Scientists digging around Tahoe to gain info on earthquakes
By Jeff Maher, News 10
TAHOE CITY — Is Lake Tahoe due for a big earthquake? If so, will a large tsunami follow? That’s the question a research team is literally digging to answer.
The team is using advanced technology to collect ancient evidence, including core samples from the Lake’s deepest points.
This is an average geological expedition, then again, Lake Tahoe is not an average place.
“We’re just about to go out and do some water column sampling.” Professor Ross Powell said as the team was getting ready to head out from the shore.
The research team, made up of geologists from the California Geological Survey, Northern Illinois University and the UNR, are on a mission to find out the potential effects of a large-scale earthquake hitting the Lake and what kind of tsunami the lake could produce.
Some of the drilling technology the team will use is being tested at Lake Tahoe for an upcoming expedition in Antarctica, which will investigate how life under the ice is being impacted by global warming.
