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Lake Tahoe is warming, UC scientists say

A study underway by University of California, Davis scientists says Lake Tahoe is warming at twice the rate of the world's oceans, possibly as a result of global climate change. The higher warming rate, reported for the first time in the new study, could have major implications for public plans to keep the lake blue.

"It's not immediately obvious what the potential effects of climate change will be to the lake's clarity," said lakes expert Geoffrey Schladow, director of the UC, Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center. "UC Davis and other research teams in the Tahoe Basin have been figuring out how this lake works for 40-plus years. We've had to factor in the emerging impacts of growth and development in the basin.

"Now we will factor in a warming climate, with all the changes that could bring to the dynamics of the lake's water system, including changes in rainfall and snowfall amounts, the amount and seasonal timing of rainwater and snow melt runoff, and lake mixing," Schladow said.

To read a UC news release, click here.

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