I am a visiting PhD candidate from the Cold Regions Research Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. My PhD work focuses on the hydrology of thermokarst lakes in the western Canadian Arctic. More specifically, I am investigating how lake and landscape properties cause variability in lake water balances. I measure lake water balance in two ways: directly using water level recorders, and indirectly using water isotope samples taken from lakes. Isotope sampling allows me to see how different water sources, such as rainfall and snowmelt runoff, contribute to lake water balances. For lakes where water balance measurements are taken, lake and watershed characteristics are quantified using remote sensing data and GIS techniques. By comparing lake water balance data with lake and watershed characteristics, the general hydrological behaviour of lakes will be more easily estimated based on easily quantifiable lake and watershed characteristics. This is relevant for future industrial development in the area and for predicting future changes to lake levels as the Arctic warms.