Written by: Jennifer Biddle

The PLRP group has been together for quite a few years, doing research on Pavilion Lake and now Kelly Lake in remote areas of British Columbia. As you can imagine, this has allowed for awesome science, cool exploration – and a lot of practical jokes. As I wrote the other day, this is my first year up here, but many of these folks I’ve known for years at this point. The nice thing about the type of work we’re doing – science/exploration awesomeness – is that it pushes a family mentality. We are all relying on each other to do our jobs. Of course within a family mentality, roles need to be filled: the taskmasters, the renegades and of course, the jokesters.

It turns out that a tradition while doing field work in this area is to stop at a local restaurant for a breakfast challenge of consuming a single, but massive pancake. PLRP rumors say that Dr. Allyson Brady is a force to be reckoned with in terms of pancake eating, and stories still circulate about folks in field camp that walked away without empty plates, even if the failure was years ago. A few weeks ago, Allyson spoke with me about the field season and threw down the pancake challenge. Never one to step down from a challenge, I accepted. A few days ago, a group of us went to challenge ourselves with carbohydrates and sugary syrup. The pancakes arrived a tad smaller than usual, but as you can see by the picture – still quite massive.  They were absolutely delicious. A bunch of us finished (capturing the feat with photographic evidence). One member of our group failed, and now has permanently received “dishwasher” status, which was actually given to her by the restaurant staff! All in all it was a good time. Unfortunately my body realized what I had done to it a few hours later and I hardly ate the rest of the day! It was a nice diversion from the cold and rainy weather that beset us that day, and a good escape from the awesome confines of the mobile mission command center, where we spend the majority of our days.

Speaking of which, we are spending our days side by side through meals, work and most of us are sharing hotel rooms with colleagues, some of whom we just met when we arrived. Scientists are used to this type of atmosphere – I know that it’s not unusual for me to fold my colleague’s laundry if it means I can get my clothes into the dryer faster! I don’t know if every job has these sorts of hazards! I personally enjoy the collegial family atmosphere and know that when I leave this place, I’ll leave with great friends who I may be lucky enough to work with in the future. I’m also going to leave with a new place to come on vacation: the field camp is new this year in that we’ve been staying at the lovely Cariboo Lodge in Clinton, BC. Even the hotel staff have gotten into the hijinks – their target this year has had his bed made upside down, gotten short sheeted and I’m pretty sure had a canoe waiting in his bed. It’s great that everyone is enjoying the welcoming atmosphere and are willing to have a little fun while working incredibly long days. People who enjoy having fun are wonderful people to work with!

Curtis Suttle Sharing his MARSLIFE research

Nicky and I were afforded the unique professional development opportunity to participate in real-time, field-based, multidisciplinary science. The Pavilion Lake Research Project, which developed from an interest to map and explore the distribution of fresh-water microbialites in Pavilion Lake. Each year the project has expended and for 2011 has moved to a new site – Kelly Lake. Kelly Lake is a few kilometers from the village of Clinton in Gold Trail School District. Both Nicky and I work within this district as public school teachers. Currently, Nicky teaches at the elementary level in Cache Creek and I teach at the secondary level in Clinton.

We were both ecstatic about being selected as the exclusive two teacher-participants this year. With some trepidation, we arrived on site at the Cariboo Lodge base camp on our first day at 3:00 pm, not sure what to expect. We met the education outreach coordinator, Jennifer Stonehouse, and were immediately put at ease. Our two and a half day schedule was jammed-packed and, busy; full of a variety of informative sessions with different team leaders, researchers and engineers. We were awed at the extent of the expertise, the scope of the project, and the willingness of participants to share with us.

Highlights include:

• Learning about the communication network that was established for the large amount of data that was gathered.
• Being right there with the DeepWorkers on the barge and observing the launch, and collection of data (voice, stills, and video information).
• Conversation with NASA astronaut, Mike Gernhardt Meeting many incredible and welcoming NASA and CSA personnel.

Microbialites with Tyler

It was a much more casual and informal environment than what we had anticipated. We soon realized that patience and adaptability were valuable character attributes that all participants possessed. Besides the obvious science and technology applications of this analogous MARSLIFE site, we learned a lot about scientific collaboration and collegial interactions. The evening roundtable discussions with all science teams represented were absolutely illuminative to the true nature of the scientific process, often generating more questions than answers, initiating cross-disciplinary connections, and exciting pure, animated passions for science. Even the inclement weather did not dampen the spirits of those attending. It was an intense, personable, and inspiring experience, in which both Nicky and I feel so fortunate to have been included.

Written by: Gloria Mertens and Nicky Patterson

Teachers getting the inside scoop on DeepWorker

Nick Talking MAPPER to the Shad

On July 19th and July 20th several members of the PLRP team teleconferenced with Shad Valley students at the University of British Columbia. The video conference included an Astronaut Q&A, presentation by David Pogue, NASA Crew Systems and Crew Survival Operations, and Nick Wilkinson, Web Development, Logistics Consulting and the man behind the infamous MAPPER.

Here is what they have to say.

Space! This word often reminds us of galaxies, black holes, nebulae and our Milky Way. Never would anyone consider a correlation between space and our tangible surroundings. During a span of two days, a group of 52 Shad Valley students are amazed by the revelation that experiments and research conducted on lakes of our very own planet Earth can assist us with analysis of our universe, beyond our solar system. With access to the Pavilion Lake Project’s website, we were able to thoroughly discover the history, mission statement and aims of this project. Furthermore, we were introduced to the gallery and blog of many talented and committed individuals working with the PLRP. The well-established website provided us with many photos, insights and interactive opportunities surrounding the project. During these two days, we had the opportunity to participate in the interactive activities including helping researchers with the filtration of photos of Kelly Lake and Pavilion Lake. Many of us signed up and thoroughly enjoyed contributing to a worthwhile research endeavor, meanwhile gaining precious insight into the importance of ecological unity. We would like to thank the team of the Pavilion Lake Research Project for their diligence and integrity in the pursuit of knowledge. Thank you for all your time and effort put into this presentation and we wish you the best of luck in the continuation of this project.

Warmest regards, Niki, Julie, Edward, and Danielle Shad Valley UBC 2011

During the informative lectures, we learned many new things. The most valuable knowledge we learned was that we can study microbialites that exist under water on earth, and apply it to further development in space. Being able to speak and listen to professionals in different areas of expertise was very eye-opening and broadened our horizons. Learning about DeepWorker submersibles and the MAPPER software allowed us to personally become more involved in the Pavilion Lake Research Project through the photo-tagging activity. Life in space is obviously quite different from life on Earth, and by being able to speak to a veteran astronaut, we gained further insight into these differences such as dealing with zero gravity, eating, sleeping and other regular daily activities.

MAPPER & microbialites

Richard Lin, Calvin Kwok and Paul Wong

We think that the work that is being done in Pavilion Lake is really interesting because so much of our world is covered in water, but it remains a huge mystery. Underwater exploration is key in gaining a more complete understanding of our world as a whole. The interactive program is very effective in allowing us to gain better access to first hand information. It is good that the research is not limited solely to the researchers because it allows the general public to get involved in the project and become more knowledgeable about underwater ecosystems. In understanding this information we can begin to comprehend the importance of exploration.

From, Rebecca, Venissa, Patricia

When I’d firstly heard about PLRP, I thought it was like a normal project, but after two sessions, I found out that it was more than that. It was a really big opportunity to know about such project like that, talking to David, and listening to an astronaut’s speech. I have found the answers of my wonderings after that, so it wasn’t wasting of time.

Firas alruwashid

Over the past two days, we have had the pleasure to learn about the fascinating world that exists in Kelly Lake and Pavilion Lake, and the wonderful NASA operation that is currently underway. Before this operation, we had no idea what microbialites were, and how much potential they had in opening our doors to space exploration. In association with this, we found the Mapper website especially creative as it allows us to not only learn about the research that goes on in those lakes, but to interact with the data. However, our favourite experience during this two-day process was getting the astonishing opportunity to interact and correspond with a real NASA astronaut. We learned about the many joys, hardships, and dangers associated with leaving our atmosphere. One suggestion we have for future presentations would be to if possible, make a presentation in person, rather than over skype, as it would increase personal engagement. Overall, this was a truly enlightening experience, and we thank you so much for the brilliant opportunity you provided for us.

Thanks again! Neel, Brian, and Kelly

As members of the Shad community we already have a keen interest in sciences. We are usually exposed to careers such as engineering or research, so it is beneficial to know that there are opportunities to work in other scientific fields. We have learned that there are places here on Earth that are filled with life and yet still unexplored. Exploring depths underwater to further understand space is something we would not have thought of, which is why we found the research done at Pavilion Lake so captivating. The presentation was informative and entertaining, although some technological difficulties made certain parts hard to understand (i.e., the videos). We really appreciated having the opportunity to speak with an astronaut and experts in varied fields.

Catherine & Sophie from QC Shad UBC ‘11

We really enjoyed the talks regarding NASA and the research projects conducted on Pavilion Lake & Kelly Lake. Microbialites were unknown to us before the lectures and learning about them proved to be insightful as it opened our eyes to the many mysteries that have yet to be discovered. The interactive program on the website was fun and educational; and taught us a lot about this newly introduced world of microbialites in a creative way. In addition, speaking to a NASA astronaut gave us the opportunity to listen to the real experiences of being in space – something not very many people have the chance to do. Overall, a very informative and practical experience.

Aaron Vincent, Katy Kemp & Daniel Zhang

Our experience with the PLRP was really informative and intriguing. The use of technology (e.g. Skype and the Mapper) was an innovative way of presenting information and allowing students to be interactive. Before taking part in this presentation, none of us knew about microbialites or the applicable relations between the NASA space program and under-water exploration such as the Pavilion and Kelly Lake projects. Our only issue was some technological malfunctions and lagging that took away from parts of the presentation, but overall, it was a fun and informative presentation in which we all learned a lot. We definitely recommend this presentation to the UBC Shads of 2012, whom will surely be as enthusiastic as we were.

Pia, James, and Amon Shad UBC 2011

Most days I do science in a bright, cluttered (yet clean), indoor laboratory. Right now, I am sitting on the shore of a pristine lake in British Columbia, waiting for samples of microbialites. Long days and late nights in lab is what you pay the piper for sample collections in beautiful, remote locations.

What I knew of British Columbia was what I saw during the Vancouver Olympics and a handful of nature shows. It was beautiful, with tall mountains, good skiing, and killer whales. What I didn’t know was how diverse and rugged the landscape would be. I flew into Vancouver and drove a rental car up to our field site along with my advisor, Dr. Jen Biddle. We passed through the city into tall snow-capped peaks covered in conifers. Beautiful, but about what I expected for BC. My expectations were quickly dashed. Lush forests spit waterfalls down into the Fraser River. Within an hour or two, the conifers gave way to more rock outcroppings, and eventually huge, sheer cliffs with rocks of all different colors. The vegetation changed to more bristly, desert flora. Winding streams worked their way through distant pastures, dotted with gnarled trees, horses, and cows; eventually all spilling into the Fraser, a constant throughout our drive. As we approached the town of Clinton, our base of operations for this expedition, the conifers returned, although this time in different arrangements. The dense coastal firs, spruces, and hemlocks gave way to more sparse cedars and ponderosa pine forests that populated steep, rocky canyons. Tucked away deep in the folds of these ancient canyons are two very unique and exciting lakes.

Pavilion Lake and Kelly Lake are home to a fantastic display of microbialites. A fun, quirky, inspired (from what I’m beginning to see) group of scientists with a variety of backgrounds have descended on these lakes to study these structures because they may hold answers to some of the most profound questions we can ask. What did some of the earliest life on this planet look like? How did it survive and evolve? The fossil records show that for a couple billion years of our planets history, life existed similarly to how it does on the microbialites of Pavilion and Kelly Lake. If these structures were such an important first step in Earth’s life history, might they also be something to look for when we eventually explore other planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond? As a microbiologist, with a strong interest in astrobiology, these questions floor me. To be here in this beautiful countryside searching for answers is what some refer to as “pinch me” moments.

My role here is to help understand the bacterial communities that live on the surface of the microbialites, and from what we can tell, drive their formation. I have spent the past few days taking part in planning and execution of submersible dives and sample collection. Once samples arrive at base camp, I extensively document what I see. Interesting features such as curious green and purple nodules that may be the site of carbonate formation on the surface of the microbialites are sub-sampled and examined under the microscope. Larger chunks of microbialite are carefully bagged and frozen for shipment back to the lab at the University of Delaware. There, I will extract DNA to study the microbial population of these structures on the genomic level to determine which members of this population are most important at different depths. This study highlights one of the unique attributes of Kelly Lake and Pavilion Lake. Microbialites are found in a handful of places around the globe yet these lakes are the only environment where they are found at such a variety of depths (thus differential access to light). It is our hope that these varying growth environments within the lake will be able to highlight distinct attributes of microbialites that made them so successful on early Earth and could possibly aid their formation on other planetary bodies.

Written by:  Joe Russell

One of our tough divers - water is not very warm.

Diving for Samples

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jenn Biddle - Science backroom

I’m so excited to be officially joining the PLRP team this year as part of the science team. I got excited about astrobiology in graduate school and after my PhD, was a NASA Astrobiology Institute postdoctoral fellow. When I became a professor, I kept looking for ways to stay involved in NASA and astrobiology science. I collaborate with the NASA Astrobiology Institute at Penn State University and now am part of the PLRP team!

I typically do deep sea research, so the PLRP approach of using manned submarines is not too unusual to me. What is unusual is that we’re taking an analog mission approach to the science and exploration – complete with a mobile mission command center. I’ve been really impressed with the amount of infrastructure that the team has had to create in order to do their work, including setting up wifi in remote places and running video feeds across miles. Typically my research done on a ship has communications already on it – we just hop on and do science. Coming to a remote (and beautiful!) site in British Columbia certainly presents challenges.

Today I got my full immersion into PLRP science and headed up the science backroom team for the third dive in Kelly Lake. One disadvantage of a single manned sub is that only one person is seeing and observing things in real time. Maybe they can take a video, but the rest of us might wait hours to see it. That means decisions are slowed and science might be impeded. So this year the team designed a way to have a sub tethered to a cable, sending video feeds to the surface – and then the coms team has been able to shoot video back to the mobile mission command center. What this means is that many of us scientists can sit in comfort and see and hear what the pilot of the sub is observing. That way we can confer on what we are seeing immediately, add extra sets of eyes to a busy pilot and give advice or opinions on what is happening. Really what we did was sit back and go “Cool!” when a lovely microbialite would pop up on the screen.

We additionally got a true mission-feel when we started doing delayed communications. If an astronaut is off of the Earth, it takes a while to talk to them! So even though our sub pilot was only a few kilometers away, we gave ourselves a delay to see how things would go. Not surprisingly, it did seem easier – doesn’t your job go better when your “boss” stops interrupting you? But we’ll see how well it works when we actually want samples. Maybe 10 brains are better than one – maybe not! It’s part of this week’s experiments. My final experiments won’t be done for a while. We are collecting samples from Pavilion and Kelly Lakes to continue to describe the microbial communities that are in the microbialites. My group is specifically interested in the phototrophic (light-harvesting) communities, who we expect are driving the distinct shapes we see in these structures. Our work is in progress, so now updates yet – but watch for later updates as we start to unravel the mysteries of these beautiful and mysterious microbialites!

Written By: Jennifer Biddle

Inside the MMCC

Inside the MMCC

Bill keeping - comunications, MMCC

Darlene Lim (PI) - Inside the MMCC - there are million ideas going on inside her head right now

It takes more than a quick drop in the lake to get the DeepWorker’s ready to go. Check out this video for some behind the scene action won what it takes to get the subs ready for flight.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tyler, one of the MarsLIfe crew is so excited about PLRP that he is writing about his experiences in his own blog here

We’re up and almost running. A 16 km drive down the Kelly Lake Road with crane, barge, DeepWorker submersibles and Nuytco crew in tow – the barge is assembled and ready to go! The Nuytco and PLRP crew worked hard piecing together the barge, which will serve as a platform to launch the DeepWorkers. Subs due to launch around noon tomorrow. Check the barge assemble process in the photos below.

Mars life crew went back to Pavilion Lake to confirm preliminary data from last season. The divers sampled surface water in the central basin of the lake, and the 3 poles transect at 85 feet; both water and microbialites. These samples will be examined for total community analysis, metabolic potential and metabolic function. Check out the sample collection photos below. The Sea Monkey’s are a favorite.

[Show as slideshow]

When Dana Lis, our PLRP Education and Public Outreach coordinator, asked me to write a blog about how I was feeling, the first word that popped into my mind was – EXCITED! After months of planning, testing and organizing we are finally ready to start our adventure, and I am so looking forward to it all.

We now have nearly 200 participants on the PLRP team, and each year thousands of work hours go into preparing for our DeepWorker Science and Exploration (DSE) field deployment. Planning starts pretty much as soon as we end the prior year’s field program. This year’s deployment at Kelly Lake is no exception.

What’s in store is our most ambitious and operationally complex field program yet.

Throughout this coming week’s activities, we will continue our scientific exploration of microbialite rich lakes using such exploration tools as DeepWorker single-person submersibles and SCUBA diving. This research builds upon the work we have been conducting at Pavilion Lake, which is about an hour’s drive away. However, the team’s research doesn’t stop there. Our DSE program requires the integration of scientific methods, and operational and technological advancements. From these real field science activities, NASA scientists are learning about what it takes to conduct safe, productive and discovery-based science in extreme environments. It is this knowledge that will form the basis of future exploration concepts for human research voyages to such destinations as Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and Mars. With the end of the Shuttle program, this and other analog programs, such as Desert RATS and NEEMO, truly becomes NASA’s bridge to future space flight.

The entire PLRP is personal passion, so it is not surprising that I am extremely excited to get our 2011 field program underway.  But beyond the research, I’m excited to see the incredible scientists, engineers, operations experts, astronauts, and teachers who have become part of the PLRP family.  I’m thrilled to meet new colleagues who join us for the first time this year, and to thank the Clinton and Kelly Lake community for all of the support and assistance that they have already provided to the PLRP.

I remember when I was a kid that if something got me really excited I would jump up and down with joy.  Well, you know how it is, you kinda have to park that behavior through Junior high and high school, so I did.  But I find myself rekindling that jumping behavior these days each time I hear about some new finding or technical development or outreach opportunity that the PLRP team members come up with.  Happily, my NASA colleagues seem ok with me bouncing up and down periodically.  It is a joy, it is a privilege, to be part of the PLRP family.  And I hope that everyone reading our blogs will feel like they are part of the adventure too. 

Author: Rick White

Anyone still wondering what the “M.A.R.S” in MARSLIFE really stands for?

Here’s the ANSWER: Mars Analogue Research: Signatures of Life in Freshwater Environments

To start, a little background on the MARSLIFE plan for the 2011 field season. This year we will return to Pavilion Lake and explore the unknown realm of Kelly Lake with a targeted sampling approach aimed at capturing the unique biodiversity discovered from last years initial sampling.  Pavilion and Kelly Lakes hold a vast diversity of super exciting microbes encompassing bacteria, archaea, protists, and viruses/phages. These microbes are the biotic key to understanding the flow of nutrients critical to maintaining life within such a nutrient poor water column and how these systems form similar microbialite structures. Preliminary data suggest that Pavilion Lake has biotic similarities to other worldwide microbialite/stromatolite sites such as, Highborne Cay, Shark Bay, Pozas Azules II, and Rios Mezquites.

The REAL question for this field season:

Are the microbes found in Kelly similar to those found in Pavilion and the other microbialite/stromatolite sites?

In only 3 days we finally get to look at Kelly microbialites, which appear to be structurally similar to the microbialites found in Pavilion Lake! Our GOAL is to capture its biological diversity, relate it to Pavilion Lake and other microbialite/stromatolite sites.

ULTIMATELY, these results will provide insight on how these structures might be formed on other solar system bodies, such as Mars or Europa.