Feb. 19: Climate Change Beneath the Surface

Lakes around the world are changing at unprecedented rates, offering some of the clearest signals of a warming planet. In this lecture, freshwater ecologist Dr. Catherine O’Reilly will explore how long-term lake monitoring, satellite observations, and global data synthesis are transforming our understanding of freshwater resilience and vulnerability. Drawing on research from Lake Tanganyika—where her work provided the first evidence of how global warming affects fisheries and food security —Dr. O’Reilly will highlight how shifts in lake temperature, water clarity, and productivity extend far beyond individual watersheds and reflect broad climatic trends.

Participants will gain insight into how lakes function as sentinels of climate change, what current global datasets reveal about accelerating ecological change, and how communities and resource managers can use lake data to anticipate impacts on water quality, biodiversity, and livelihoods. Dr. O’Reilly will also discuss the importance of citizen science, open data networks, and international collaboration in building the next generation of freshwater science.

Engaging and evidence-driven, this talk will illuminate the critical role lakes play in tracking environmental change, as well as how we can change our management approaches and increase protection of freshwater resources for a sustainable future.

Catherine O’Reilly, Ph.D., is a globally recognized aquatic ecologist, director of the Large Lakes Observatory (LLO), and faculty member in the Earth & Environmental Sciences Department at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). Her research examines how freshwater ecosystems respond to environmental change. She is internationally recognized for her work on Lake Tanganyika, where she documented the impacts of climate warming on lake productivity and fisheries. Dr. O’Reilly has contributed to global lake monitoring networks, served as a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and published widely on lake ecology, climate change, and freshwater sustainability. Her work integrates field research, satellite data, and international collaboration to understand and protect freshwater systems worldwide.

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Admission is $10, and students with a student ID are free. Tickets purchased at the door will be $15. Doors open at 5:30. The lecture will begin at 6 p.m. at the UC Davis Tahoe Science Center (Rooms 139 & 141) located at 201 Country Club Drive, Incline Village, Nevada, on the UNR Lake Tahoe Campus.

For more information call 775-881-7560, ext. 7566, email tercinfo@ucdavis.edu, or visit http://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/events/.