WEEK 3: BIOSPHERE 2 TRIP

 Biosphere 2 researchers  (1991)

       On Saturday, I had the opportunity to visit Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona with the STEM program. Biosphere 2 is a system composed of artificial and manipulated ecosystems, the purpose of Biosphere 2 was to alter the conditions of artificial ecosystems to obtain viable information about Earth and its systems. Biosphere 2 began as a closed experiment in 1991 and again in 1993. It consists of five biome areas: a rainforest, an ocean with coral reef, mangrove wetlands, a fog desert, and a savannah grassland. Before attending Biosphere 2, I watched a few short informational videos about the experiments and the biosphere itself. During the first experiment (1991), it was reported that oxygen began depleting causing animals and plants to die off. I asked our guide about this and she said that animals and plants did not die off but that there was a low oxygen levels near the end of the experiment, I’ll have to look into that more.  One thing I was really excited for was seeing the lung! The engineering is completely unfathomable. It weighs 20 tons and is held up by atmospheric pressure. I really wanted to see it function but unfortunately, we were not able. Regardless, I enjoyed visiting Biosphere 2; it was a great experience!