[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Slater_Greg1.jpg” caption=”Greg Slater, environmental geochemist in the Faculty of Science. “]Single-person submersibles are being used by scientists to retrieve samples from a lake in northern British Columbia that are thought to hold clues to the history of life on Earth and on other planets.

Greg Slater, an environmental geochemist in the Faculty of Science, says the objects of scientific interest are unique carbonate rock structures, known as microbialites because they are covered with microbes. Some of these microbialites grow at depths of up to 180 feet below the water's surface, too deep to reach by non-decompression SCUBA diving.

“Are they the result of biological or geological processes? Why are there different microbes living on them and how long have these microbial communities been preserved? These are some of our big questions,” says Slater, who joined the international team researching these curious specimens three years ago.

Last fall, the project received welcome support from Nuytco Inc., manufacturer of single-person Deepworker submersibles, who offered two subs to enable researchers to finally collect samples of the deepest microbialites. The dives begin June 23.

“It's going to help us develop a baseline of understanding about life on our planet,” says Slater. “As amazing as it sounds, the bottom of a lake can answer lots of questions about life on Earth. And how we explore this lake will lay the groundwork for how we will explore Mars.”

Astronaut Dave Williams, now a professor of surgery at McMaster, will also participate in the research at Pavilion Lake. Trained as a Deepworker pilot, he is interested in the similarities between field scientific activities in the submersible and using a lunar rover for geological research in future missions sending astronauts back to the Moon.

“What's new about the work at Pavilion Lake this summer is the use of advanced underwater exploration technology to enable investigators to study previously inaccessible specimens,” says Williams. “Now we're able to use Rover-type subs with robotic arms similar to what is envisioned for exploring the lunar surface.”

“McMaster leads the pack when it comes to this kind of exceptional science and exploration,” says John Capone, dean, Faculty of Science “The result of this research will be a better understanding of the origins of our planet and the solar system.”

Pavilion Lake, located about 500 kilometres north of Vancouver in Marble Canyon Provincial Park, was formed by a glacier more than 10,000 years ago. For the last decade, it has been the site of several studies into astrobiology.

Primary funding for this year's endeavour comes from the Canadian Space Agency, with additional funding from NASA, Nuytco and McMaster University. Principal investigators are Darlene Lim from the NASA-Ames Research Center and Bernard Laval from the University of British Columbia, with collaborators from the NASA Johnson Space Center, Vancouver Aquarium, SETI (Search of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) Institute, Simon Fraser University, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, University of California-Davis, Portland State University, the University of Hong Kong, University of Vermont and Washington State University, among others.