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Art , Measurement, and Lake Tahoe Water clarity statistics

  • 1.  Art , Measurement, and Lake Tahoe Water clarity statistics

    Posted 12-09-2022 21:33

    Downloaded from

    www.barkerstats.com/PDFs/ASA/CNSL/Lake_Tahoe_SecchiDisks_MayaLin.pdf

    Overview and Maya Lin- Intersection of Art and Measurement

    Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Nevada Museum of Art (in Reno NV). A piece we found at the museum could be described as a compelling "Intersection of Art and Measurement" . A nicely formatted version of this  note and links also available at the above link.

    Maya Lin

    Except for  those living in the Reno area (I live near Sacramento) , a visit to the museum may not be possible.
    While we toured the Museum, we encountered  an interesting art piece by a very well-known artist Maya Lin. She designed the Viet Nam Memorial "the wall".  Due to museum policy I am unable to post a picture ( technically I was not allowed to take a picture!!!! !). The Nevada museum posted a link with a several second view of the piece. The art piece was perhaps 20 clear to semi-transparent white discs, varying in size from perhaps 4 inches to perhaps 10 inches in diameter and up to perhaps one inch thick. The title of Lin's piece was "Secchi Point". 

    Reno is near Lake Tahoe. And "Secchi" refers to a method and the Secchi discs  for  measuring water clarity. I provide the links below to how real Secchi discs are used to measure Lake Tahoe water clarity. For those interested the annual average of the Secchi measurements is available and could be loaded into R or other software.

    Maya Lin Secchi Point

    https://www.rgj.com/story/life/arts/2016/01/05/11-tahoe-artworks-youll-want-see-before-s-too-late/78293178/

    Her third piece, "Secchi Point," is a collection of glass water drops whose size and opacity reflect annual rainfall and water clarity in the Tahoe Basin.

    Video of the Secchi Point piece

    https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1030856967588767

    Link from Nevada Museum of Art – opens FACEBOOK

    https://fb.watch/hjEb_cyqE2/

    Lake Tahoe clarity from UC Davis

    https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/lake-tahoe-clarity-report-2021

    Annual Data – Lake Tahoe Clarity and Secchi Measurement

    https://tahoe.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk4286/files/media/documents/Secchi_Averages_2021_feet.pdf

    Clarity is measured as the depth to which a 10-inch white disk, called a Secchi disk, remains visible when lowered into the water

    Secchi Measurement "how to" Video

    https://www.caryinstitute.org/news-insights/guide/measuring-lake-health-secchi-disk-how

    https://youtu.be/lr66G09PuKg




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    Chris Barker, Ph.D.
    2022 Statistical Consulting Section
    Chair-elect
    Consultant and
    Adjunct Associate Professor of Biostatistics
    www.barkerstats.com


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    "In composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in 15 seconds, in improvisation you have 15 seconds."
    -Steve Lacy
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