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!

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

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

What a week it has been!  Today is the last of my six full days here at Pavilion Lake, and it feels like we’ve done a month’s worth of work.  Days begin with breakfast at 7 am and a team meeting at 7:30, and conclude with science debriefs that often end at 10 or 11 pm.  The pace is not quite as fast and relentless as a Shuttle flight…but it’s close.  It’s one more way in which Pavilion Lake is a good analog for an actual space flight.  (Differences include the excellent food and, on the rare occasions when time permits, being able to go fo a long jog with fresh air and lovely mountain scenery!)

Stan preparing for flight in DeepWorker

With two more “flights” in the Deepworker submarine under my belt since last I wrote, I’ve gotten a lot more familiar with the machine.  Although the miniature submarine looks nothing like a space suit, there are a lot of similarities.  And someday, when humans visit near-Earth asteroids or other objects with very low surface gravity, I expect they’ll do their spacewalks in something that looks a lot more like a Deepworker than a traditional person-shaped space suit. Here’s why.  A small asteroid has such weak gravity that even the slightest nudge with a hand or foot would send a spacewalking astronaut soaring high above the surface, and it might take hours to come back down.  A stronger shove might send an astronaut away at a speed higher than the escape velocity, in which case gravity would not bring them back ever!  Not so good.  On the International Space Station, which of course has no noticeable gravity of its own, astronauts keep from floating away by holding on to special handrails.  Asteroid do not come equipped with handrails.  They do have rough surfaces which might provide hand- and foot-holds, but unfortunately most asteroids are not solid blocks of material.  Instead they are “rubble piles,” flying clumps of sand, gravel, and boulders held together not by material strength, but by their own weak self-gravity.  So if you were moving hand-over-hand across the surface of the asteroid and accidentally pushed yourself off on a suborbital trajectory, you could grab onto a rock to keep yourself down–and the rock would simply come away with you! The practical result is that hands and feet are probably not the best way to move around an asteroid.  Better might be a suit with tiny thrusters that you could use to maneuver yourself around the landscape.  But if you’re not using your hands and feet to move around like a person climbing a tree, there’s no need to enclose them in a flexible suit.  Instead, you could keep them inside a hard pressure shell where they could be used to control thrusters, manipulators, and onboard systems.  Such an arrangement might look a lot like a Deepworker.  As a side benefit, the operator might be a bit more comfortable than in a traditional space suit.

Stan and DeepWorker 7.

Our underwater work here at Pavilion Lake ends this afternoon.  I’ll be the pilot for one of the last two “flights.”  The flight planner, Dr. “Mars” Marinova (who was just recently awarded her Ph.D. from the Geological and Planetary Sciences division at Caltech, where I worked as a postdoc more years ago than I care to admit), set up an especially interesting flight plan for me.  I’ll visit one of the “deep mounds,” outcroppings of microbialites growing on isolated boulders on the otherwise rather flat and monotonous central floor of the lake.  Then I’ll head off to do some vertical transects along the western shore.  These transects begin in deep water, then move upslope through the depth zone where the microbialite population is richest.  As I fly the transects I’ll record video of what I see from the submarine, and keep a running monologue (also recorded on board) of my observations.  It should be a lot of fun…and I’m sure I’ll miss piloting the submarines when the field season ends.
This wraps up Dr. Love’s Underwater Blog.  If I’m fortunate enough to be able to participate here next field season and spend more quality time underwater, I’ll be sure to reactivate the blog.
-Stan

Learn about the PLRP’s operations, and tour the field site with Heather and Ben!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stephanie Nebel and Jonathan Gutsche answer an important distinction between two very different underwater vehicles! To ask your question, visit www.astrobio.net and search for the Pavilion Lake Research Project, or click this link: www.tinyurl.com/askplrp.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I had the pleasure of being on board for the first launch of the 2010 field season. For this post, I’m going to let the photos speak for themselves.  You can view the rest of the photos from the day on Picasa here.

Enjoy, - Ben