TUCSON, Ariz. — As our planet continues to warm, scientists are finding new ways to better understand climate change's potential impacts. It's all happening right here in State 48.
Meteorologist Lauren Rainson takes us to the world's largest earth science experiment dedicated to understanding the future of our planet.
We only get one Earth, but when you step inside, you walk into something out of this world – a second Mother Earth called Biosphere 2.
"The reason it's called Biosphere 2 is because Biosphere 1 is planet Earth, right? The real world," University of Arizona Professor Joellen Russell explained. "This is the center for climate and sustainability for the University of Arizona...Our lab!"
It's a lab you won't see anywhere else.
"We're working on desert ecosystems and how to adapt, you know, what might work, what kinds of invasive species might grow, what ways can we manage our Biosphere 1 better with the experience we get out of Biosphere 2," Russell added.
On Biosphere 2, you'll see the only ocean in the entire state of Arizona. Different ocean scenarios are tested to better understand the future.
Russell tells 12News that scientists are studying several different aspects of the world's environments.
From the ocean to the tropical rainforest and desert landscapes, there is a lot to discover. For scientists, this is a vital link between the laboratory and the real world – a.k.a Biosphere 1.
"What they are doing is experiments, not in a little closet or a beaker, but in a whole ecosystem," Russell said.
The University of Arizona has provided detailed information below about Biosphere 2's different ecosystems and experiments:
The World’s Largest Experimental Ocean system—Biosphere 2 Ocean (B2O)
If Earth’s oceans continue to warm an additional 2.0 C°, as forecasted, some 99 percent of present corals will be wiped out in 30 years. The ocean research at Biosphere 2 is essential to developing solutions for these critical coral reef ecosystems to adapt to this changing state, and to investigate key processes and novel solutions for restoring resilient coral reefs from their increasingly degraded state across Earth’s oceans in order to maintain critical reef structure, function, and diversity in the face of continuing human-forced climate change. The controlled environment of the B2O is a unique test bed for novel, even radical, techniques of reef restoration, selective breeding, and assisted evolution, that are too difficult or risky to test in the wild. The one-million-gallon tank for the Ocean at Biosphere 2 is the world’s largest controlled marine research tank. Recent B2O engineering upgrades and novel experiments, along with partnerships with over 70 scientists from 50 institutions across six countries, have prepared the B2O to tackle key challenges in coral reef science; additional upgrades will result in a state-of-the-art mesocosm to answer even bolder questions.
Biosphere 2 Tropical Rain Forest (B2 TRF)
Biosphere 2's 30-year-old rain forest is nearly 1.3 million cubic feet of tropical habitat supporting a complex patchwork of nearly 98 species and canopy structures, making the B2 rain forest a key research tool for determining the feedbacks of tropical forest ecosystems and the atmosphere under climate change. Approximately 50 B2TRF research partners (in addition to Biosphere 2 team members, representing 20 research groups and 3 institutions including three domestic universities and ten international institutions from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Scotland) are collaborating to tackle big ideas in rain forest science. One example of unique B2TRF research is whole-ecosystem stable isotope probing to track the fate of carbon and water in response to manipulations of drought, temperature, and carbon dioxide concentration. This collaborative project provides a new opportunity to holistically evaluate and model mechanisms and interactions driving ecosystem-scale responses to environmental stressors.
Biosphere 2 Landscape Evolution Observatory (B2 LEO)
The Landscape Evolution Observatory at Biosphere 2 is designed to understand how changes in the landscape impact the quantity and quality of water in the aquifer – especially in semi-arid environments. The LEO hillslopes are the world’s largest weighing lysimeters in a climate-controlled environment. The coupled, high-density above- and below-ground sensor array enables water, element and energy budgets to be closed from pedon to hillslope scale during studies. This capability facilitates resolving the tight coupling between the time water spends along hillslope-scale subsurface flow paths and the biogeochemical weathering reactions that lead to shifts in pore-scale structure during early-stage soil formation when transformation rates are highest. The B2LEO facility contains three replicated 1-m x 30-m x 11-m “macrocosms” generating data on flow path dynamics, geochemical changes, and the effects of biota-porous medium interactions on resource cycling and soil formation at the hillslope scale.
Food Security in Arid Lands
In the Desert area inside B2 we are building new climate-resilient food systems based on the structure, composition and ecological processes of desert food plants. While the resulting desert vegetation assemblages will not look like conventional agriculture to most observers, that is just the point; agroforestry systems that use “nature as a model” may be more resilient and productive on a decadal scale than conventional farming in a water-scarce world.
At Biosphere 2 we are also investigating agrivoltaics, the introduction of crop vegetation into the typical solar power plant installation in desert drylands. This novel approach leads to increased renewable energy production, increased food production, and reduced water use. Larger solar installations create a heat island effect which also reduces photovoltaic efficiency - as panel temperatures increase electricity production decreases. Water given off by the crops under the panels helps to cool them increasing the overall efficiency of the system. The shade from panels creates a more favorable growing environment for the plants leading to a significant increase in both crop productivity and water-use efficiency.
Study of Analog Missions for the Moon and Mars (SAM):
For more than five decades, experiments in closed ecosystems have been conducted to various degrees and scales by governments, universities, and private organizations, including the original Biosphere 2 mission in the 1990s. The intent of these studies was to learn the minimum complexity required to sustain human life for long-duration, off-world missions. SAM is being built to understand, given modern technologies and scientific knowledge: 1. The transition from physicochemical (mechanical) to bioregenerative (plant-based) environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS), and the continuously shifting balance of these two as humans enter and exit, and crops are planted, consumed, and harvested. 2. The transformation of simulated regolith (crushed basalt) to fertile soil. and 3. A study of the evolution of the microbial community of a transitional, hermetically sealed space occupied by both humans and plants. Insights from SAM will foster improved quality of life on Earth and pave the way for sustained human exploration of our solar system.
What you watched in the story is only a fraction of everything that goes on at Biosphere 2. Anyone is welcome to visit and tour!
Touring Biosphere 2:
Biosphere 2 Experience, App Guided Audio Tour:
The Biosphere 2 Experience is a self-paced app guided tour that will lead you through the rich history and current research initiatives of this remarkable facility. The Biosphere 2 app can be downloaded prior to arrival in order to get the most out of your visit. The Biosphere 2 Experience will take place both indoors and outdoors. Visitors should be prepared for the following physical requirements:
- This is a 75-minute walking tour, where you explore Biosphere 2 using your own smartphone and headphones.
- This is an indoor AND outdoor tour
- Approximately 100 stairs, both up and down
- 1-mile route to walk
- Varying weather conditions (Biosphere 2 Biomes are maintained as tropical environments; temperature and humidity inside the facility can reach the high 90’s)
New Biosphere 2 K-12 app: The learning objectives for this app have been developed in alignment with the 2023 Arizona Science Standards. This innovative app serves as an accessible guide for students and teachers to explore Biosphere 2, the world's largest closed ecological system designed to support human life long-term. Biosphere 2—while Biosphere 1 is Earth—offers a unique opportunity for immersive education. Through engaging science stories, students and educators can delve into our cutting-edge research as they navigate the exterior, human habitat, and diverse interior wilderness areas (desert, thorn scrub, savanna, and rainforest) of Biosphere 2.
The K-12 app is free to download through:
More information on Biosphere 2 can be found on the facility's website.
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