The planning and construction of Biosphere 2 took seven years. The architecture blended glass Mayan pyramidal shapes with dazzling white Buckminster Fuller-type geodesic domes and barrel-vaulted chambers straight out of ancient Babylon.
Inside we built a bonsai world. Its wilderness biomes included a rainforest with a foot waterfall, a grassy treed savannah, a desert, fresh and saltwater wetlands with mangrove trees and a coral reef in a foot-deep, foot-long ocean the source of our table salt.
Our engineers faced huge challenges. They had to ensure each biome had correct temperatures and rainfall amounts, desalinate water, collect and circulate water, treat wastewater, strip our air of trace gases and even create mild breezes.
Biosphere 2 had to support life while not unwittingly polluting it with machines and materials whose presence might have unforeseen side effects. As a result, wool and wood were used for flooring, wall paneling and furnishings in living areas. Same with fires—even lit birthday candles. Inside the Bubble On September 26, , we entered Biosphere 2 to begin our experiment. Like astronauts, we had plenty of tasks to fill our days. Farming took up 25 percent of our waking time, research and maintenance 20 percent, writing reports 19 percent, cooking 12 percent, biome management 11 percent, animal husbandry 9 percent.
We spent the rest of our time doing media interviews and handling miscellaneous matters. We built in off days for rest and to observe changes in our growing biosphere. We grew our food and raised and slaughtered livestock. We worked in labs, maintained equipment, and spent time in our living quarters. Growing good nutritious food was a top priority, requiring everyone to work three to four hours a day for five days a week.
None of us had come from a farming background. Hunger became a new experience—and our constant companion. We existed the way humans had for time immemorial. Did our farming improve as we went along? You bet. Hunger is a great motivator. Among our 80 crops were rice, yams, peanuts, sorghum, millet, beets, wheat, carrots, peppers, bananas, figs, tomatoes, kale, eggplant, onions, papayas, beans, sweet and white potatoes, squash and herbs.
A total of 3, species of plants and animals coexisted in Biosphere 2. We imported four species of beneficial cockroaches to recycle organic matter. Unfortunately, that great evolutionary survivor—the household cockroach—snuck in and exploded in crop-threatening numbers, as did another stowaway species, ants. We reveled in simple pleasures. We treasured each cup. For a pizza, we spent four months growing a crop of wheat, which then had to be threshed and ground.
Tomatoes, peppers and onions had to ripen. No minute delivery for us. Though we had a mostly vegetarian diet, we occasionally made special dishes from small amounts of meat a quarter pound per person per week , eggs and milk. We raised a species of small pigs, pygmy goats and a variety of chickens—a scrappy Mexican breed, elegant Japanese Silkies and bantams with cocky attitudes. Fish was a rare treat.
Biosphere Reserves People play an important part in maintaining the flow of energy in the biosphere. Sometimes, however, people disrupt the flow. For example, in the atmosphere, oxygen levels decrease and carbon dioxide levels increase when people clear forest s or burn fossil fuel s such as coal and oil.
Oil spill s and industrial wastes threaten life in the hydrosphere. The future of the biosphere will depend on how people interact with other living things within the zone of life. A network of biosphere reserves exists to establish a working, balanced relationship between people and the natural world.
Currently, there are biosphere reserve s all over the world. The first biosphere reserve was established in Yangambi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Yangambi, in the fertile Congo River Basin, has 32, species of trees and such endemic species as forest elephants and red river hogs. The biosphere reserve at Yangambi supports activities such as sustainable agriculture , hunting, and mining. One of the newest biosphere reserves is in Yayu, Ethiopia. The area is developed for agriculture.
Crop s such as honey, timber, and fruit are regularly cultivate d. This shrub is the source of coffee. Yayu has the largest source of wild Coffea arabica in the world. Biosphere 2 In , a team of eight scientists moved into a huge, self-contained research facility called Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona. Inside an enormous, greenhouse-like structure, Biosphere 2 created five distinct biomes and a working agricultural facility.
Scientists planned to live in Biosphere 2 with little contact with the outside world. The experiments carried out in Biosphere 2 were designed to study the relationship between living things and their environmentand to see whether humans might be able to live in space one day.
The mission was supposed to last years, with two teams of scientists spending 50 years each in the facility. Instead, two teams made it just four years, and the scientists moved out in Though the live-in phase is over, research is still taking place in Biosphere 2, with a main focus on global warming.
Carbon dioxide is also the byproduct of burning fossil fuels. The Earth is the only place in the known universe that supports life. United Nations program established to support a working, balanced relationship between people and the natural world.
Also known as petroleum or crude oil. Picnic tables are located in the parking lot, but it is recommended to eat prior to or after arrival. Biosphere 2 is pretty far off the beaten path. Expect to drive minutes to dine.
Our top restaurant picks within a 15 -mile radius are:. All ages are welcome, but the nature of the facility really lends itself best to an older child and adult audience. We recommend ages 8 and up. Biosphere 2 strives to make its' tours, exhibits, and programs accessible to everyone. While much of the Biosphere 2 campus is stroller accessible, certain areas of the property are not accessible due the steep terrain and the presence of stairs.
The majority of the biomes including the desert, savanna, ocean, and rain forest are all accessible by stroller. Not at this time. Biosphere 2 offers programs to university students, but they have suspended all K programming until further notice.
Pets are not allowed inside Biosphere 2 or on the grounds. The guided tour lasts about one hour and travels through three habitats contained in the 7.
Starting at the highest elevation, we entered the rain-forest habitat where the humidity is high, the lights dim, and the temperatures cool.
Bamboo, banana trees, and other tropical vegetation thrive thanks to its weekly precipitation levels. Biosphere Rainforest. To enter the ocean and savanna habitat, we passed through a doorway in a thick plexiglass wall. Even though the humidity in this space is significant, it is lower than in the rain-forest habitat, and the light is brighter and the temperature warmer.
We meandered along a wooden deck situated at the edge of a cliff, which skirts the man-made ocean below, where six-inch waves are generated every twenty seconds. Separated by only a thick-ply plastic curtain, we descend into the coastal desert habitat, the lowest and most arid room, designed to imitate the Mexican Baja. From to , there were two Biosphere 2 missions involving a group of scientists assigned to live completely sealed off from the outside world except for communication.
In the first mission, the team lived for two years inside the bio-dome.
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