Dr. Kaye

Truckee-based, Hawai’i-born Grant Kaye creates colorful, vibrant, and evocative photographs that bring the viewer into the special landscapes he seeks out. In addition to being a passionate photographer, Kaye skis and hikes as often as he can. His professional background is in geology, volcanic hazards, and GIS/cartography. grantkaye.com

Articles by Dr. Kaye

Renewable Energy – Spotlight on Geothermal

For the next few weeks, “Ask Dr. Kaye” is going to focus on renewable energy. I’ll be investigating a select few of the leading sources of non-fossil fuel based power, … Read More

Weather vs. Climate, and Why Long-Range Forecasting is Still Inaccurate

This week, I’m going to discuss a very important concept to those of us who spend a lot of time recreating in the great outdoors – the difference between weather … Read More

Fire in the Sky – What Causes Auroras?

This week I’m going to discuss one of my favorite natural phenomenon – aurora. I’ve only seen faint traces of aurora myself, due to having spent most of my life … Read More

Skiing Exotic Volcanoes – The Final Frontier – Olympus Mons, Mars

For the final installment in the series “skiing Exotic volcanoes” we’re going to have to reach a little deeper into our pockets for this journey of the mind. This week, … Read More

Skiing Exotic Volcanoes – Cotopaxi, Ecuador

This week’s exotic volcano is Ecuador’s Cotopaxi. Rising to a total height of 19,393 feet, this enormous glacier-clad stratovolcano is one of the true jewels of the Andes, and is … Read More

Lake Tahoe Surfing | Jan 15th, 2012

I awoke in the early morning last Sunday to the unmistakable sound of the wind picking up and rattling the trees in my backyard in Truckee. The forecast from the … Read More

Skiing Exotic Volcanoes – Damavand, Iran

This week’s exotic volcano is truly forbidden fruit – Damavand volcano, lying 70km to the NE of Tehran, the capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Standing at 5,610 meters … Read More

Skiing Exotic Volcanoes – Kilimanjaro

This week, we’re “off” to Africa, to lay imaginary tracks down the majestic and enormous Kilimanjaro volcano in beautiful Tanzania. Now – a bit of clarification – we’re not getting … Read More

Skiing Exotic Volcanoes – Taranaki, Aotearoa/New Zealand

No snow in Tahoe? Time for a road trip! This week, we’re off to New Zealand, my former home-for-a-few-years during my doctoral research days. New Zealand is a wild, stark, … Read More

Skiing Exotic Volcanoes – Klyuchevskoy, Russia

This week we’re off to what just might be the crown jewel in my quest to one day climb and ski the world’s most exotic volcanoes – Russia’s Klyuchevskoy volcano … Read More

Skiing Exotic Volcanoes – Antarctica’s Mt. Erebus

This week’s exotic volcanic ski destination is the lofty and uber-remote and continuously active Erebus Volcano in the harsh and frigid Antarctic.  Located on Ross Island in the Ross Sea … Read More

Skiing Exotic Volcanoes: Cleveland Volcano, Alaska

The second volcano on my list of exotic volcanoes that I hope to ski is Alaska’s Cleveland Volcano. Named in 1894 after the sitting president of the US, Grover Cleveland, … Read More

Skiing Exotic Volcanoes – Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, Hawaii

I’m going to be switching things up for a while here at “ask Dr. Kaye.” I”ll be putting the science topics on hold for a few weeks, and in their … Read More

Deep Impact – What Would Have Happened if Asteroid YU-2005 Hit Earth?

Tuesday night, asteroid YU55 buzzed between the earth and the Moon, as reported Monday  on this website by Miles Clark. What would have happened if its path changed slightly, and … Read More

The October Tahoe Earthquake, and Why Some Earthquakes Kill People and Some Don’t

The Lake Tahoe area experienced a Mw 4.7 earthquake last Wednesday night at 11:37:09 pm PST, shaking most of us out of sleep and rattling the contents of our homes. … Read More

Daylight Saving Time, Time Zones, and Going Back in Time to Get Lucky

Next weekend on Sunday November 6th, those of us in states that recognize Daylight Savings Time will turn our clocks back one hour at 2am. Why in the world do … Read More

How Does a Digital Camera Work?

In this modern age, everyone likes to spray about how rad they are. But how would any of us be able to prove that we really did a double backflip … Read More

What Causes Lighting? | How Does It Work? | One Billion Volts?

What causes lightning? Lightning is a discharge of electrical current during storms in the earth’s atmosphere, or during volcanic eruptions that produce ash columns. Storm lightning can be classified into … Read More

On the Formation and Classification of Clouds

  Clouds come in many shapes and forms, and this week I thought I would provide some insight into what they are, how they form, their different shapes and sizes, … Read More

Adrenaline and the Type T Personality

Here in Tahoe, we have a lot of what we call “Type T” personalities. Contrary to what you might think, The “T” does not stand for “Tahoe”  - or the … Read More

Fall Foliage – What’s Up With Those Colors, and Why Are the Trees in Tahoe so BORING?

This week, I’m thinking forward to winter, and my favorite time of year that stands between it and the end of summer – autumn. I spent my high school years … Read More

If the moon were made of BBQ spareribs, would you eat it?

                              I had dinner with my friend’s son Lucas this weekend, and since he is my … Read More

El Niño, La Niña, and Tahoe Winter Weather

This week, I’m going to talk about the difference between El Niño and La Niña, and have a look at the different kinds of weather the Lake Tahoe area experiences … Read More

Black Rock Desert – Always Bringing the Weird

In three weeks, 50,000 people will congregate out in the normally “empty” Black Rock Desert in north central Nevada for the annual Burning Man festival, an easy three hour drive … Read More

California’s Mt. Shasta Volcano

Mount Shasta is the classic go-to summer ski for those of us lucky enough to call Lake Tahoe home. Topping out at 14,179 feet, the mountain offers five to seven … Read More

Why Sunrises and Sunsets are Colorful? Alpenglow, Ash, and Fire in the Sky

While the Lake Tahoe area is known widely among photographers for its blazingly colorful sunsets, those of us that live here year round know that the summer months are dominated … Read More