Gifty Attiah (Wilfrid Laurier University)

Purpose

This project will develop a community-informed monitoring framework for small northern lakes near Yellowknife by combining field-based water quality measurements with satellite imagery to better understand the impacts of climate change and permafrost thaw. Through data collection on indicators such as turbidity, dissolved organic carbon, and algae levels, the project will calibrate satellite observations to enable long-term, cost-effective monitoring of multiple lakes. The resulting tools, reports, maps, dashboards, and community engagement activities will support local decision-making, strengthen northern monitoring capacity, and improve understanding of how climate change is affecting freshwater ecosystems.