Introduction to the Pavilion Lake Research Project
Read the News from the PLRP project leads and view the public calendar.
The Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP) is an international, multi-disciplinary, science and exploration effort to explain the origin of freshwater microbialites in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Fossil microbialites represent some of the earliest remnants of life on ancient Earth, and were common from ~2.5 billion to 540 million years ago. Today, microbialites are found in environments where conditions are often too harsh for most organisms. However, the microbialites in Pavilion Lake have provided a new environment for the scientific community to study that demonstrates that large, and uniquely shaped structures can also occur in non-extreme environments that also support fish, plants and other species. The microbialites of Pavilion Lake are relevant to our understanding of ancient microbialites that were once common and diverse on early Earth, as such, Pavilion Lake has become an exciting field site for Earth scientists and astrobiologists who are interested in the application of the PLRP research to the search for life in our solar system and beyond. The project began in 2004, and has grown in exciting new directions ever since. Thank you for your interest!
Top: Deepworker support platform during submersible deployment.
Middle: Middle: Greg Slater (McMaster University) and Mike Gernhardt (NASA JSC) discuss an upcoming Deepworker flight plan.
Bottom: Deepworker obtaining a microbialite sample.
Right: Allyson Brady (Deepworker Pilot) prepares for deployment in Pavilion Lake's central basin.
Funding and support provided by:
PLRP is funded by the CSA CARN program and NASA MMAMA program. Additional funding provided by NASA ESMD Analogs, NASA ASTEP and Nuytco Research. Previous support for the program has also been received from the NASA Spaceward Bound Program, the National Geographic Society, and McMaster University.
Recent Blog Posts
Safety Matters: first response in the field
by Damien McCombs on July 3rd, 2009
I am excited to return to the Pavilion Lake Research Project as the First Aid Attendant for the second year in row. My job is to help make sure that nobody gets hurt, and if someone does, that they are tended to appropraitely. The research team is great because they are passionately involved in [...]
McMaster Team: Gearing up for Departure!
by Greg Slater on July 1st, 2009
I can’t believe that we leave for Pavilion in two days! Our McMaster team (Allyson, Lisa, Jen and myself) is going up early to sample several lakes on the Cariboo plateau before the commencement of the main field season. There is so much going on this year at the lake that we felt [...]