Dr. Lance F.W. Lesack

Professor - Limnology and Biogeochemistry - Departments of Geography and Biological Sciences
Simon Fraser University

PhD - Limnology & Hydrology - University of California, Santa Barbara, 1989
BSc - Zoology & Statistics - University of Manitoba, 1977

7123 RCB, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
Tel: 778-782-3326 -- Lab: 778-782-5633 -- Fax: 778-782-5841 -- Email: LLesack@sfu.ca

Select links below for information of interest:
Page last updated: Jun 18, 2023

Research Interests - Limnology and biogeochemistry of inland waters

Key words: limnology, biogeochemistry, catchment hydrology, aquatic ecosystems, floodplain lakes, large river ecology, river floodplains, lake hydrology, arctic ecosystems, tropical ecosystems, global change, lake districts

Mackenzie Delta Lakes - Research on the Mackenzie River Delta, western Canadian arctic

IPY-SCARF - International Polar Year - Study of Canadian Arctic River-delta Fluxes

Graduate Students - Opportunities for graduate studies & summer research assistants !!!

Featured Students -

• Farting lakes in the Arctic:
  Winner of 2023 Faculty of Environment, SFU 3-Minute Thesis Competition
  - Harrison, Hannah: PhD Student, in progress, Department of Geography. Video Presentation
  

• Microbes, Methane, and the Mackenzie
  Second Place in 2023 Faculty of Environment, SFU 3-Minute Thesis Competition
  - Burns, Lucy: MSc Student, in progress, Department of Geography. Video Presentation
  

Featured Articles - *= Lesack students

• Methane emission dynamics among CO2-absorbing and thermokarst lakes of a great Arctic delta:
  Cunada*, C., L. Lesack, and S. Tank*. 2021. Biogeochemistry 156:375-399.
  

• Continuous dynamics of dissolved methane over 2 years and its carbon isotopes in a Mackenzie Delta lake:
  McIntosh Marcek, H., Lesack, L., Orcutt, B., Wheat, C., Dallimore, S., Geeves*, K., and Lapham, L. 2021. J Geophys Res - Biogeosciences 126, e2020JG006038.
  Interview - Smithsonian Magazine: 29 Sep 2017.
  

• Stable Isotopes in Limnology and Oceanography (2019) - 60 of the most influential papers:
  Original publication - Tank*, S., L. Lesack, C. Osburn, and R. Hesslein. 2011. Multiple tracers demonstrate distinct sources of dissolved organic matter to lakes of the Mackenzie Delta. Limnol. Oceanogr. 56:1297-1309.
  

• Controls of hydrological fluxes in an Amazon floodplain lake with a surface-subsurface process model:
  Ji, X., L. Lesack, J. Melack, S. Wang, W. Riley, and C. Shen. 2019. Water Resources Research 55:3056-3075.
  

• Particulate and nutrient fluxes during hydrologically defined periods in an ice-affected great Arctic river, the Mackenzie:
  Gareis*, J., and L. Lesack. 2017. Water Resources Research 53:6109-6132.
  

• Local spring warming drives earlier river-ice breakup in a large Arctic Delta:
  Lesack, L., P. Marsh, F. Hicks, and D. Forbes. 2014. Geophysical Research Letters 41:1560-1566,doi:10.1002/2013GL058761.
  Media Coverage - Radio Canada International: 3 Apr 2014.
  

• Ice breakup in the Mackenzie Delta and the role of river discharge:
  Lesack, L., P. Marsh, F. Hicks, and D. Forbes. 2013. Water Resources Research 49:8234-8249,doi:10.1002/2012WR013198.
  

• Global Change in the Mackenzie River Delta:
  Lesack, L., and P. Marsh. 2007. Geophysical Research Letters 34: L23404,doi:10.1029/2007GL031656.
  Journal Cover Image

• River-to-lake connectivity and aquatic habitat diversity:
  Lesack, L., and P. Marsh. 2010. Water Resources Research 46: W12504,doi:10.1029/2010WR009607.
  Research Spotlight - EOS 92: 22 Feb 2011, p73.
  

• Transparent organic particles in Arctic floodplain lakes:
  Chateauvert*, C., L. Lesack, and M. Bothwell. 2012. J Geophys Res - Biogeosciences 117: G04013,doi:10.1029/2012JG002132.
  Research Spotlight - EOS 94: 26 Feb 2013, p96.
  

Other Sample Publications -

• Gareis*, J., and L. Lesack. 2022. Water quality parameters and constituent concentrations measured in the Peel and Arctic Red Rivers, 2007-2010. Arctic Science. doi:10.1139/as-2022-0020.
• Nzotungicimpaye, C., K. Zickfeld, A.H. MacDougall, J.R. Melton, C.C. Treat, M. Eby, and L. Lesack. 2021. WETMETH 1.0: A new wetland methane model for implementation in Earth system models. Geoscientific Model Development 14:6215-6240.
• Gareis*, J., and L. Lesack. 2020. Ice-out and freshet fluxes of CO2 and CH4 across the air-water interface of the channel network of a great Arctic delta, the Mackenzie. Polar Research. 39, 3528.
• Gareis*, J., and L. Lesack. 2018. Photodegraded dissolved organic matter from peak freshet river discharge as a substrate for bacterial production in a lake-rich great Arctic delta. Arctic Science. 4:557-583, doi:10.1139/as-2017-0055.
• Cunada*, C., L. Lesack, and S. Tank*. 2018. Seasonal dynamics of dissolved methane in lakes of the Mackenzie Delta and the role of carbon substrate quality. J. Geophys. Res.: Biogeosciences. 123:591-609, doi:10.1002/2017JG004047.
• Crasto*, N., C. Hopkinson, D. Forbes, L. Lesack, P. Marsh, I. Spooner, and J.J. van der Sanden. 2015. A LiDAR-based decision-tree classification of open water surfaces in a low relief Arctic delta. Remote Sensing of Environment 164:90-102.
• Wrona, F., et al. 2013. Chapter 13, Freshwater ecosystems. Arctic Biodiversity Assessment: Status and trends in Arctic biodiversity. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Arctic Council, Akureyri.
• Emmerton*, C., J. Graydon, J. Gareis*, V. St. Louis, L. Lesack, J. Banack, F Hicks, and J Nafziger. 2013. Mercury export to the Arctic Ocean from the Mackenzie River, Canada. Environ. Sci. Technol. 47:7644-7654.
• Chateauvert*, C., L. Lesack, and M. Bothwell. 2012. Bacterial community dominance of particle-attached bacteria in lakes of the Mackenzie River Delta: transparent exopolymer particle contributions. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 68:57-76. doi:10.3354/ame01605.
• Gareis*, J., L. Lesack, and M. Bothwell. 2010. Attenuation of in situ UV radiation in Mackenzie Delta lakes with varying dissolved organic matter compositions. Water Resources Research 46: W09516,doi:10.1029/2009WR008747.
• Tank*, S., L. Lesack, and D. McQueen. 2009. Elevated pH regulates bacterial carbon cycling in lakes with high photosynthetic activity. Ecology 90:1910-1922.
• Squires*, M., L. Lesack, R. Hecky, S. Guildford, P. Ramlal, and S. Higgins. 2009. Primary production and carbon dioxide metabolic balance of a lake-rich arctic river floodplain: Partitioning of phytoplankton, epipelon, macrophyte, and epiphyton production among lakes of the Mackenzie Delta. Ecosystems 12:853-872. doi:10.1007/s10021-009-9263-3.
• Graydon, J., C. Emmerton*, L. Lesack, and E. Kelly. 2009. Mercury in the Mackenzie River delta and estuary: Concentrations and fluxes during open-water conditions. Science of the Total Environment 407:2980-2988. doi:10.1016/j.scitoevn.2008.12.060.
• Emmerton*, C., L. Lesack, and W. Vincent. 2008. Mackenzie River nutrient delivery to the Arctic Ocean and effects of the Mackenzie Delta during open water conditions. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 22: GB1024, doi:10.1029/2006GB002856.
• Spears*, B., and L. Lesack. 2006. Bacterioplankton production, abundance, and nutrient limitation among lakes of the Mackenzie Delta (western Canadian Arctic). Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 63:845-857.
• Squires*, M., L. Lesack, and D. Huebert. 2002. The influence of water transparency on the distribution and abundance of macrophytes among lakes of the Mackenzie Delta, western Canadian arctic. Freshwater Biol. 47:2123-2135.
• Lesack, L., P. Marsh, and R. Hecky. 1998. Spatial and temporal dynamics of major solute chemistry among Mackenzie Delta lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 43:1530-1543.
• Lesack, L., and J. Melack. 1996. Nutrient balance of a rainforest catchment in the central Amazon Basin: Implications for nutrient budgets in tropical rainforests. Biogeochemistry 32:115-142.
• Lesack, L., and J. Melack. 1995. Flooding hydrology and mixture dynamics of lakewater derived from multiple sources in an Amazon floodplain lake. Water Resour. Res. 31:329-345.

  More publications: Sorted geographically, of course