Understanding Sierra Lakes in a Changing Climate
The California Mountain Lakes Network (CAMOLAN) extends UC Davis TERC’s holistic approach to limnology far beyond Lake Tahoe. Led by the Ecosystem Ecology and Limnology Lab, the project studies 14 small mountain lakes spanning the Sierra Nevada, from Mt. Shasta to Sequoia National Park.
Established in 2017 and anchored by two of the longest-running lake studies in North America (Castle Lake, since 1959, and Emerald Lake, since 1983), the network provides a powerful framework for understanding how mountain lakes respond to climate change.
From a Simple Question to a Statewide Effort
The work began with a focused question:
What controls lake temperature, and how will it change in the future?
Research has shown that snowpack plays a critical role in regulating lake temperature by determining how long lakes remain ice-covered and how much sunlight they absorb. But applying that understanding across thousands of Sierra lakes requires accounting for differences in lake size, depth, landscape position, watershed characteristics, and climate.
Today, the project seeks to answer a broader question:
How do physical and chemical differences among lakes influence their ecology — and can we predict their vulnerability in a warming climate?
How the Research Is Done
Multiple times a year, field crews backpack to every network lake to collect water chemistry samples and download data. At the deepest point of each lake, instrumented moorings measure:
- Temperature
- Dissolved oxygen
- Conductivity
- Light
- Lake level
These high-frequency datasets allow scientists to track how warming, drought, and wildfire smoke alter lake thermal structure, productivity, algal blooms, and food webs.
Why It Matters
Mountain lakes are ecological indicators, climate sentinels, and in many cases, critical water supplies for California communities. Yet we lack a comprehensive understanding of how the state’s thousands of lakes will respond to continued warming.
By building a predictive framework for lake temperature, ecosystem response, and vulnerability, the California Mountain Lakes Project supports:
- Science-based management for National Parks and Forests
- Improved climate risk and vulnerability assessments
- Better planning for communities that depend on mountain water resources
Through CAMOLAN, TERC is creating one of the most comprehensive efforts in the state to understand — and prepare for — the future of California’s mountain lakes.