Dear colleagues, We are organizing a Special Session on Hardwater Lakes for the upcoming ASLO meeting in San Juan P.R. in February 2019. These important, yet threatened systems represent almost half of all standing inland waters and occur on every continents except Antarctica. We hope to bring together a diverse group of researchers to synthesize current knowledge and identify future threats and opportunities. The deadline for abstract submission October 22nd 2018.
Thanks and all the best, Bjoern Wissel SS46 Structure, Function and Controls of Hardwater Lakes in a Changing Climate Hardwater lakes occur on all continents except Antarctica and represent almost half of all inland waters worldwide. Their prevalence in semi-arid to sub-humid climate zones and unique hydrology makes these lakes particularly vulnerable to climate change, water withdrawal and pollution, resulting in substantial damage to both environmental and economic systems. Lake morphometry, hydrology and water chemistry in these systems is often different from those in boreal lakes, leading to large differences in biogeochemical cycles and atmospheric exchange (CO2, CH4, N2O). In addition, hardwater lakes often exhibit a highly diverse and/or specialized food-web structure. Improved understanding of the role of these lakes in elemental cycling and biological diversity is needed to improve surface water management in continental interiors, protect ecosystems from irrevocable damage (e.g., Aral Sea), and understand their effect on surface hydrology. To address these shortcomings and enable future synthesis, we invite contributions that evaluate biological, hydrological, physical, chemical aspects of hardwater lakes. Organizers: Bjoern Wissel, University of Regina (bjoern.wis...@uregina.ca) Rafael Marcé, Catalan Institute for Water Research (rma...@icra.cat) Peter Leavitt, University of Regina (peter.leav...@uregina.ca) Erik Jeppesen, Aarhus University (e...@bios.au.dk) Robert Striegl, USGS Water Resources Mission Area (rstri...@usgs.gov)
