$5 million in support from NSERC
Our altered lakes: A major cross-Canada study to secure our freshwater future
Sherbrooke, le 31 mars 2026 – A major interdisciplinary study directed by Professor Yannick Huot from the Department of Geomatics at the Université de Sherbrooke, aims to better understand how Canadian lakes are transforming under the growing pressure of human activity.
This project has received a $5-million grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through the Alliance Advantage program and will run for five years.
Titled Altered Lakes, Transformed Roles, this research program will include some of Canada’s leading research specialists in hydrology, limnology, biogeochemistry, and analytical chemistry. The initiative will also tap into expertise from universities and government ministries across the country.
Understanding and measuring how lakes are changing
While the health of many lakes is fairly well documented, much remains unknown about the underlying environmental mechanisms driving these observed changes. The project aims to fill this knowledge gap in three ways:
- Understand how lakes are evolving due to human activity.
- Develop effective tools and methods to measure these changes.
- Determine how these transformations are modifying the role of lakes in ecosystems.
“Although we can easily identify the factors that negatively impact freshwater systems, there is a surprising amount we don’t understand about the related environmental processes. If we don’t understand these processes, we can’t predict the response to them.”
- Professor Yannick Huot, Principal Investigator, Université de Sherbrooke
Aquatic ecosystems are experiencing strain from a growing number of sources: global warming, urbanization, excess nutrient inputs, the exploitation of natural resources, and landscape transformation, among others.
A scientific effort that spans Canada
The research team consists of 17 principal investigators and 18 contributors from universities and government agencies. A key part of the program will also include training for the next generation of aquatic specialists, as 57 students and interns are expected to participate.
A total of 18 lakes in southern Quebec will undergo comprehensive assessments. Thanks to cutting-edge technologies combined with year-round sampling campaigns and advanced spatiotemporal analyses, the team will develop new indicators to better assess the health and the functional role of lakes at the watershed scale.
The generated knowledge will help Canada better protect and manage its nearly three million lakes in a context of accelerating environmental change.
The multidisciplinary team behind the research project
Principal investigator
Yannick Huot, Department of Geomatics, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Université de Sherbrooke
Co-researchers
Marc Amyot, Université de Montréal
Frédéric Bouchard, Université de Sherbrooke
Beatrix Beisner, UQAM
Paul del Giorgio’s, UQAM
Mickaël Germain, Université de Sherbrooke
Ann Gregory, University of Calgary
Irene Gregory-Eaves, McGill University
Lars Iversen, McGill University
Jean-François Lapierre, Université de Montréal
John P. Smol, Queen’s University
Violaine Ponsin, UQAM
Yves Prairie, UQAM
Pedro Alejandro Segura, Université de Sherbrooke
René Therrien, Université Laval
David Walsh, Concordia University
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Information:
Geneviève Lussier, Media and Public Relations
Communications Department | Université de Sherbrooke
medias@USherbrooke.ca | 819-821-8000, ext. 65472