Extreme drought effects on legacy and technology-critical elements in streams (X-STREAM)

Increased frequency and duration of extreme droughts are predicted to cause some of the most severe climate change effects globally.

Droughts threaten water quality in northern boreal landscapes, where intensified drying/wetting cycles may trigger the mobilisation of both legacy pollutants and emerging technology-critical elements stored organic-rich soils.

Yet, despite potentially important consequences for aquatic biodiversity and the supply of clean drinking water to millions of people, the effects of drought on northern waters are essentially unstudied.

As a result, we are currently not able to predict how an increase in drought severity will affect northern freshwater resources for the coming generations.

To overcome this knowledge gap, we have assembled a complementary team of experts in hydrology, biogeochemistry, isotope geochemistry, and aquatic ecosystem ecology to develop the first comprehensive assessment of how future droughts will affect water quality in boreal landscapes.

In the project we will test hypotheses related to drought response and recovery using a range of tools, including a unique database, analysis of a ~40-year archive of preserved samples, and a large-scale drought manipulation experiment.

With this project we will provide fundamental understanding of the dynamic interactions between climate, soils, and water chemistry, and thereby reduce the uncertainty associated with future water quality conditions across high latitude landscapes.