Climate change is making Lake Tahoe warmer, adding stress to the ecosystem

[TexasTowelie]

In an annual report released this week, U.C. Davis researchers found that climate change is adding new pressure to the Lake Tahoe ecosystem. The “State of the Lake Report” found that surface temperatures in July 2017 were the warmest on record, more than 6 degrees hotter than recordings from 2016, a trend likely to continue as air temperatures are predicted to rise.

“It’s changing the way things happen at Tahoe,” said Geoffrey Schladow, director of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, which published the report on Thursday.

He said that in the decades to come, Tahoe can expect to see more extreme years that reflect more volatile weather, disrupting the way the lake has self-regulated its ecosystem in the past.

The report noted that researchers are still studying “the impact of these changes on the lake and the other aquatic resources,” but Schladow noted that warming water could create a hole for more invasive species, reduce oxygen levels and release nutrients that fuel algae growth.

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/report-climate-change-is-making-lake-tahoe-warmer-adding-stress-to-the-ecosystem