EAPSI: A comparison of lake monitoring and modeling approaches - protecting freshwater resources in Lake Tahoe and Lake Taupo, and globally

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This project will compare water quality data and modeling research from Lake Tahoe (CA/NV, U.S.A.) to research on a New Zealand lake with similar water quality and which also has a modeling program, Lake Taupo. Dr. David Hamilton at the University of Waikato in New Zealand has considerable experience at Lake Taupo and is a leader in combining 3-D models with real-time sensor data. The PI?s current research focuses on monitoring and modeling water quality in the near-shore of Lake Tahoe. In collaborating with Dr. Hamilton and his graduate students, the PI will have access to data and models from Lake Taupo that are uniquely applicable to the his research on ecologically comparable Lake Tahoe; the PI will improve his approach to nearshore modeling, will collect reference data from New Zealand lakes, and will establish research links to eventually validate his western U.S. model on New Zealand lakes and globally. A robust and globally transferable nearshore water quality model will serve to better understand and protect the area of lakes and reservoirs on which human populations most directly depend.The margins of lakes are both an important ecological habitat and the primary recreational and utilitarian usage point for humans. These near-shore areas are subject to high variability in water quality due to natural and anthropogenic inputs. Human development and changing climate patterns continue to force changes to these inputs. Understanding how these variations will affect near-shore water quality requires an understanding of the spatiotemporal response of near-shore areas to external loading, meteorology, and the geometric nature of a lake. The PI?s current research focuses on developing models of this response in Lake Tahoe. In collaborating with Dr. Hamilton, the PI will gain insight into generalizing his model for global application; he will learn new modeling approaches, collect reference data, and establish long-term research links to continually improve and apply his model to protect global freshwater reserves. This EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Royal Society of New Zealand.