Wildfire Smoke Impacts to Lake Tahoe’s Water Quality

The project evaluated the direct connections of wildfire smoke and their interrelationships across different components of the lake ecosystem 1. Air quality, light regime, and air temperature (night and day) in the Tahoe basin; 2. The particle size distribution and concentrations in Lake Tahoe’s water column affecting clarity; 3. Algal growth and changes to vertical distribution and speciation in the open water (where long-term clarity measurements occur); 4. Light changes in the atmosphere that depress or enhance nearshore algal production; and 5. Spatial differences in the type and nutrient concentrations of particles around the Tahoe basin to assess the relationship to nearshore