1. Photo Courtesy Biosphere 2 Center

2. Quick Overview of Biosphere 2
Rain Forest
Ocean Savannah Marsh
Desert
Agriculture,
Research
Residential
“Lungs”
A 3.15 acre greenhouse - model of our Biosphere
~2,000 species of plants & animals
5 separate biome types
Agricultural area/space for residents
Designed as a “closed” system - model for space travel
Now - research & education for Columbia Univ.

3. What is a Biosphere?
Photo Courtesy Biosphere 2000, by Kaufman & Franz

4. Photo courtesy Carolina Biological

5. Overview of Project
Image Courtesy Biosphere 2 Center

6. Rain Forest

7. Ocean, Marsh, Savanna

8. Desert
Photo courtesy Biosphere 2 Center

9. Agricultural Areas
Photo Courtesy Biosphere 2 Center

10. Now Used For Research

11. Human Habitat Apartment space for 8 people Kitchen and common area
Library & computer facility
Image courtesy Biosphere 2 Center

12. “Lungs”

13. Inside the West Lung
Photo Courtesy Biosphere 2 Center

14. “Technosphere” Water filtration Reverse Osmosis Sprinkler system
Electricity for computers, sensors machinery, etc.
Not really a closed system (energy inputs from the sun and AZ Electric Power Corp.)

15. Brief History Mid 1980’s – Land Purchased by Space Biosphere Ventures
1989 – Test module constructed and inhabited for 21 days.
Biosphere 2 built at a cost of $150 million
Many questions to consider (such as?)
Photo courtesy Biosphere 2 Center

16. Brief History, continued
Sept Sept – year sealed study
Mar.-Sept month sealed study
Low Oxygen Levels – Oxygen was added
1 person was medically evacuated for 1 day
No one has inhabited it permanently since 1994

17. Brief History
1996 – “Bio-Dome” starring Pauly Shore is released in theaters.
Jan 1, 1996 Columbia University takes over the management of the Biosphere 2 Center
Photo Courtesy MGM/UA and Amazon.com

18. Climate Change Research
Cottonwood Plants that are Clones of Each Other
Held at 400 ppm, 800 ppm and 1200 ppm CO2
Examine photosynthesis rates to determine whether plants can take up additional CO2

19. Impact of Climate Change on Coral Reef Systems
Uptake of CO2 by coral decreases by 40% under elevated concentrations of carbonates

20. Similar Studies in Other Ecosystem Types
Rainforest
Desert
Other habitats difficult to isolate
Computer simulation modeling
Image courtesy Biosphere 2 Center

21. Problems Ants (Paratrechina longicornis) have become abundant.
Quarantine Issues
Costs a lot to operate.
One of a kind.

22. How Should This Facility be Used?
Model for Space Travel
Climate Change Research
Undergraduate & Graduate Education
Public Outreach and Education
Other Uses?

23. Advantages/Disadvantages as a Research Facility

24. Advantages Disadvantages
Conducted at a large scale (more realistic)
Controlled conditions (can manipulate CO2 to exact concentrations)
Possible to run several replicates at one time
Possible to repeat experiments over time
Not a precise model of native ecosystems
Expensive to build and operate
One of a kind (not perfectly applicable to a particular system)
Others?

25. How is New Scientific Knowledge Obtained?

26. Scientific Method Observation Hypothesis (must be testable)
Experiment (ideally has a control group and is replicated)
Analyze Results (rely on prior research)
Conclusion

27. How Well Does Biosphere 2 Achieve This?

28. The End
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