In addition, DRI researchers are examining how erosion along beaches and shorelines adds sediments and nutrients to the lake as well as the effects of restoration efforts. Eroding slopes and stream banks are often rebuilt for greater stability. There are many ways to do this, and Institute scientists are working to determine which of these efforts is simultaneously cost-effective and limits large amounts of sediment from reaching the lake. Another major issue at Lake Tahoe is water clarity. DRI hopes that, by using new methods and instrumentation, the Institute can help create a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of the lake's clarity.
Researchers currently rely on a surprisingly low-tech method for judging clarity.
A light-colored disc is lowered into the water, and the depth at which it disappears from view is recorded. While that simple approach can be effective, Jacobson points out that it measures clarity at only a few specific locations and only in the upper layers of the water. We'd like to take a more high-tech approach. By using optical and laser methods we will be able to create a sort of three-dimensional map of the lake's clarity. Yet another water-related issue is being investigated in conjunction with UNR, the University of California, Davis and the U.S. Geological Survey.