Variations in the stable isotope composition of lakes and inferred water balance trends are being examined over a 200,000 km² area of the central Arctic that straddles the drainage divide between the Mackenzie Basin and Arctic Coastal Plain. The study utilizes GIS-based spatial analysis techniques to characterize regional trends in evaporation/inflow ratios calculated from evaporative isotopic enrichment in lakes (see Figure above). Comparisons with conventional hydrometric and meteorological data is also underway to provide a better understanding of hydrology in remote, lake-dominated areas of the northwestern Mackenzie Basin, Coppermine River Basin, and other continental Arctic watersheds.

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