{"id":146,"date":"2013-12-05T00:17:04","date_gmt":"2013-12-05T00:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/?p=146"},"modified":"2013-12-05T00:17:04","modified_gmt":"2013-12-05T00:17:04","slug":"ufv-and-nasa-collaborate-on-research-project-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/2013\/12\/05\/ufv-and-nasa-collaborate-on-research-project-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"UFV and NASA collaborate on research project (2012)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Archived from UFV Today, August 28 2012. Original post by Ashley Wray.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Working with NASA is a dream for most scientists. And it\u2019s something a group of University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) students were able to experience during a recent research trip to south central B.C.<\/p>\n

The group spent two days at Kelly Lake, near Clinton, in late July, collecting data to learn more about the lake\u2019s history. The lake is of interest to NASA as it contains unique rock formations called microbialites<\/em>, which are considered to be rare carbonate rock structures formed by microorganisms.<\/p>\n

The four students associated with UFV were joined by UFV Geography instructor Olav Lian, and two students linked with NASA Ames Research Center. With the help of University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) Geography instructor Brian Menounos, and his master\u2019s student, the group used a boat and special equipment to carry out their research.<\/p>\n

The expedition\u2019s purpose was to core the lake\u2019s bottom to collect sediment that has accumulated over time.<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Darlene Lim explained the coring process as similar to putting a straw in a glass of coke, capping the top, and then bringing the straw upwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coke that\u2019s trapped in the straw is essentially your sample,\u201d she said, adding that in the lake\u2019s case, the sample at the bottom is the oldest, and the top is the youngest.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo to understand the history of this aquatic system, you can tap into that sediment as a record, or historical book, of what\u2019s happened to this environment over long periods of time,\u201d said Lim. \u201cThat\u2019s essentially what we\u2019re interested in \u2014 that history of accumulation, and what\u2019s happened surrounding the lake, and also within the lake, over long periods.\u201d<\/p>\n

While NASA has been working in the Kelly Lake area since 2004 with the Pavillion Lake Research Project, learning more about the microbialite<\/em>s, Lian has been conducting geology research in the area for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n

The collaboration is important to NASA in determining the region\u2019s history, which they believe will assist them in understanding more about the formations, such as how they\u2019re created and why they are here.<\/p>\n

Another key aspect in the collaboration is involving the students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always try to bring as many students with us as we can,\u201d said Lian. \u201cWe\u2019re not the type of scientists that like to work in isolation \u2014 mentorship of students is incredibly important to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents are extremely important to any field team and research group,\u201d added Lim. \u201cOtherwise things just stagnant, and don\u2019t move on and get published, so we totally believe in bringing students in all cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel Huesken, who graduated from UFV in June with a science degree in geography, was one of the students on the trip. Currently working in UFV geography\u2019s Luminescence Dating Lab for the summer, he was grateful for the opportunity to work with other students and gain field experience, all without having to be a graduate student.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty exciting to get out in the field and collect data, because you learn so much about it in the classroom,\u201d said Huesken. \u201cTo get out here and get your hands dirty, playing with the dirt and sediments, it\u2019s pretty fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel super fortunate that UFV has a really great undergrad commitment. So it\u2019s been a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Archived from UFV Today, August 28 2012. Original post by Ashley Wray. Working with NASA is a dream for most scientists. And it\u2019s something a group of University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) students were able to experience during a recent research trip to south central B.C. The group spent two days at Kelly Lake, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deans-office","category-physical-geography","tag-nasa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":281,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions\/281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}