae) in laboratory culture

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Cawley KM; Koerfer V; McKnight DM

Published in: Journal of Phycology: an international journal of algal research
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

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Koch JC; Runkel RL; Striegl R; McKnight DM

Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
Publication Date: 2013-06-01
Type: Journal Article

The carbon stable isotope biogeochemistry of streams, Taylor Valley, Antarctica

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Welch, Kathleen Ann

All Authors: Lyons WB; Leslie DL; Harmon RS; Neumann K; Welch KA; Bisson KM; McKnight DM

Published in: Applied Geochemistry
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

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: McKnight DM

Published in: ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts
Publication Date: 2013-04-07
Type: Journal Article

Spectral evaluation of watershed DOM and DBP precursors

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Rosario-Ortiz, Fernando L.; Summers, R Scott; Korak, Julie Ann

All Authors: Beggs KMH; Billica JA; Korak JA; Rosario-Ortiz FL; McKnight DM; Summers RS

Published in: Journal American Water Works Association
Publication Date: 2013-04-01
Type: Journal Article

Bacteria and diatom co-occurrence patterns in microbial mats from polar desert streams

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Bilinski, Teresa; Spaulding, Sarah A

All Authors: Stanish LF; O'Neill SP; Gonzalez A; Legg TM; Knelman J; McKnight DM; Spaulding S; Nemergut DR

Published in: Environmental Microbiology
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

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Crouch CM; McKnight DM; Todd AS

Published in: Hydrological Processes
Publication Date: 2013-02-28
Type: Journal Article

Hydrodynamic shear removal of the nuisance stalk-forming diatomDidymosphenia geminata

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Crimaldi, John

All Authors: Cullis JDS; Crimaldi JP; McKnight DM

Published in: Limnology and Oceanography: Fluids and Environments
Publication Date: 2013-02-01
Type: Journal Article

Rapid runoff via shallow throughflow and deeper preferential flow in a boreal catchment underlain by frozen silt (Alaska, USA)

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Koch JC; Ewing SA; Striegl R; McKnight DM

Published in: Hydrogeology Journal
Publication Date: 2013-02-01
Type: Journal Article

Microbial life at -13 degrees C in the brine of an ice-sealed Antarctic lake

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors:

Murray AE; Kenig F; Fritsen CH; McKay CP; Cawley KM; Edwards R; Kuhn E; McKnight DM; Ostrom NE; Peng V...

Murray AE
Kenig F
Fritsen CH
McKay CP
Cawley KM
Edwards R
Kuhn E
McKnight DM
Ostrom NE
Peng V

Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
Publication Date: 2012-12-11
Type: Journal Article

Automated measurement of diatom size

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Spaulding, Sarah A

All Authors: Spaulding SA; Jewson DH; Bixby RJ; Nelson H; McKnight DM

Published in: Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
Publication Date: 2012-11-01
Type: Journal Article

Climate-Change-Driven Deterioration of Water Quality in a Mineralized Watershed

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Todd AS; Manning AH; Verplanck PL; Crouch C; McKnight DM; Dunham R

Published in: Environmental Science and Technology (Washington)
Publication Date: 2012-09-04
Type: Journal Article

Identifying fluorescent pulp mill effluent in the Gulf of Maine and its watershed

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Cawley KM; Butler KD; Aiken GR; Larsen LG; Huntington TG; McKnight DM

Published in: Marine Pollution Bulletin
Publication Date: 2012-08-01
Type: Journal Article

Extreme streams: flow intermittency as a control on diatom communities in meltwater streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Stanish LF; Kohler TJ; Esposito RMM; Simmons BL; Nielsen UN; Wall DH; Nemergut DR; McKnight DM

Published in: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Publication Date: 2012-08-01
Type: Journal Article

New Insights into the Source of Decadal Increases of Dissolved Organic Matter in Acid-Sensitive Lakes of the Northeastern United States

CU Boulder Authors: SanClements, Michael; McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: SanClements MD; Oelsner GP; McKnight DM; Stoddard JL; Nelson SJ

Published in: Environmental Science and Technology (Washington)
Publication Date: 2012-03-20
Type: Journal Article

The ecology of pulse events: insights from an extreme climatic event in a polar desert ecosystem

CU Boulder Authors: Gooseff, Michael N; McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Nielsen UN; Wall DH; Adams BJ; Virginia RA; Ball BA; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM

Published in: Ecosphere
Publication Date: 2012-02-01
Type: Journal Article

The role of dissolved organic matter in arctic surface waters in the photolysis of hexachlorobenzene and lindane

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Grannas AM; Cory RM; Miller PL; Chin Y-P; McKnight DM

Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
Publication Date: 2012-01-18
Type: Journal Article

Carbon, metals, and grain size correlate with bacterial community structure in sediments of a high arsenic aquifer

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Bilinski, Teresa

All Authors:

Legg TM; Zheng Y; Simone B; Radloff KA; Mladenov N; Gonzalez A; Knights D; Siu HC; Rahman MM; Ahmed KM...

Legg TM
Zheng Y
Simone B
Radloff KA
Mladenov N
Gonzalez A
Knights D
Siu HC
Rahman MM
Ahmed KM

Published in: Frontiers in Microbiology
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Type: Journal Article

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

Lane Allen

MS Student •
• Stream ecology • Dissolved organic matter

Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Organic Matter Spectroscopy Lab Advisor: Diane McKnight

lane.allen@colorado.edu

Jared Collins

Graduate Student

Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Organic Matter Spectroscopy Lab Advisor: Diane McKnight Focusing on toxic blue-green algal bloom detection using remote sensing of RGB bands to model total cyanobacteria growth in the water column in urban reservoirs.

jared.collins-1@colorado.edu

Mia Vanderwilt

MS Student • Graduate Research Assistant •
• Polar microbiology • Snow hydrology • Remote sensing of the cryosphere

Environmental Studies • Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Program

Organic Matter Spectroscopy Lab Advisor: Diane McKnight Bio Education BS: Georgetown University, 2019

mia.vanderwilt@colorado.edu

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Outreach

News

Diane McKnight in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica.

These freeze-drying algae can awaken from cryostasis, could help spaceflights go farther (AGU)

Dec. 8, 2022

Algal mats survive extreme conditions in Antarctica by entering a freeze-dried state. Led by Diane McKnight, researchers collected the green algae that survive there and grew them in the lab to assess their applications for spaceflight.

Snow covers Deer Creek, near the the headwaters of the Snake River on Jan. 29, 2022, in Summit County. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

Climate change is eroding work to clean up the Snake River. Is snowmaking making it worse? (Colorado Sun)

Feb. 16, 2022

A warmer, drier alpine is impeding water quality for streams and rivers used for snowmaking, like the Snake River that runs through Keystone. Diane McKnight is interviewed in this Colorado Sun story.

CU Boulder campus in fall colors with flatirons behind

New class of CU Distinguished Professors: Leaders in research, education, service (CU Connections)

Nov. 11, 2021

University’s highest faculty honor awarded to 11 professors for 2021, including INSTAARs Diane McKnight and Giff Miller.

Two mountain streams come together, one with rusty red acid rock drainage

More metals found in Summit County river due to climate change, scientists say (9NEWS)

Nov. 10, 2021

A first-of-its-kind study by Garrett Rue and Diane McKnight suggests that warmer weather and less snowpack are causing higher concentrations of rare earth elements in the river.

CU Boulder campus building with fall tree colors

Six CU Boulder faculty members become distinguished professors (CU Boulder Today)

Nov. 5, 2021

Diane McKnight and Giff Miller are among those added to the roster of distinguished professors, the highest honor bestowed by the CU System. The award recognizes faculty who demonstrate exemplary performance in research or creative work; a record of excellence in promoting learning and student attainment of knowledge and skills; and outstanding service to the profession, the university and its affiliates.

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Diane M. McKnight

Bio

Education

Awards

Research

Publications

Increasing ARD and rare earth metal concentrations in an alpine watershed

Wetland Photochemistry as a Major Control on the Transport of Metals in an Acid Mine Drainage Impacted Watershed

Redox reactivity of humic substances in aquatic ecosystems: Multiple lines of evidence and the potential for understanding natural systems using fluorescence spectroscopy

Pages

Teaching

Current courses

Past courses

Current students

Outreach

News