Plastics Research at Lake Tahoe
Microplastics at Lake Tahoe
How do microplastics affect one of the clearest lakes in the world? Join researchers Katie Senft, Carina Seitz and Consuelo Del Rio aboard the À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, Reno at Lake Tahoe’s research vessel as they investigate how plastic pollution enters and spreads throughout Lake Tahoe. Learn how researchers collect and analyze water samples at various depths to uncover the hidden impact of microplastics on water quality and lake ecosystems.
Plastic concentrations at Lake Tahoe
Through collaborations with the University of Milano, Biccoca and others within the , University researchers published the first peer-reviewed scientific publication showing that the concentration of plastics in Lake Tahoe is one of the highest on the globe. Together with their colleagues from the Desert Research Institute, University researchers continue to evaluate the distribution of plastics within the water column and conduct studies that examine the impact of plastics to Lake Tahoe’s nearshore water quality.
AT&T Cable
In the last decade, divers found the abandoned telecommunication cables in the bottom of Lake Tahoe. At the request of the , researchers from the Tahoe Institute developed quantitative methods and analysis for measuring the impacts on Lake Tahoe’s water quality from the abandoned cables. Researchers found that bacteria and algae growing on the cable have lead concentrations 67,000 times higher than a sample from a nearby rock.