Collaborative research: ltreb: dynamics of extreme climate disturbance in arctic lakes (decadal)

The Science Museum of Minnesota received a $233,888 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Division of Environmental Biology under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), effective September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2030. This collaborative Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) project investigates the dynamics of extreme climate disturbance in Arctic lakes, specifically examining rapid ecosystem degradation in West Greenland where clear, blue lakes transformed to brown, murky conditions following extreme heat and rainfall events—changes that typically occur over millennia. The research leverages over a decade of previously-collected baseline data from ten Arctic lakes and extends data collection for an additional ten years to quantify ecosystem responses to extreme weather events and develop a stability framework for predicting future Arctic lake changes.

The deliverables include comprehensive ecosystem research across multiple biological metrics, scientific data and analysis products documenting lake ecosystem resilience and recovery patterns, and educational outcomes including K-12 curriculum development, teacher professional development through hands-on field experience and data analysis training, and public outreach materials addressing water quality changes in Arctic lakes. These research and educational products directly address ecosystem function impacts, food web stability, and water security for local communities while training the next generation of scientists and educators in Arctic environmental research.

Abstract

After a period of record heat and rainfall in west greenland, lakes which had been clear and blue rapidly turned brown and murky, a change that typically takes thousands of years. The causes and consequences of this dramatic change are largely unknown. This project offers a rare chance to understand how entire lake ecosystems respond to such rapid and severe disturbances, particularly in the sensitive arctic biome which includes 40% of the world?s lakes. These dramatic changes directly impact ecosystem function of these lakes, which includes both the stability of the food webs as well as water security for local communities. This project also helps educate the public about changes to water quality in arctic lakes and trains the next generation of scientists and teachers, developing curriculum for k-12 students in collaboration with current teachers and making this crucial knowledge widely accessible. This project also gives science teachers the opportunity to experience hands-on field work, sample collection, and data analysis. This project uses more than a decade of previously-collected data from ten arctic lakes in west greenland and continues to collect observations over the next 10 years to investigate the ecosystem response to extreme weather events. The research investigates how lake ecosystems are resilient against and recover from extreme weather events, creating a framework for understanding how arctic lakes will change in the future. Studying these metrics across the whole lake ecosystem will gain a much deeper understanding of how these critical arctic lakes respond to rapid environmental changes. The project objectives focus on (1) quantifying the ongoing effects of extreme weather events in multiple aspects of lake ecosystems, (2) assessing how a ?stability framework? Captures the variability in the response of ecosystem functions following these weather events, and (3) investigating how lake ecosystem processes affect the trajectory of ecosystem recovery from weather disturbances. This research will include ten years of additional data collection, experiments to test how specific lake processes respond to temperature, light, and nutrient conditions, and analysis of lake sediments to assess long-term changes in carbon nutrient cycling. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.