Investigating the Impact of Wildfires and Air Quality on the Water Quality and Fish Species of Clear Lake, CA.

Abstract

Clear Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in California, home for 31 species of fish. It has
experienced various wildfires and storms throughout decades. Therefore, it is important to
understand the effects of wildfires and air pollution on Clear Lake and organisms living in it. To
address the correlations between those factors, I sampled from Clear Lake and recorded water
quality data for around two weeks. In addition, I utilized data on historical air quality index
values, temperatures, and fish observations from public databases such as the US
Environmental Protection Agency and NOAA. All of the data I accumulated were generated into
graphs using R version 4.3.3 and RStudio version 2023.06. From analyzing the graphs, I found
that heavy snow, high wind, drought, and flood had negative correlations with fish abundance,
and I’ve also found a positive association between wildfires/heavy rain and the fish abundance
in Clear Lake. The results also note that the amount of lead and sulfite in Clear Lake was found
to change in response to wildfires and other factors. Wildfires have shown a positive correlation
with drought, while drought have shown a positive correlation with excessive heat. This study
highlights the major issues affecting Clear Lake and its environment, and calls for changes to
provide a healthier ecosystem and advanced human life.