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Lewis A. Molot   PhD (Oceanography) University of Alaska Professor   E-mail: lmolot@yorku.ca     Research Areas:   Carbon and nutrient dynamics in boreal lakes;   Biogeochemistry of cyanobacterial blooms

Prof. Molot’s research has focused on studying the movement of phosphorus, iron and dissolved organic carbon from forested catchments and their subsequent fate in streams and lakes in central Ontario. The carbon work has focused on the effects of runoff, ultraviolet radiation and acidification on storage of carbon in lake sediments and the return of carbon to the atmosphere from surface waters with a view to understanding how natural and human-induced perturbations might affect storage and degassing rates.

A second major area of research is an examination of how the supply rate of ferrous iron from anoxic sediments regulates shifts in dominant phytoplankton species in eutrophic waters from eukaryotic algae to large, bloom-forming cyanobacteria.

Recent Publications

Molot, L.A., G. Li, D.L. Findlay and S.B. Watson. 2010. Iron-mediated suppression of bloom-forming cyanobacteria by oxine in a eutrophic lake. Freshwater Biology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02384.x, posted online February 23.

Zhang, J., J. Hudson, R. Neal, T. Clair, M. Turner, D. Jeffries, P.J. Dillon, L.A. Molot, K. Somers and R. Hesslein. 2010. Long-term patterns of dissolved organic carbon in lakes across eastern Canada: evidence of a pronounced climate effect. Limnology and Oceanography. 55:30-42.

Porcal, P., J-F. Koprivnjak, L.A. Molot, and P.J. Dillon. 2009.  The biogeochemistry of dissolved organic carbon and its interactions with climate change.  Environmental Science and Pollution Research International: Humic Substances Part 7. 16(6): 714-726.

O’Connor, E.M., P.J. Dillon, L.A. Molot and I.F. Creed. 2009. Modeling regional-scale dissolved organic carbon mass balances for lakes of the Muskoka River Watershed. Hydrology Research 40: 273-290.

Molot, L.A. and P.J. Dillon. 2008. Long-term trends in catchment export and lake concentrations of major cations in the Dorset study area, Central Ontario.  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 65: 809-820. Dorset Environmental Science Centre special issue.

Kelton, N, L.A. Molot and P.J. Dillon. 2007. Spectrofluorometric properties of dissolved organic carbon from Central and Southern Ontario streams. Water Research. 41: 638-646.

Kelton, N, L.A. Molot and P.J. Dillon. 2007. Effect of ultraviolet and visible radiation on iron lability in boreal and artificial waters. Aquatic Sciences. 69: 86-95.

Medeiros, A.S. and L. A. Molot. 2006. Trends in iron and phosphorus loading to Lake Ontario from waste water treatment plants in Hamilton and Toronto. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 32: 788-797.

Dillon, P.J. and L.A. Molot.  2005.  Long-term trends in catchment export and lake retention of dissolved organic carbon, dissolved organic nitrogen, total iron and total phosphorus: The Dorset, Ontario study, 1978-1998. Journal of Geophysical Research:  Biogeosciences, 110, No. G1. 

Molot, L.A., J.J. Hudson, P.J. Dillon and S.A. Miller. 2005. Effect of pH on photo-oxidation of dissolved organic carbon by hydroxyl radicals in a coloured, softwater stream. Aquatic Sciences, 67: 189-195.

Molot, L.A., W. Keller, P.R. Leavitt, R.D. Robarts, M.J. Waiser, M.T. Arts, T.A. Clair, R. Pienitz, N.D. Yan, D.K. McNicol, Y. Prairie, P.J. Dillon, M. Macrae, R. Bello, R.N. Nordin, P.J. Curtis, J.P. Smol and M.S.V. Douglas. 2004.  Risk analysis of dissolved organic carbon-mediated UVB exposure in Canadian inland waters. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 61:2511-2521.

Macrae, M.L.S., R.L. Bello and L.A. Molot. 2004. Carbon storage and gas exchange in tundra ponds in the Hudson Bay Lowland. Hydrological Processes, 18: 2051-2069.

Molot, L.A. and P.J. Dillon. 2003. Variation in iron, aluminum and dissolved organic carbon mass transfer coefficients in lakes. Water Research. 37: 1759-1768.