Experience the Biosphere 2

This article written from an YouTube conversation of “good stuff” with John Adam. Here i presents there conversation as much as in datails.

““Since the dawn of mankind, we have had a complex relationship with nature.

We are obviously a part of it, but we often consider ourselves disconnected from or even working against nature.

Through the control of fire, the advent of agriculture, and the growth of our civilization, we have shaped Earth’s environment to suit our needs.

We try to control it. We try to protect it. We count on it. And we try to understand it. But can we recreate it.

Given what we know about the planet and what we need to survive, could we replicate Earth’s ecosystems?

Well, in the late 1980s, a group of scientists tried to do just that.

Located in the middle of the 3.14-acre Arizona desert, this is a research facility designed to mimic Earth’s complex natural systems. Giant greenhouse building with a cool look known as Biosphere 2.

OK, but where is Biosphere 1?

That’s a great question. It is one of the frequently asked questions. So Biosphere 1 is Earth.

John Adams is the Deputy Director

in Biosphere 2, which is currently owned and operated by the University of Arizona.

Biosphere 2 was well thought out in the early ’80s with this idea that there was a lot of discussion about space travel, for long periods in space.

Confession was, how are you going to do it? In 1987, a private organization, Space Biosphere Ventures, headed by billionaire ecologist Ed Bass, who led and designed it, built Biosphere 2.

The project hopes to prove the viability of space colonization by recreating Earth’s ecosystems within an artificial habitat. Inevitably, you’ll have to take some of these biological processes we’re here on Earth in space and balance between what would be supported by the presence of a certain number of people for a long period of time.

No one has tested this extensively. And Space Biosphere Ventures will try that out.

They intended Biosphere 2 to be a completely enclosed, self-sustaining system, like Earth’s biosphere, where plants, animals, and humans can live indefinitely. In fact, it was the largest closed system ever built and one of the most ambitious and complex Earth science experiments ever conducted.

For the most part, they got it right. In September of 1991, eight people were isolated in Biosphere 2.

Known as Biospherians, they have been living inside the structure for a full two years.

All of their food, water, and amenities must be obtained from habitats within the biosphere.

They will not have direct contact with the outside world for the duration of their stay.

And almost immediately, things started to go wrong with Biosphere 2.

And one of the first things they start to notice, the oxygen is starting to go down and down and down.

About halfway through the first two years, it got so low that they had to add oxygen, because they were worried about the safety of the people inside.

This was a problem. The introduction of outside air defeated the closed system that Space Biosphere Ventures was trying to achieve.

This, along with the perception that management wasn’t there with their problems, led

The biosphere is losing credibility as quickly as it can lose oxygen.

They are under intense scrutiny from the media and the press. And as they say, the wheels fell off the wagon at that time. In addition to the loss of oxygen, Biosphere 2 had a number of other problems as well.

Including the death of megafauna and flora. Biosphere scientists have had a hard time raising enough to eat. To feed themselves they were constantly hungry.

This contributed to morale problems, which caused a schism in the group, splitting it into two factions. And these problems, along with the sudden resignation of the project’s scientific advisory board, seem to confirm the view that the biosphere was just for show and not “actual science.”

A second mission was attempted in March 1994. This second crew managed to fix some problems and was the first crew.

But because of the administrative”, “Arguments and disagreements among the crew culminate in the sabotage of two biosphere, the closed system, the mission ending after only six months.

Biosphere 2’s governing body has been dissolved at this point. Its original purpose is apparently void, and the fate of the project is uncertain. Geez. They seem to have failed dramatically. A lot of people like to say that because of that initial disagreement and loss of credibility, it was a failure. There is no failed experiment. And this is what it was and is. It is a large scale experience that you have never experienced before.

And the engineering is absolutely amazing. But what they learned, perhaps in my opinion, the single most important lesson, is really how little we understand about Earth’s systems.

Biosphere 2

It is designed to contain five biomes or habitats – rainforest, ocean, savanna, wet mangrove forest, misty desert and agricultural area and living quarters. Although people no longer live in the biosphere, the ecosystems have been thriving and growing for more than 20 years now. We are going through what we call the lowland rainforest. The rainforest is a wonderful area.

I mean, if you can believe it, we’re standing in southern Arizona, but look where we stand. It is a nice.

So all of this growth that you’re seeing over the last 23 years, that system is growing and taking root. Looks like you ran out of room. Trees are reaching the roof now. They are.

And one of the things that we have to do periodically, is cut down the upper canopy trees. Now, I think the most important thing for people to remember is that you can never fully recreate the Earth.

This is impossible. There are a lot of complicated things. really?

But what you have now is what you’ve had plants growing for about 23 years. You have a confined soil column, isolated from the outside world.

So at the bottom, all of the biosphere is a big stainless steel liner. So there is no exchange or interaction with the desert soil outside.

So all of this is developing and is able to grow within this system with very little influence from the outside. yes. It’s warmer.

So you can feel the almost instant moisture change. yes. Oh yeah, the blurry camera lens. So every rainforest has it, that we have a waterfall and a pond and we’ll go down, we’ll see our current.

So this is our environment. We go swimming?

Are you ready to go diving?

The tank itself is about a million gallons. By the time you put in the rock, sand, and everything else, the volume of water is just under 700,000 gallons. wonderful.

Smells like the beach. We’re on the beach.

It’s beautiful here. What a great change from sweating in the rainforest, in the humidity into something wonderful. This looks like a beautiful day – perfect. It’s nice and cool, not too hot, on the beach.

In order to achieve these environmental conditions, there is a set of mechanical equipment located below us in a vault-like space that we call the technical field.

The biosphere itself, the footprint is just over three acres. And you have about two acres in that technical area, where we have these large units here. These are our working horses.

These are air handlers. So they circulate the air as well as condition it. At the top, we can see all kinds of pipes running. So they will move water from one place to another.

Electric lines, pumps, motors – but it takes all of this to recreate that Earth every day for us.

In addition to airflow control, there is another big problem

That “,” the first research institution to manage and examine the biosphere, to kick the tires and see what can be used ecologically. Increased acidity of the biosphere environment 2 has adverse effects on coral reef growth. This does not bode well for Earth’s oceans if this happens to them, as coral reefs provide a home to a quarter of all marine species on the planet. At the moment, the University of Arizona is preparing”, “Important. So what do you guys think?

Earth is a giant puzzle. Will we unlock all of its secrets with experiences like Biosphere 2, or will it be out of our reach forever? Let us know in the comments.””