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Tahoe depths reveal mysteries; Sub brings hidden Tahoe world to light

Posted by: Maven on June 17, 2009 at 7:58 am

From the Reno Gazette Journal:

Searching for clues of Lake Tahoe’s tumultuous past, Richard Schweickert slipped into a world of brilliant blue.

A geology professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, Schweickert was a passenger aboard a miniature submarine that explored the mysteries of Tahoe’s depths in May. “It reminds me of a helicopter under water,” Schweickert said of the vehicle that offered him a fish-eye view of a major earthquake fault off Tahoe’s north shore.

The two-person submersible, captained by Scott Cassell of the nonprofit Undersea Voyager Project, made more than 40 dives in Tahoe and nearby Fallen Leaf Lake in May. Crews examined earthquake faults, ancient submerged trees and invading species threatening Tahoe’s fragile ecology.

Other explorations are planned in the Pacific and Sea of Cortez during coming months in preparation for a five-year mission, expected to commence in 2011, to study the Earth’s oceans and their ecological woes.

“Tahoe is desolate but beautiful. It has a unique charm underwater,” said Cassell, 47.

Find out more about what they found, and more about the sub’s next mission: to document the marine debris in the Pacific Ocean garbage patch – click here.

June 17, 2009 · Filed Under Lake Tahoe, the Sierras & foothills

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