ABSTRACT. Evolving research in Fort Resolution and the Slave River Delta, Northwest Territories, aims to improve understanding of how the natural ecosystem functions and responds to various environmental stressors, as well as to enhance the stewardship of natural resources and the capacity of local residents to respond to change. We seek to integrate approaches that span the natural and social sciences and traditional knowledge understandings of change, employing a research design developed in response to the concerns of a northern community. In doing so, we have strived for a research process that is collaborative, interdisciplinary, policy-oriented, and reflective of northern priorities. These elements characterize the new northern research paradigm increasingly promoted by various federal funding agencies, northern partners, and communities. They represent a holistic perspective in the pursuit of solutions to address complex environmental and socioeconomic concerns about impacts of climate change and resource development on northern societies. However, efforts to fulfill the objectives of this research paradigm are associated with a host of on-the-ground challenges. These challenges include (but are not restricted to) developing effective community partnerships and collaboration and documenting change through interdisciplinary approaches. Here we provide an overview of the components that comprise our interdisciplinary research program and offer an accounting of our formative experiences in confronting these challenges.Key words: hydroecology, climate change, environmental change, paleolimnology, traditional knowledge, resource management, adaptive capacity, northern Canada, partnerships, sustainability RÉSUMÉ. Des travaux de recherche en cours à Fort Resolution et dans le delta de la rivière des Esclaves, aux Territoires du NordOuest, visent à mieux comprendre le fonctionnement de l'écosystème naturel, à réagir aux divers facteurs d'agression environnementaux ainsi qu'à rehausser la gérance des ressources naturelles et la capacité des habitants de la région à réagir au changement. Nous cherchons à intégrer des méthodes qui englobent les sciences naturelles et sociales et favorisent la compréhension du changement du point de vue des connaissances traditionnelles. Nous cherchons également à employer une méthodologie respectueuse des inquiétudes de la collectivité du Nord. Ce faisant, nous avons abouti à un processus de recherche caractérisé par la collaboration, l'interdisciplinarité et les politiques, processus qui tient également compte des priorités dans le Nord. Ces éléments définissent le nouveau paradigme de recherche dans le Nord qui est de plus en plus préconisé par divers organismes de subvention fédéraux, partenaires du Nord et collectivités. Ils représentent une perspective holistique en guise de solutions à des enjeux environnementaux et socioéconomiques complexes portant sur les incidences du changement climatique et de l'exploitation des ressources sur les sociétés du Nord. Toutefois, les efforts...

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A paleolimnological approach was employed to reconstruct variations in the frequency of spring break-up flooding in the Slave River Delta during the past ~80 years based on multi-proxy analyses (geochemistry, diatoms, plant macrofossils) of a sediment core from a shallow, flood-prone lake in the active delta. Results reveal oscillating decadal-scale intervals of high and low flood frequency. The post-1960 reconstruction of Slave River flood frequency parallels variations in measured Slave River discharge and corresponds to the flood history derived from observations of land users. Notably, the interval of lowest water levels inferred from a peak sedimentary abundance of Sagittaria cuneata seeds pre-dates upstream regulation of the Peace River in 1968. Multi-proxy records reveal that the onset of river regulation coincided with a period of increased flood frequency beginning in the early 1960s and ending in the early 1980s. It is therefore unlikely that river regulation is the primary factor causing declines in the frequency of spring break-up floods at the study site. Furthermore, the flood record developed in the Slave River Delta parallels similar changes in flood frequency from an oxbow lake in the northern Peace sector of the upstream Peace-Athabasca Delta. This suggests that climate-driven change in the runoff regime of the upper Mackenzie River Basin is likely the principle driver of variability in flood frequency in both deltas. Continued reductions in snowpacks and headwater runoff are therefore likely to reduce the frequency of flooding in the Slave River Delta.Résumé : Une approche paléolimnologique a été employée pour reconstituer les variations dans la fréquence des inondations attribuables aux débâcles du printemps dans le delta de la rivière Slave au cours des 80 dernières années, plus ou moins, en fonction d'analyses « multi-proxy » de diverses données indirectes (géochimie, diatomées, macrofossiles de plantes) d'une carotte de sédiments provenant d'un lac peu profond et sujet aux inondations dans le delta actif. Les résultats révèlent des intervalles à l'échelle décadaire oscillant entre une fréquence de crue élevée et faible. La reconstitution postérieure à 1960 de la fréquence de crue de la rivière Slave permet d'établir un parallèle avec les variations dans le débit mesuré 282 Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques

Water chemistry, macrophyte biomass and planktonic diatom communities were monitored seasonally over 3 years (2003)(2004)(2005) from six hydrologically diverse lakes to assess the role of river flooding on inter-annual and seasonal variability of conditions in lakes of the Slave River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada. Results indicate that river flooding was the dominant hydrological process controlling the temporal dynamics of the physical and chemical conditions, planktonic diatom communities and macrophyte biomass in lakes of the Slave River Delta. In the absence of river flooding, lakes had relatively high concentrations of nutrients and low concentrations of most ions, but when flooded, concentrations of nutrients decreased and ions increased. The physical and chemical conditions in frequently flooded and non-flooded lakes were relatively stable from year to year, whereas lakes that were intermittently flooded fluctuated widely depending on whether or not they flooded. Spring flooding from the Slave River introduced planktonic, centric diatoms that persisted only for a few weeks in the water column before settling out. Non-flooded lakes lacked planktonic diatoms. River flooding also reduced water transparency, which decreased macrophyte biomass, while lakes that did not flood exhibited higher macrophyte biomass and clear waters. This research provides insights into the factors that control the hydroecological variability of northern deltaic landscapes, and further improves our understanding of the complex interactions among hydrology, limnology and aquatic ecology, ultimately contributing to an improved scientific basis for future resource management decisions in the Slave River Delta and analogous systems.