Pacific Southwest Research Station

Visibility monitoring and standards for Lake Tahoe Basin: assessment of current and alternative approaches

Principal Investigators:
Antony Chen, Desert Research Institute
John Watson, Desert Research Institute
Xiaoliang Wang, Desert Research Institute

Proposal [pdf]

Final Report [pdf]

Please contact Dr. Antony Chen with questions regarding the report.

Project Summary

Visibility is an important asset to the scenic Lake Tahoe Basin. Since 1990, long-term visibility monitoring has been conducted at D.L. Bliss State Park and South Lake Tahoe to represent regional and sub-regional visibility conditions. The current visibility standards, established by the Tahoe Region Planning Agency, use 1991–1993 monitoring data as the performance standards to be met or exceeded. This project evaluated the current visibility measurements and technologies available for tracking haze in Lake Tahoe and provides recommendations for future monitoring, data analysis, and threshold development.