Prokaryote populations of extant microbialites along a depth gradient in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia, Canada

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 both Pavilion and Kelly lakes have provided a new environment for the scientific community to study. These lakes demonstrate that large and uniquely shaped structures can also occur in non-extreme environments that also support fish, plants and other species. The microbialites of these modern lakes are relevant to our understanding of ancient microbiaites 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 PLRP was founded in 2004, and has grown in exciting new directions ever since. During the 2004 field season, PLRP scientists discovered microbialites in Kelly Lake, which is approximately 20 km NW from Pavilion Lake. The PLRP team will be taking their DeepWorker Science and Exploration (DSE) program to Kelly Lake in 2011. These research activities complement those that have taken place at Pavilion Lake since 2008, and will help to broaden our understanding of modern microbialite-rich environments. Further to these science activities, the PLRP supports a thriving human exploration research component. The focus of this program element is the development of operational technologies and strategies that facilitate scientific productivity and efficiency for future human scientific exploration of our Solar System.

帕维恩湖研究计划（Pavilion Lake Research Project, PLRP）是一项国际性多学科科学探索项目，旨在阐明加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省帕维恩湖内淡水微生物岩（microbialites）的成因。化石微生物岩（fossil microbialites）是古老地球早期生命遗迹的重要代表，其广泛分布的时段约为25亿年前至5.4亿年前。如今，微生物岩仅能在多数生物难以存活的极端环境中被发现，但帕维恩湖与凯利湖内的微生物岩却为国际科学界提供了全新的研究场景：这两处湖泊证明，大型异形构造同样可以存在于兼具鱼类、植物与其他生物生存的非极端环境中。
这些现代湖泊中的微生物岩，有助于我们理解曾在早期地球广泛分布且种类多样的远古微生物岩。正因如此，帕维恩湖已成为地球科学家与天体生物学家（astrobiologists）的热门野外研究站点——他们期望将PLRP的研究成果应用于太阳系乃至更广阔宇宙的生命搜寻工作中。PLRP于2004年启动，此后不断拓展出富有前景的全新研究方向。
在2004年野外作业季期间，PLRP研究人员在距离帕维恩湖西北约20公里的凯利湖内发现了微生物岩。PLRP团队计划于2011年将其“深潜器科学与探索（DeepWorker Science and Exploration, DSE）”计划拓展至凯利湖。此项研究活动与2008年以来在帕维恩湖开展的研究形成互补，将有助于进一步拓展我们对现代富微生物岩环境的认知。
除上述科学研究活动外，PLRP还设有蓬勃发展的人类探索研究分支。该分支的核心目标是研发可提升未来人类太阳系科学探索效率与科研产出的作业技术与策略。