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
---
Publications
Recent publications
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
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: 2013-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Environmental factors influencing diatom communities in Antarctic cryoconite holes
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
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
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: 2013-07-01
Type: Journal Article
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
Spectral evaluation of watershed DOM and DBP precursors
Publication Date: 2013-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Bacteria and diatom co-occurrence patterns in microbial mats from polar desert streams
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
Hydrodynamic shear removal of the nuisance stalk-forming diatomDidymosphenia geminata
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)
Publication Date: 2013-02-01
Type: Journal Article
Microbial life at -13 degrees C in the brine of an ice-sealed Antarctic lake
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
Publication Date: 2012-12-11
Type: Journal Article
Automated measurement of diatom size
Publication Date: 2012-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Climate-Change-Driven Deterioration of Water Quality in a Mineralized Watershed
Publication Date: 2012-09-04
Type: Journal Article
Identifying fluorescent pulp mill effluent in the Gulf of Maine and its watershed
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
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
Publication Date: 2012-03-20
Type: Journal Article
The ecology of pulse events: insights from an extreme climatic event in a polar desert ecosystem
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
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
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
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
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
---