Exploring Pavilion Lake

[Slamfire]

[youtubehq]qMo17RzYdig[/youtubehq]

Underwater video taken with my Sony PMW-EX1 in a Gates Housing of ongoing research in Pavilion Lake. Dr. Ian Hawes is seen measuring photosynthetic competency within the microbialite structures. The instrument he is using is a Diving PAM fluorometer made by Walz in Germany.

Diving is a great way to work in Pavilion Lake but there are limitations to how long one can stay underwater and how much of the lake can be studied. Another way to approach this is to utilize ROV's, AUV/s and small, one person submersibles. In this case, a pair of Deepworker submersibles designed and built by Phil Nuytten the President and founder of Nuytco Research Ltd and Can-Dive Services Ltd. Dr. Darlene Lim and Dr. Allyson Brady are piloting the submersibles.

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!

The Canadian Space Agency and NASA are major contributors to our work and we are a member of NASA Exploration Analog Missions.

For much more information about this project visit:

Pavilion Lake Research Project

Pavilion Lake Research Project | Facebook

 

[vjanelle]

The other thing he's using is a dangling and leaking octo. Tsk.

 

[Slamfire]

I noted that too and was wondering if it would bump and damage the microbialites. It didn't seem to. Other than that, he seemed have good bouyancy and had efficient movement. Maybe it's just one of those days.

Sometimes I think that as divers we're too nitpicky. I see Sharkwater or Blue Planet and I'm checking their gear, technique, seeing if I can catch anything. Often times I'll catch something. Then I reflect that in reality their misgivings in technique or procedure rarely take away from the merit of the mission in course. At the end of the day this guy is successfully operating the fluorometer under water and he didn't seem to damage the microbialites.

I've been meaning to ask Thalassamania if the proficiency we see in TV, scientific videos and documentaries is really typical of what you see in the real life scientific diving.

 

[CapitanBlack]

The other thing he's using is a dangling and leaking octo. Tsk.

Great project, but octo must be fixed and attached, right...

 

[vjanelle]

I noted that too and was wondering if it would bump and damage the microbialites. It didn't seem to. Other than that, he seemed have good bouyancy and had efficient movement. Maybe it's just one of those days.

Sometimes I think that as divers we're too nitpicky. I see Sharkwater or Blue Planet and I'm checking their gear, technique, seeing if I can catch anything. Often times I'll catch something. Then I reflect that in reality their misgivings in technique or procedure rarely take away from the merit of the mission in course. At the end of the day this guy is successfully operating the fluorometer under water and he didn't seem to damage the microbialites.

I've been meaning to ask Thalassamania if the proficiency we see in TV, scientific videos and documentaries is really typical of what you see in the real life scientific diving.

I'm not trying to be nitpicky, but I read the NASA publication about divers being allowed to go here - they don't want you in areas where you cold disturb sensitive areas, yet this guy is (potentially)dragging a regulator all over the bed.

 

[nadwidny]

I'm not trying to be nitpicky, but I read the NASA publication about divers being allowed to go here - they don't want you in areas where you cold disturb sensitive areas, yet this guy is (potentially)dragging a regulator all over the bed.

The instrument he is using apparently needs to have contact with the formations to do its' work so the formations probably aren't as fragile as the nervous nellies would think.

I would think that a dragging reg isn't really that big of a deal, although he should get that fixed.

Maybe instead of focusing on the leaky backup in the wrong place, we should appreciate the fact his skills enable him to do his work with a bulky apparatus without plowing into the bottom and formations like some AOW/Rescue/DM wannabe that crashes around with no sense of trim and buoyancy.

 

[vjanelle]

Yes, well, I still think he should fix the damn regulator and stow it properly, or at least not get caught on video tape with malfunctioning equipment

 

[Thalassamania]

I see a wide range of skill levels, the chap with the leaking octo is, perhaps, a little below average but perfectly adequate, the best are like the best anywhere. As far as the leaking octo itself is concerned, however, it is often the case that you wind up using what gear there is at a remote site and not every expedition has someone with the skills, background, or interest to repair gear. It is not unusual to make "easy" dives, like those seen here, with somewhat marginal gear. Hollywood it aint.

 

[DaleC]

A curious note is that, while they only want divers in designated areas, there are no markings on the ground as to where those areas are. A little bit of guess and by golly figures it out though.

Pavillion has four attractions for me: Clear vis, some interesting flora, the calcification of everything in the lake, the microbialites. In the video the bottom looks like carribean sand but it is in fact calcium based detritus, like our silt only white. The particulate in the water is the same stuff.

I'm returning to the lake in (mid/late) July for a weekend if anyone is interested. I'll post a thread as the time draws nearer.

 

[bighiller]

Dale, I'm all over going to Pavillion Lake soon.

Let me know what your time frame is.