Tracking Algae Across Lake Tahoe, Year-Round
Algae grow in Lake Tahoe throughout the year — but different types peak in different seasons. Periphyton, the algae attached to rocks and docks, often thrives in winter and early spring. Metaphyton, an unattached green algae that accumulates over sandy bottoms, prefers warmer summer waters.
Monitoring these shifting patterns across a lake as large and complex as Tahoe requires a uniquely comprehensive approach. TERC has built one of the most advanced algae-monitoring programs in the region — combining decades of underwater sampling with cutting-edge aerial and remote-sensing technology.
Today, the program integrates:
- Long-term diver-based monitoring
- High-resolution drone imagery at key shoreline sites
- Helicopter surveys covering the entire lake
- Emerging satellite tools to detect offshore algae
Drone imagery is collected multiple times per year and analyzed at centimeter-scale resolution to calculate shoreline coverage. Helicopter and satellite data extend those findings lakewide, creating an unprecedented, basin-scale view of algal dynamics.
This layered, multi-technology approach is what makes TERC’s program unique. By linking long-term historical records with modern remote sensing, researchers can track seasonal and annual changes, identify emerging hotspots, and better understand how nutrients, temperature, invasive species, and climate change influence algal growth.
The result is a comprehensive, whole-lake perspective — from beneath the surface to high above it — that supports science-based management and protection of Lake Tahoe’s clarity.