Diane McKnight
Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering • PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1979
CEAE

Specialty

Limnology; biogeochemistry of lakes and streams

Research Interests

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, and include pristine and stressed ecosystems. A co-principal investigator in the McMurdo Dry Valley LTER and in the Niwot Ridge LTER.听

Develops interactions with state and local groups involved in mine drainage and watershed issues in the Rocky Mountains.