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Pavilion Lake
Pavilion Lake is a freshwater lake located in Marble Canyon, British Columbia, Canada home to colonies of freshwater microbialites. Location and Local Communities It is located between the towns of Lillooet and Cache Creek (29.44 kilometres WNW, as the crow flies, from Cache Creek) and lies along BC Highway 99, 8.85 highway kilometres (northeast then southeast) from Pavilion, British Columbia. There is a small community of lakeshore residences, some recreational and seasonal only, located on the lake's eastern shore adjacent to the highway. The lake is overlooked by the cliffs of Marble Canyon, which is the southern buttress of the Marble Range, and the forests of the northernmost Clear Range. Also overlooking the lake is Chimney Rock (''K'lpalekw'' in Secwepemc'tsn, " Coyote's Penis"), which like the lake and the canyon have spiritual significance to the adjoining native communities, the Tskwaylaxw people of Pavilion and the Bonaparte band of Secwepemc at Upper Hat Creek. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marble Canyon (Canada)
Marble Canyon is in the south-central Interior of British Columbia, a few kilometres east of the Fraser River and the community of Pavilion, midway between the towns of Lillooet and Cache Creek. The canyon stems from a collapsed karst formation. Nomenclature The canyon's name comes from the brilliant limestone of its walls. The bedrock is microcrystalline limestone (sedimentary rock) rather than marble (metamorphic rock). The native name of the canyon in the Shuswap language is, when referring to the whole, ''sxmeltám'', possibly referring to "Indian doctors", while the name for the area of Crown and Turquoise Lakes and the provincial campground and adjoining south wall is ''getsgátsp'', of unknown meaning. In addition to the steep walls rising from the lake's southeastern end, there is an eroded pinnacle known as Chimney Rock, or in a translation of ''K'lpalekw'', the Secwepemc ( Shuswap) name for it, Coyote's Penis. Geography The north wall is over 965 m (3150 ft) hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), to give the U.S. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. NASA has since led most American space exploration, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968-1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. NASA supports the International Space Station and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the crewed lunar Artemis program, Commercial Crew spacecraft, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program, which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astrobiology
Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investigates the deterministic conditions and contingent events with which life arises, distributes, and evolves in the universe. Astrobiology makes use of molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry, chemistry, astronomy, physical cosmology, exoplanetology, geology, paleontology, and ichnology to investigate the possibility of life on other worlds and help recognize biospheres that might be different from that on Earth. The origin and early evolution of life is an inseparable part of the discipline of astrobiology. Astrobiology concerns itself with interpretation of existing scientific data, and although speculation is entertained to give context, astrobiology concerns itself primarily with hypotheses that fit firmly into existing scientific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stromatolite
Stromatolites () or stromatoliths () are layered sedimentary formations (microbialite) that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota (formerly proteobacteria). These microorganisms produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and other rocky materials to form mineral "microbial mats". In turn, these mats build up layer by layer, growing gradually over time. A stromatolite may grow to a meter or more. Although they are rare today, fossilized stromatolites provide records of ancient life on Earth. Morphology Stromatolites are layered, biochemical, accretionary structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding and cementation of sedimentary grains in biofilms (specifically microbial mats), through the action of certain microbial lifeforms, especially cyanobacteria. They exhibit a variety of forms and structures, or morphologies, including conical, stratiform, domal, columnar, and branching ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microbialites
Microbialite is a benthic sedimentary deposit made of carbonate mud (particle diameter < 5 μm) that is formed with the mediation of microbes. The constituent carbonate mud is a type of , or authigenic mud, and therefore it precipitates in situ instead of being transported and deposited. Being formed in situ, a microbialite can be seen as a type of boundstone where reef builders are microbes, and precipitation of carbonate is biotically induced instead of forming tests, shells or skeletons. Microbialites can also be defined as |
Karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions. Subterranean drainage may limit surface water, with few to no rivers or lakes. However, in regions where the dissolved bedrock is covered (perhaps by debris) or confined by one or more superimposed non-soluble rock strata, distinctive karst features may occur only at subsurface levels and can be totally missing above ground. The study of ''paleokarst'' (buried karst in the stratigraphic column) is important in petroleum geology because as much as 50% of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are hosted in carbonate rock, and much of this is found in porous karst systems. Etymology The English word ''karst'' was borrowed from German in the late 19th century, which entered German much earlier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hard Water
Hard water is water that has high mineral content (in contrast with "soft water"). Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum, which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbonates and sulfates. Hard drinking water may have moderate health benefits. It can pose critical problems in industrial settings, where water hardness is monitored to avoid costly breakdowns in boilers, cooling towers, and other equipment that handles water. In domestic settings, hard water is often indicated by a lack of foam formation when soap is agitated in water, and by the formation of limescale in kettles and water heaters.World Health OrganizatioHardness in Drinking-Water 2003 Wherever water hardness is a concern, water softening is commonly used to reduce hard water's adverse effects. Origins Natural rainwater, snow and other forms of precipitation typically have low concentrations of multivalent cations such as calcium and magnes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dimictic Lake
A dimictic lake is a body of freshwater whose difference in temperature between surface and bottom layers becomes negligible twice per year, allowing all strata of the lake's water to circulate vertically. All dimictic lakes are also considered holomictic, a category which includes all lakes which mix one or more times per year. During winter, dimictic lakes are covered by a layer of ice, creating a cold layer at the surface, a slightly warmer layer beneath the ice, and a still-warmer unfrozen bottom layer, while during summer, the same temperature-derived density differences separate the warm surface waters (the epilimnion), from the colder bottom waters (the hypolimnion). In the spring and fall, these temperature differences briefly disappear, and the body of water overturns and circulates from top to bottom. Such lakes are common in mid-latitude regions with temperate climates. Examples of dimictic lakes * Lake Mendota * Lake Superior * Lake Simcoe * Opeongo Lake, Lake Opeongo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trophic State Index
The Trophic State Index (TSI) is a classification system designed to rate water bodies based on the amount of biological productivity they sustain. Although the term "trophic index" is commonly applied to lakes, any surface water body may be indexed. The TSI of a water body is rated on a scale from zero to one hundred. Under the TSI scale, water bodies may be defined as: * oligotrophic (TSI 0–40, having the least amount of biological productivity, "good" water quality); * mesotrophic (TSI 40–60, having a moderate level of biological productivity, "fair" water quality); or * eutrophic to hypereutrophic (TSI 60–100, having the highest amount of biological productivity, "poor" water quality). The quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other biologically useful nutrients are the primary determinants of a water body's TSI. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus tend to be limiting resources in standing water bodies, so increased concentrations tend to result in increased p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions. Subterranean drainage may limit surface water, with few to no rivers or lakes. However, in regions where the dissolved bedrock is covered (perhaps by debris) or confined by one or more superimposed non-soluble rock strata, distinctive karst features may occur only at subsurface levels and can be totally missing above ground. The study of ''paleokarst'' (buried karst in the stratigraphic column) is important in petroleum geology because as much as 50% of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are hosted in carbonate rock, and much of this is found in porous karst systems. Etymology The English word ''karst'' was borrowed from German in the late 19th century, which entered German much earlier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marble Canyon Provincial Park
Marble Canyon Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, established in 1956 to protect Marble Canyon, a limestone formation at the south end of the Marble Range. In 2001 the park was expanded to 355 hectares to include all of Pavilion Lake due to the presence of microbialites, a type of stromatolite important to research into astrobiology and other fields, and in 2010, it was further expanded to 2,544 hectares. The park is also important in the culture of the Tskway'laxw people in whose territory it is located, and concealed in the side canyons of the gorge there are important pictograph sites. Within the park and along Pavilion Lake at its farther end from the main part of the canyon is Chimney Rock, the Secwepemc'tsn name for which, K'lpalekw, means " Coyote's Penis", and is an important spiritual site. A waterfall into Crown Lake, at the park's campground, is famous among ice-climbers as "Icy BC" and the walls of Marble Canyon are a major draw for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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