After almost 50 years, TERC’s signature research vessel is nearing the end of its useful life. Our requirements and aspirations are for a combined research, teaching and public education vessel that fulfills our mission while minimizing our environmental impact on the lake. This will fund the design, construction and equipping of an all-electric, carbon-fiber research and teaching catamaran. The vessel will provide a unique teaching opportunity for graduate students in all aspects of field limnology. Its high speed and on-board instrumentation will greatly advance TERC’s research infrastructure. It will also be used for public outreach and education.

Gifts to TERC’s Nearshore Network help support this novel approach to tracking the health of Tahoe’s ever-changing shoreline. The Nearshore Network’s 10 stations in the shallow water around Lake Tahoe provide researchers with real-time information on the ever-changing conditions in the most heavily used parts of the lake. Our stations can track the effects of sewage spills and algal blooms, rising temperatures or pollutants entering the lake from streams and drains. Coupled with a network of meteorological stations, and coordinated with TERC’s helicopter and drone surveillance of nearshore algae, we are working to safeguard the lake’s beaches and shoreline.

TERC has pioneered the development of a Lake Observatory at Lake Tahoe. It comprises a set of highly advanced, cutting-edge instruments that constantly provide data on the physics, biology and chemistry of the lake, and the interactions between them. This fund allows for the acquisition and upgrading of new capital equipment and the enhancement of the existing infrastructure.