Research
Professor Zimmerman is interested in the biogeochemical behaviour of freshwater ecosystems. Four major research areas are (1) characterization of refractory organic (humic/fulvic) acids, clay-organic ligands, suspended sediments and their effects on the complexation/mobilization behaviour of heavy metals; (2) sediment-water interactions, pore-water chemistry, diffusion kinetics, nutrient and electron efflux, sedimentation, microbial ecology; (3) geochemical characterization of sediments, suspended sediments as agents in mass transfer; (4) thermal responses of lake ecosystems to climatic change. In addition, she actively cooperates with ecologists inside and outside the University in a rather informal quest for practically oriented, holistic models of lake ecosystems that might prove useful in efforts to rehabilitate lake ecosystems and conserve aquatic community biodiversity. She is also interested in participatory research, cross-cultural technology transfer and application of appropriate technology, with particular reference to the Nishnawbe-Aski and other Canadian First Nations.