The PLRP 2010 field season has come to a close and I am both saddened by the fact that operations are finished for another year but excited by the prospect of adding the data we’ve collected this year to our growing body of knowledge about this unique lake. I am in awe of the work that has been done by this amazing team and of how much we’ve grown, while maintaining the sense of adventure and camaraderie that to me, helps to define the PLRP.

We’ve taken great strides towards answering many of our research questions and in the process, with every answer we have come up with many more questions that will keep the PLRP team occupied for quite some time. Fortunately, our family continues to grow and every year we welcome new individuals who bring a unique perspective and desire to tease out the mysteries Pavilion has to offer. We have also been blessed this year by the addition of two little members to the PLRP family, Darlene Lim’s daughter Amelia and Greg Slater’s son Joseph. We look forward to the day when they are exploring the lake alongside us.

DeepWorker Pilots and Nuytco Team: 2010

The PLRP provides a wealth of research opportunities, and not just those focused on understanding the processes leading to the formation of the structures at Pavilion Lake but also to understanding fundamental biological, chemical and physical processes. The research contributions from our participating scientists and graduate students have resulted in a number of recent publications and are essential to increasing our understanding of Earth and astrobiological systems. We’re very proud of the role that the PLRP has played in developing operational technologies and protocols that not only help us meet our science objectives but provide important input into future space science missions.

With the addition of our two newest scientist pilots, astronauts Chris Hadfield and Stan Love, we had 34 DeepWorker missions over 10 days of operations. This year we were aided greatly in our pre-season flight planning by the wonderful team from NASA Ames led by Matt Deans and David Lees who developed an amazing flight planning tool that enabled us to search images and flight paths from previous years while building flight plans in Google Earth. Flights this year were planned to collect images of the remaining unexplored regions of the lake, to record detailed images of areas of interest identified from 2008 and 2009 data and to use the submersibles in combination with other analytical tools such as a conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) instrument and our autonomous underwater vehicle(s) (AUV). Our ability to review post-flight video data in the field, an effort pioneered in 2009, added greatly to our productivity as this information was used immediately by the science backroom team to modify existing flight plans to best optimize our data collection. As part of the daily flight debriefs, we have also continued to apply metrics associated with scientific productivity to understand factors that influence scientific exploration. New this year to the DeepWorker flight repertoire were long ~ 5 hour flights and two night flights to investigate the grazing activity that we suspect may occur in the lake. To add to the innovations this year, Nick Wilkinson designed a fantastic, interactive program for use in classifying the microbialite images. This new tool will allow us to efficiently organize and process our field data over the coming months. Stay tuned for updates.

The Amazing Pavilion Lake Research Project Team: 2010!

In case our DeepWorker operations didn’t keep us busy enough, we had a number of other important activities included in the field schedule this year. The UBC and University of Delaware AUV teams produced fantastic images of the lake bottom that were often used to compliment the DeepWorker flights and give us a better picture of where interesting structures and features are in the lake. Numerous SCUBA dives were performed by our intrepid team of divers to collect water and microbialite samples that were shared between various research groups in an effort to combine and compliment analytical findings. These samples will be characterized from a virology, microbial lipid, isotopic and genetic point of view to provide more information about the role of biology in the formation of the microbialites and what biosignatures may be left behind. Water samples were collected from nearby lakes including Crown, Turquoise, Pear and Kelly Lake to continue to help us put Pavilion Lake in context. Kelly Lake, which also hosts microbialites and has been an area of interest to the PLRP team for many years, was also the focus of significant AUV activities this year. Microbial mats were once again collected from the Cariboo Plateau lakes and giant pancakes were eaten by all (well, almost all). As a new participatory activity this year, our visiting teacherswere given the task of selecting a SCUBA dive based on their understanding of the research questions of interest (on their first day no less!). I’m happy to report that they eagerly interviewed members of the team before presenting their selected dive and rationale to the group for inclusion in the next day’s diving schedule. Community Day was another great success this year with the team happy to show off our work and answer questions from the many visitors we had to the site. Busy indeed!

We plan on continuing our updates throughout the year as we analyze samples and work through the amazing amount of data that were collected. Thanks to all who have read about our activities and through this process, have joined in our adventure. See you next year!

~ Allyson

As the 2010 PLRP field season draws nearer, we are all busy with plans and preparations. This summer will be a bit different for me as our fearless leader Darlene will be on maternity leave and I will be stepping into the role of acting Principal Investigator (PI). A daunting task, but I know I have the support of an amazing team of people and we’re all working towards having a fun, safe and successful field season.

Allyson in final preparation for a DeepWorker flight

Looking back over the last 5 years that I have been involved in PLRP I am in awe of what we’ve accomplished and how much we’ve grown. Last year we successfully mapped additional regions of the lake using the DeepWorker submersibles and re-visited areas of interest identified in 2008 for more detailed imaging and observations. We were also very successful in classifying a great deal of our DW imaging data while in the field. This was a huge accomplishment and the entire team worked very hard to make this happen, we hope to have a repeat this year. Examination of the 2009 data has helped us to identify more regions that show interesting trends that we will be exploring in this upcoming field season.

Flight planning for 2010 is going ahead full-steam! We are very pleased to continue with our astronaut training program this year and welcome Chris Hadfield and the Stan Love to the PLRP gang. I can’t wait to see their reaction to viewing this remarkable lake and the microbialites for the first time.

As always, there are a number of fundamental science questions that we are working towards answering through the exploration of this beautiful lake, not only with DW but with SCUBA and GAVIA as well. We will continue to examine questions regarding the role of biology and physical parameters in carbonate precipitation including: What are the dominant surface microbial and viral communities? Does grazing by macroorganisms affect microbialite morphology? What is the role of algae? How do depth and slope affect morphology? And many more… I’m looking forward to partaking in some great science and exploration activities this summer.

The field season is nearly upon us so stay tuned for more updates!

~ Allyson

Welcome and thank you for visiting the Pavilion Lake Research Project’s (PLRP) new website.  We have many exciting activities upon us, and we look forward to sharing them with you as they unfold.  We’ve built a web space that reflects the values and guiding principles of our project.  It is here that we will be posting science reports, blogs, pictorials and videos that capture the science and exploration of our project.  We’ll be commencing our 2009 field season in July, but in the mean time, browse our site for a historical tour of our project’s work, and meet the dedicated and diverse individuals who make up the science and exploration team.  

Why is Pavilion Lake the focus of so much work?  The answer is: Microbialites! (cue the ‘tah dah’ music!) The lake is full of them, and we’re interested in knowing why they seem to be concentrated and thriving in this particular environment.  We also want to know how they are being made, and most of all if Life (microbial life that is) is involved in their construction, and if so, why? So many questions…that’s science for you! 

Darlene Lim, Principal Investigator

To answer these questions, our team has spent hours in the water, studying it from the surface to its deepest (and coldest and darkest) depths. It has been a joy every step of the way.  To scientifically explore the lake we’ve done so using all sorts of aquatic tools: Remotely Operated Vehicles, SONAR, and SCUBA diving just to name a few. Included in this list since 2008 are Deepworker submersibles – single person subs capable of diving to depths of 600 m (2000 ft).  One of the PLRP’s goals has been to map the lateral and vertical extent and variability of the microbialites in Pavilion Lake. As well, we’ve wanted to understand these characteristics as they relate to environmental influences in the lake such as bathymetry, slope angles, sedimentation rates and ground water inputs. In 2004, we started doing this mapping with divers, but it rapidly became apparent that we needed a better and safer way to cover the size (6km long x 1km wide) and depth (65 m) of the lake. Here’s where the DeepWorkers come in.  Since humans in DeepWorkers are not subject to the intense pressures of SCUBA diving, we could send scientists and explorers underwater to safely and efficiently map the lake for hours on end. All while munching on cookies provided by our fabulous cook! As a result of the 2008 DeepWorker efforts, we have a contextual understanding of the environmental drivers behind the distribution and variability of the microbialites in Pavilion Lake.  Not to mention a comprehensive map of the lake that is coming together as I write this.  

So this is all very cool stuff scientifically, but as you read this you might still be wondering why the Canadian Space Agency and NASA (our main sponsors) are so interested in our lake activities.  The reasons are two fold: (1) the science has astrobiological relevance to the search for life on other planets, and (2) the underwater science and exploration activities are directly relevant to how we will explore the Moon and Mars with humans.  When it comes to the second reason, we can tell you that the physical, mental and operational rigors associated with the SCUBA diving and DeepWorker operations at Pavilion Lake are very similar to astronaut extra-vehicular activity (EVA) scenarios using spacesuits and pressurized rovers. Underwater, humans must, as they do in space, contend with limited connection to colleagues, protection/isolation from the environment, and life support systems (LSS), all while exploring and conducting science in variable and unfamiliar terrains.  Our project also gives astronauts a place to practice being a real field scientist before putting their boots on the Moon or Mars.  This is why since 2008, and for the foreseeable future, we’ll be integrating astronauts into our field team. From start to finish, the astronauts are as much a part of the science and exploration at Pavilion Lake as the researchers and graduate students. This preparation will mean that no matter which astronaut goes to the Moon or Mars, there will be some really great field science that will get done when humanity gets there.  Can’t wait!

As a final note, I want to say that our project emphasizes Safety, Environmental Stewardship, Science and Exploration, and what makes this all possible is teamwork. Everyone is involved in the science and exploration, and everyone contributes a unique viewpoint and important expertise.   We hope these values are expressed through everything we do, including our new web site. 

Thank you for your interest in our project.

Dr. Darlene Lim, Principal Investigator