Landscapes Live (23/11/2023): Josh Ahmed (University of Hull, UK)

The Dynamic Life and Times of Oxbow Lakes
Oxbow lakes are some of the most recognisable features on Earth, preserving historic river channel for nutrient, contaminant, and sediment sequestration and forming important diversity hotspots within the riparian corridor. Despite the significant value they provide through ecosystem services, little is known about how the lakes physically and chemically obtain these specialist conditions and how they evolve through time, particularly since previous work has focused on surface water conditions at low temporal resolutions. In this presentation, I will discuss recent advances in our understanding of the evolution of oxbow lakes based on some of the world’s most dynamic rivers in the Bolivian Amazon Basin. Remotely-sensed observations of oxbow lakes reveal that their temporal evolution is dynamic and highly variable in space and time, meaning single point observations may only provide limited insight to their long-term evolution. Moreover, this dynamism is strongly linked to lake physiochemistry, which is inextricably linked to the provision of ecosystem services. Inevitable changes in hydrology - driven by climate and land-use changes - could disrupt these dynamics, threatening the riverside communities and wildlife that rely on the lakes for survival.