Archive for July, 2009

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When there’s a camp cook… PLRP 2009 Closing Remarks

Posted on July 24th, 2009 by Darlene Lim

A while ago, Donnie Reid said something to me that went something like this: “When there’s a camp cook, that’s when you’ve got a real field camp on your hands”. He said that to me as we cheerfully prepared a modest dinner of salad and spaghetti for a hungry band of about 8 people. He was volunteering his diving skills to our research efforts, and me, I had just started at NASA Ames and was keenly exploring my new research site of Pavilion Lake. That was August 2004.

August 2004. Early days of the project

August 2004. Early days of the project

Welcome to July 2009 – and guess what? We have a camp cook. Her name is Dana. And she now prepares a mean pasta dinner for a thriving (and still hungry) camp that has grown to almost 60 characters from all walks of life and from all over the world. Oh, and as for Donnie, well he is now the PLRP Logistics and Operations Manager and is in charge of organizing the activities of everyone from the astronauts to yep, the camp cook. I think he knew this was coming when he said what he said to me some years ago.

August 2005. A few more faces, but still no camp cook

August 2005. A few more faces, but still no camp cook

August 2006. New graduate students and a camp cook join the team.

August 2006. New graduate students and a camp cook join the team.

When I think back, I’m struck by the fact that the project has seen more faces come than go, and as a consequence, we’ve grown. Folks keep coming back, and bringing more folks with them. It’s great, because with each passing year the PLRP family gets larger. One reason for this phenomenon is that the lake is a scientific goldmine. As we answer the first round of questions we came to the lake to research, so many new, interesting questions surface for us to ponder. And as we’ve set out to answer questions, we’ve had the chance to select the best technologies, methodologies and protocols to help us accomplish our science objectives. And what we’ve learnt isn’t just relevant to us at Pavilion Lake, but also has bearing on how humans will conduct science on the Moon, Mars and beyond. And with this natural procession of scientific research has come the development of a new crop of researchers. Allyson Brady, Rebekah Shepard, Alex Forrest, Ben Cowie, Margarita Marinova, Weston Pike, Olivia Chan, and Carol Turse are all graduate students who joined the project early on and who are all now either completed or on the cusp of completing their degrees. Through their work at Pavilion Lake, we’ve learnt so much about the physical, chemical and biological processes that govern this remarkable environment. And now we are in the process of shepherding in a new crop of students to evolve their research and tackle the new questions ahead of us. To me, all this is the essence of the scientific endeavor – gain knowledge, give knowledge, and grow knowledge.

August 2007. Post-SCUBA dive debrief with the growing PLRP team.

August 2007. Post-SCUBA dive debrief with the growing PLRP team.

This year we did 40 submersible flights in 10 days of operations. We cycled 9 scientist pilots (SPs) through a variety of rigorous sub flight plans that included contour mapping, detailed imaging, basin transects and deep sample collection activities. We gathered ground-breaking quantitative data to measure the efficiency, productivity, and discovery mindedness of each SP. We implemented a new Surface Data System (SDS) and communications plan that allowed us to view sub tracks and science notes in real time, and get voices from the deep up to the shore and into our Mobile Mission Control Center, or “The Hab[itat]“, much to the delight of an eagerly awaiting Science Backroom Team (SBT). We had underwater fluorometer experiments, water monitoring, and virology surveys taking place at the same time as the sub ops, as well as a very busy Education and Public Outreach schedule. Visitors came, visitors went, and there were a lot of boat trips to carry out everything we had to do to complete the science goals and objectives we set for the team and then some! It all got accomplished and happily, everyone made it home safely. Whew.

July 2008. First year of DeepWorker sub operations. Dana, our camp cook and raison d’etre, pictured bottom row, three from the left.

July 2008. First year of DeepWorker sub operations. Dana, our camp cook and raison d’etre, pictured bottom row, three from the left.

As a final note to all those who have been following our field season blogs, we’re planning on keeping our updates coming to you throughout the year, so definitely stay tuned. But for now, I just wanted to say thanks to all those who have been reading our entries, and by extension supporting our research efforts through the July 2009 field season. I’m looking forward to seeing the PLRP family again in 2010 and to meeting the new faces who will help to grow and evolve the project. Which leaves me to wonder what Donnie and Dana would have to say about having two camp cooks? Ah, but that’s a story for another time…

So long for now,

Darlene

July 2009. The 2009 PLRP family photo.

July 2009. The 2009 PLRP family photo.

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Tracking submarines on the go!

Posted on July 15th, 2009 by Matthew Deans

For the past 10 days we have been making real time maps of all of the sub operations at Pavilion Lake. To do this, we have written some software to generate KML files to load into Google Earth. The Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames has a lot of experience with ground data systems for NASA missions like the MER rovers, robotic earth analog field tests like the Robotic Recon test in northern Arizona in June, disaster response applications, and the Gigapan camera system, we were able to put together a set of tools to support sub tracking and mapping using a lot of existing software. We call the collection of tools and processes the “Surface Data System.”

Pavilion Lake 2009 Data Map

Pavilion Lake 2009 Data Map

We started with importing overlays of the bedrock geology from British Columbia Geological Survey (BCGS), as well as sonar bathymetry and sonar backscatter maps that show depth of the lake and structure of the bottom. These provide context for flight planning and for setting expectations for what we will find during the flights. In real time during the submarine flights, we get sub position every 5 seconds from the navigation computer on the chase boat. We use that to track the sub by periodically writing out updated KML files and automatically refreshing them in Google Earth as network links. A submarine icon shows the current location of the sub, and a compass rose shows bearings to indicate which way to go to reach the next waypoint. Google Earth also provides lots of measurement tools, annotation tools, and other built-in functions that we can use to annotate and analyze the map. All of this information is saved to a shared filesystem so that everyone at the camp has access to all of the same map data.

We have established an operations role on the support vessels which we call the “Science Stenographer”. That person’s job is to listen in on the voice loop and transcribe any significant observations in real time. Observations worth calling up to the surface immediately appear on the map as icons that you can click on to read the date, time, lat/long, and what was said.

My reflection in the monitor showing the stenography program

My reflection in the monitor showing the stenography program

In addition, the submarines are recording video continuously. The video recorder also has an “event” button that can mark the timestamp of a significant event on the video. In post-processing, we cross-correlate the timestamps to get position, and put a preview image and compressed video clip into the map as well.

These maps have been very useful for operations, for post-flight analysis, and for planning the next set of activities. After the flights are over, the science back room immediately has the flight track as-flown and georeferenced notes from the pilots. After some video post-processing (which takes some time simply due to the quantity of data: over 25 GB of video from each flight) the video clips and video stills are georeferenced and in the map. This information has been used to modify or create flight plans in real time. As an example, one morning Margarita identified interesting sampling locations during her flight. The post-flight map was immediately used to create a second flight plan to send Ricky to those locations for sample collection that same afternoon. It has also been interesting to see all of the flights and notes and images on one map simultaneously. The team realized before the end of the field season that there were areas of the lake that had not been covered and could plan accordingly.

Georeferenced notes attached to the flight tracks in Google Earth

Georeferenced notes attached to the flight tracks in Google Earth

Without this real time information procesing and integration, it would have been too late to go back and investigate those areas during the field season. Those flight plans would have to wait for another year. In a field setting with a lot of logistics overhead and a short duration for field work, understanding the big picture of operations quickly is a big time saver.

Georeferenced tree image in Pavilion Lake

Georeferenced tree image in Pavilion Lake

After the field season is over, the map data will be used by the team to analyse and correlate information from across the lake and across different flights to support their research, and to plan next year’s activities. All of the observations and information gathered this year bring up new questions and new hypotheses, and there is always more to study in this lake.

The images in this post show a few different views of map screens. There is also a

KMZ file that you can download and open in Google Earth to see one of our flight plans and watch the time lapse animated flight track for the actual submarine positions flight as it was flown that day. Try setting the playback speed to the minimum for best results. Enjoy!

- Matt

DOWNLOAD THE KMZ FILE

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The Scientific Firefighter

Posted on July 14th, 2009 by Andrew Abercromby
Andrew on the deck

Andrew on the deck

As happens most days, this afternoon we had a local visitor stop by the mobile command center to see what was going on in the big trailer with NASA and CSA logos on it. As we explained what was happening at the various workstations, he was particularly interested when we told him that we were trying to use a variety of metrics to better understand the many different factors that influence the effectiveness of scientific exploration. I explained that we are using several different techniques to try and measure aspects of scientific exploration that are very difficult to put numbers to – things like scientific merit, productivity, and data quality – and that if we can measure these things then we can begin to understand how to do scientific exploration more effectively, whether we are under water or on the moon.

He told me that he is working on a very similar challenge right now but applied to fighting fires rather than finding funky-looking rocks in lakes. There are a lot of ways to fight fires and new technologies can help. But which technologies are most effective and do their benefits justify their costs? Difficult questions and this firefighter is trying to develop metrics to begin answering them. He fully appreciated the importance of measuring what you hope to understand. He recognized that his task would be a difficult one, that in science or firefighting some people want perfect metrics or no metrics. But he was undeterred. Good man.

-Andrew

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What Did You Do On Your Summer Vacation?

Posted on July 14th, 2009 by Bree and Jen

This is a question that we ask our students on the first day of school in September. Boy, we have some interesting things to share on our first day of school. This summer, we travelled together to the Pavilion Lake Research Project to learn about the science that is being done here and how it can be incorporated into the classroom. During the year Bree and I are both immersed in the classroom, and most of the time we are teaching science. Today we have found ourselves writing a blog which neither of us have done before. We seem to be entertaining the people around us with our different ideas of how best to compose one of these, and we will find out if we get a gold star later. The crew here have been very welcoming and happy to share about what they do here. In fact, our first night here we were allowed to get inside one of the DeepWorker submersibles which are used during the scientist flight missions (we were still on dry land, but still very cool). Part of us being here at Pavilion Lake was to integrate teachers into the different activities that go on here, and integrate us they did.

From left, Bree Riddell, Ricky Arnold and Jen Stonehouse

From left, Bree Riddell, Ricky Arnold and Jen Stonehouse

So we are sure you are wondering what we were were able to do at the lake. Unfortunately we were not allowed to drive the subs but we had many other cool opportunities to be part of the team. We sat in on science meetings, pilot meetings, classified data from the submersibles, talked to scientists and astronauts, observed the launches of the submersibles and helped record data from the flights as a science stenographer. One of things that we did was classify the images returned from the underwater flights. During the flights images of what the pilots see is recorded on camera. The pilots see very cool things when on their mission – microbialites. After the mission this data then has to be classified. We looked at images to identified what was in the image – microbialites, algae, rocks, sediment, trash – oh my! This is something that can easily be transferred to the classroom. We classify every day just like the scientists (just on a different level). As the team here classifies these images for science and further understanding, students can also classify these images in the process of learning how to do science. Trust us (or read the rest of these blogs if you don’t), microbialites are very interesting!

How did we do with our first blog? Did we get a gold star?

-Jen and Bree

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Thank you, Pavilion Lake Community!

Posted on July 13th, 2009 by Ben Cowie
Community Day was a great success this year - with nearly 100 visitors from Pavilion Lake, the surrounding communities, and as far away as Kamloops

Community Day was a great success this year - with nearly 100 visitors from Pavilion Lake, the surrounding communities, and as far away as Kamloops

On Saturday evening, the PLRP opened its doors to the Pavilion Lake community! Roughly 100 people visited our community open house to learn about our project and how we study the lake they call home. We especially enjoyed the enthusiastic questions, the smiles and good wishes from everyone who attended the event.

Community members were invited into the Mobile Mission Command Center to check out our communications and lab equipment.

Community members were invited into the Mobile Mission Command Center to check out our communications and lab equipment.

We are very grateful for the support of the community at Pavilion Lake and the Ts’kw’aylaxw First Nation. Thank you all, from PLRP.

-Ben

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Sometimes you get some answers, sometimes you’re left with more questions

Posted on July 12th, 2009 by Margarita Marinova

Coming back from a great flight in the subs, I am even more excited about the lake! What an amazing place!

I had a great flight – the goal was to fly a contour at 15m depth on the east side of the South Basin (north section). That was just fascinating! A specific objective was to identify rock slides, to enable the afternoon flight to document and sample some of these rock slides. Why? Well, one of our hypotheses is that microbialites need rocks to start their growth. The sediment around is so soft, that it seems hard for any large structure to just grow in it. Using video to image these rock slides, we find that at significant depth we just see the rocks. As we get shallower first there is a thin cover of microbialites on the rocks, and then with increasingly shallower depth the microbialites get bigger and bigger! At this point there is no sign of the rock that’s likely underneath. So does this prove that microbialites always need a rock? Well not really! Just nearby there were landslides with no microbialites on them. Why is that? It’s the same type of rock, likely the same lake chemistry, and likely the same biology. But there is such a difference! Then later in the dive I also found areas with scattered microbialites, which certainly didn’t look like they depended on rocks for their growth. Examples of these relationships are seen throughout the lake, but it is this field season that we are meticulously documenting them. And while we are certainly showing some relationships are true, what we see raises even more questions!

Another big question we are asking is if the microbialites are currently growing. On this dive it was sad for me to see that there was a lot of trash on the lake bottom. But this trash is also like a natural experiment to look at microbialite growth. In this case, we can look at whether there is anything growing on the trash, or also on trees that have fallen into the lake. In the case of trash, we know it got there less than ~100 years ago, and a lot of the trash in this area was covered with about 0.5 cm (1/5 inch) of microbialite growth! So we now know that the microbialites are currently growing, at least in that part of the lake. So then we ask why is there such a difference in sizes for different parts of the lake? Just a few hundred meters south of my dive, Mike Gernhardt was exploring unusually large structures: 2 meters tall, by 3 meters wide (6 ft tall, by 10 ft wide). Where I was flying, most of the structures were small: maximum height of 20 cm (8 inches). So why is there such a difference? Is microbialite growth constant, or does their growth effectively turn on and off? Do the microbialites grow faster in one area than another because of slight water chemistry differences? Or something else? We haven’t seen any of these chemistry differences yet, but it could be something we haven’t measured … yet.

We started out 5 years ago with so many questions. Now we have more and more questions, but it is also nice to see that some answers are coming in as well. As we analyze the wealth of data we are collecting with the DeepWorker submarines, we are sure to answer more and more of these intriguing questions.

-Mars

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Real-time Communications and Live Webcam at Pavilion Lake

Posted on July 11th, 2009 by Ben Cowie

Thanks to our amazing communications team here at the lake, we have now installed two live webcams on site: one from the shore looking out to the lake, and one on the DeepWorker mobile launch platform.

These images are found under the “Interactive” tab on our website, and also available here:

http://www.pavilionlake.com/real-time-shore-cam.php
http://www.pavilionlake.com/real-time-barge-cam.php

This is just the start: lots more to come later in the week!

-Ben

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Why do the microbialites have different shapes?

Posted on July 10th, 2009 by Dawn Sumner
Different microbialites have different shapes.  Why?  How do we even answer this question?  One approach is to look at the building blocks of microbialites – the legos that stack together to make the structures.  Some microbialites have little tufts on them that make the surface rough.  These tufts are composed of the mineral calcite, which is intermixed with long, hair-like bacteria that come in two colors, pink and green.  The calcite makes the microbialite a rock, and the bacteria shape the tufts.  They are all lined up, pointing upward into the water like spiked hair.
These tufts are one of the building blocks for the microbialites.  How many there are, how they are arranged, and how fast they grow help shape the microbialites.  Lots of closely spaced tufts growing quickly create rough surfaces on the microbialites.  If the tufts grow slowly and there is lots of calcite, they only form small bumps.  If they are absent, the microbialites are smooth.  These smooth microbialites might need a different building block to form, one we haven’t identified yet.
The bacteria that form the tufts are photosynthetic – they use light to grow.  The tops of microbialites get more light than the sides do.  We can measure this, and it’s true in Pavilion Lake.  If tufts grow faster with more light and there is more light at the tops of the microbialites, we can predict that the tops might grow more quickly than the sides.  We haven’t measured this because the microbialites grow very slowly, and growth rates are very hard to measure.  However, the shapes of the microbialites suggest that they mostly grow upward.  Many of them have ridges on their sides pointing up or “chimneys” on top.  Thus, our prediction is consistent with the data we have so far.
Do we now understand why different microbialites have different shapes?  Nope!  The tuft building blocks that we’ve been analyzing should all behave about the same on near-by microbialites.  But the near-by microbialites aren’t all the same shape!  Maybe some of the differences are due to differences in growth rate, but I think there are probably more building blocks that we haven’t described yet.  To make a lego boat, you need different blocks than you do to make a lego submersible.  To make a dome-shaped microbialite, you might need different blocks than you do to make an “artichoke-shaped” microbialite.  We still have a lot to learn.

Different microbialites have different shapes.  Why?  How do we even answer this question? One approach is to look at the building blocks of microbialites – the legos that stack together to make the structures.  Some microbialites have little tufts on them that make the surface rough.  These tufts are composed of the mineral calcite, which is intermixed with long, hair-like bacteria that come in two colors, pink and green.  The calcite makes the microbialite a rock, and the bacteria shape the tufts.  They are all lined up, pointing upward into the water like spiked hair.

Close-up depiction of smooth and rough microbialite surfaces

Close-up depiction of smooth and rough microbialite surfaces

These tufts are one of the building blocks for the microbialites.  How many there are, how they are arranged, and how fast they grow help shape the microbialites.  Lots of closely spaced tufts growing quickly create rough surfaces on the microbialites.  If the tufts grow slowly and there is lots of calcite, they only form small bumps.  If they are absent, the microbialites are smooth.  These smooth microbialites might need a different building block to form, one we haven’t identified yet.

Smooth Microbialite Surface

Smooth Microbialite Surface

The bacteria that form the tufts are photosynthetic – they use light to grow.  The tops of microbialites get more light than the sides do.  We can measure this, and it’s true in Pavilion Lake.  If tufts grow faster with more light and there is more light at the tops of the microbialites, we can predict that the tops might grow more quickly than the sides.  We haven’t measured this because the microbialites grow very slowly, and growth rates are very hard to measure.  However, the shapes of the microbialites suggest that they mostly grow upward.  Many of them have ridges on their sides pointing up or “chimneys” on top.  Thus, our prediction is consistent with the data we have so far.

Closeup image of Microbialite

Closeup image of Microbialite

Do we now understand why different microbialites have different shapes?  Nope!  We still have a lot to learn, and many of the questions surrounding microbialite formation remain unanswered. The tuft building blocks that we’ve been analyzing should all behave about the same on near-by microbialites.  But the near-by microbialites aren’t all the same shape! Maybe some of the differences are due to differences in growth rate, but I think there are probably more building blocks that we haven’t described yet.  One thing to think about before I finish: To make a lego boat, you need different blocks than you do to make a lego submersible.  To make a dome-shaped microbialite, you might need different blocks than you do to make an “artichoke-shaped” microbialite.  This kind of thinking might help us solve one of the big mysteries of Pavilion Lake!

-Dawn

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Not your average field cuisine – high nutrition in the field

Posted on July 10th, 2009 by Dana Lis

It takes more than just pasta and sauce to keep this crew running. Even though all the personnel at PLRP have high-energy days, as a dietitian I am most concerned with fueling the scuba divers and DeepWorker pilots. The caloric needs and metabolic demands of DeepWorker pilots have not been researched, but those of scuba divers have. The diving crew here is in the water for an average of 3-4 hours per day and it is imperative that they are well fed with a diet high in complex carbohydrates, moderate protein and adequate fluids. Keeping them fed well not only prevents an accumulated energy deficit, but ensures they are operating at their mental peak.The aerobic stresses of scuba diving can be quite physiologically demanding… especially when you are in cold water for up to 4 hrs a day for 2 weeks straight like the PLRP diving crew.

Dana showing off her pizza crust throwing skills. (Photo: Jeffrey Berman)

Dana showing off her pizza tossing skills. (Photo: Jeffrey Berman)

Some of these environmental stress here which increase the divers energy needs include:

  • Cold stresses from submersion in cold water
  • Themoclimes
  • Currents
  • Increased ambient pressure
  • Raised partial pressure of O2
  • Increased resistance to movement
  • Weight and drag of diving equipment (my bike weighs 14 lbs, diving equipment is way too heavy, if you ask me)
  • Higher breathing resistance

Research estimates energy expenditure to be about 300 kcal per 30 minute dive in 30-60 feet of water. Energy needs are higher for very recreational divers (like myself) who thrash around for 30 minutes just getting flippers on. For the PLRP diving crew this may add up to an additional 1200 calories per day expended from the time in the water!

As for feeding a crew of 40-60 people from a residential kitchen with one cook (me), no grocery store within a 50-kilometer radius… stay turned for details on organizing this kind of food service.

-Dana

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At Home in the Herms

Posted on July 9th, 2009 by Bekah Shepard

If you want to make a bunch of Pavilion scientists excited, just mention “the herms”. I just did my second submersible flight through the herms and it was spectacular! Let me give you a little background, so that you can understand why the flight was such a treat:

A bioherm is a mound constructed by biological organisms. A classic example is a patch reef: a decimeter to meter scale mound that is built by corals, sponges, and other reef animals. You may not think of a mound of organisms as being very sturdy, but just as your body is capable of making hard bones, other organisms such as corals also make hard skeletons. When those skeletons start to pile up, you get a bioherm – a biological mound!

So, what in the world does this have to do with microbialites. Remember that microbialites are “organosedimentary structures”, meaning they are built up of minerals that are influenced by organisms. “Whoa!” I hear you cry, “Does that mean that a microbialite is a bioherm? Well, a single microbialite is not usually defined as a bioherm, but if you pile up enough microbialites, you do end up with a mound that is constructed by organisms! By that definition there are some places in Pavilion Lake where we observe large piles of microbialites that can be defined of bioherms.

Thinking about microbialite bioherms is something that some of us geologists do quite frequently. Long before the organisms that build coral reefs evolved, big bioherms and reef structures still existed. Rather than being built by corals, sponges, or even shells, the ancient bioherms and reefs were built out of microbialites! Can you imagine SCUBA diving or piloting a submersible around ancient microbialite bioherms and reefs! Boy, I wish I had a time machine. Since I don’t have a time machine, I do the next best thing. Can you guess what that is? Yup, I come here and study the microbialites in Pavilion Lake. The details we learn about the microbialites in Pavilion Lake will help us to understand the fossil record of ancient microbialite reefs. That will help us to understand how life evolved on early Earth! Crazy cool stuff!

Ok, back to the Pavilion Lake herms. Here is where we are going to get really confusing! The “herms” are not actually bioherms, hence the lack of the “bio”. The herms are an area of sediment mounds at the southern end of the central basin of the lake. Now I know you are screaming, “but if they aren’t bioherms, which are so cool, why are you crazy scientists so excited about them!” It turns out that even though the herms are just sediment mounds, they are covered by some of the most interesting microbialites in the lake. There are a lot of different microbialite morphologies crammed into a very small space. If you start at the bottom of any given herm, you can often see several distinct morphotypes just by looking up two meters of slope. Likewise, if you move around a herm several meters, you often can see changes in morphotype or surface texture. Those are rapid changes! I’m sure you are asking yourself why the microbialites would be changing that rapidly, and that is one of our big research questions this year! It may be that the mounds are a place of significant environmental variability. In other words, there may be interesting water flow patterns, light conditions, variations in sedimentation, etc. that are unique to the herms. Any of these variables may be influencing the morphology of the microbialites! In short, the herms are a really complicated place, and if you haven’t figured it out yet, the scientists as Pavilion Lake love to study really complicated and interested places!

-Bekah

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