Sponsored by HEARTS, 美华文学, and 硅谷女性

Home / Global Environment / Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe

Submitted by: Lauren Watt

Lake Tahoe, a popular vacation getaway, is remembered for the great skiing conditions in winter and the remarkable view of the clear lake during summer. Lake Tahoe, notably the second deepest lake in the United States, has risen a half degree each year in the past four years. What could happen if this trend continues?

In recent years, summer weather has lasted longer, leading to snow melts occurring later than usual. This warmer weather is a contributing factor to drastic changes in ecosystems. For example, Geoffrey Schladow from the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center explains that conditions are difficult for the species in the ecosystems because they “are adapted to the very high UV conditions and cold water temperature conditions.”

Additionally, climate change brings difficulty to native species due to the presence of invasive species. Although boat inspection programs have helped keep some invasive species away, boating further spreads invasive species that are already present. For instance, Asian clams are an invasive species that are connected to mass amount of algae, an essential organism that regulates water temperature.

Additionally, researchers are worried about the rise in water temperature because of the absence of deep mixing, which is essentially when cold water sinks to the bottom of the lake, bringing nutrients up. Without this, the water temperature will continue to rise because of geothermal heat.

Lake Tahoe natives and vacationers are both worried about climate change. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency plans to focus on protecting the environment and ecosystems for the time being. To do this, citizens can cut back on waste and pollution as a start. With contributions from everyone, citizens and vacationers alike hope to improve the Lake Tahoe situation.

About Cindy Guo

Cindy is senior at Henry M. Gunn High School and is incredibly honored to be a part of the Rising Star Magazine team. She enjoys belting out Disney songs, playing piano, watching Chinese dramas, and babysitting. Cindy serves as California DECA's VP of Silicon Valley and is also the singing teacher at FCSN and the President of HEARTS Nonprofit. She can be contacted at cindy@risingstarmagazine.com

Check Also

Afforestation

By Suri Zheng Afforestation is the deliberate process of establishing a forest or planting trees …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *