Adrianna Gorsky
Research Highlights
Water Quality, Winter Limnology, Biogeochemistry, Urban Waterbodies
Retention ponds are becoming more numerous as urban areas expand, and stormwater engineering practices shift towards slowing the flow of water, both for flood reduction and nutrient retention. Given the ubiquity of small eutrophic waterbodies on Earth, their greenhouse gas potential is vastly understudied, especially during winter. My current research is focused on exploring under-ice oxgyen and subsequent greenhouse gas production in these small waterbodies.
Urban pond biogeochemistry
_%20Lathrop%20et%20al_%20Wingra%20carp%20removal%20LakeLine%20article%20(Photo%205%20Ju.jpg)
Urban lake management
Humans heavily alter urban landscapes through development, with impacts on the morphology, hydrology, and environmental quality of freshwater resources. Urban lakes can be subjected to excess nutrients, contaminants, and the expansion of invasive species with impacts to water quality and ecosystem services.
Lake Wingra is an example of a shallow urban lake located in Madison, Wisconsin. It underwent a common carp removal in 2008 and abruptly shifted the lake to a macrophyte-dominated lake from the turbid state. My current research is focused on using long-term data to describe the abrupt shift and its consequences on ecosystem services. Additionally, we are interested in better understanding the spatial variability of water quality over the course of an annual timescale in this macrophyte-dominated lake.
Winter limnology
Winter is often overlooked when studying the carbon cycle in lakes. In order to better understand the potential impacts of a warming climate, we performed a snow removal project in northern Wisconsin.
My master's research project was specifically focused on estimating greenhouse gas concentrations and exchange from small lakes in northern Wisconsin during winter and spring melt.