Study: Global Warming Could Change Lake Tahoe Within 10 Years

Reno, NV (AHN) - The clear water of popular California tourist spot Lake Tahoe could turn green in a decade as global warming increases algae growth, a study predicts. Phosphorous that is now currently locked in the sediment on the bottom of the lake, could spur the algae.

The new findings were revealed March 18 at a Tahoe scientific conference by three lake experts from the Tahoe Environmental Research Center at UC Davis -- Director Geoffrey Schladow, Associate Director John Reuter and postdoctoral researcher Goloka Sahoo.

At present, the Lake Tahoe water at 1,644 feet deep mixes every four years. Deep mixing produces nutrients from the bottom of the lake to the surface where the production of algae takes place. And it takes oxygen from the surface and spread it throughout the lake that supports aquatic life.

The study showed that if the global greenhouse-gas emissions continue, mixing could become less frequent and less deep, it may even stop as soon as 2019.