Day 38–Biosphere 2–University of Arizona, Oracle, Arizona

After some discussion about the 150 stairs that are part of the tour of Biosphere 2,  I decided that I would take the chance and go on the tour. Ron and I had been wanting to see this for some time so off to another adventure.

Biosphere 2 is approx. 40 miles from the CG and although along major highways it is very scenic with views of mountains all around us. We arrived just in time for the 2 PM tour. 

To get to the beginning of  the tour we had to take  a ten minute walk through the complex. There were many apartments to house the University of Arizona students and lots of stairs even before arriving at the tour meeting place.

                               

                             

It is quite an amazing structure created  to better understand  how natural environments  generate conditions  appropriate for life.The goal is to research and study our ecosystem under controlled conditions, but at large scales.  Water, soil, air, sun, and  life all interact to transfer energy and  continually exchange nutrients and other materials. So a better understanding of these interactions along with other B2 scientific endeavors, will improve the quality of life for all inhabitants of  Earth –  Biosphere 1.

After watching a brief video we were off on our tour with Carlos.

Entering the Biosphere:

   

 

         

We walked through the Biosphere chambers and saw where they conducted many of the experiments.

We had to walk through a tunnel to get to one of the two “Lungs” in the facility.They are two white domes that are variable air-volume controlled devices. Our tour guide told us that the lungs actually prevent the Biosphere from exploding by controlling the air pressure.

                       

We walked through the Rainforest that houses over 90 different plant species, some more then 60 feet tall.

                                                    

           

The Biosphere 2 Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO) consists of three huge landscapes constructed inside an environmentally controlled greenhouse facility. LEO aims to address fundamental “grand challenges” in Earth systems science:

• How will Earth's landscapes change as climate changes?
• How do water, energy and carbon move through landscapes?
• How do biological systems (vegetation and microbes) modify landscapes?
• How will terrestrial water resources alter with climate change?

If interested the LINK below will give some great info on the Biosphere 2.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1318426/Biosphere-2

                                             

  

The tour was very informative and I handled the stairs pretty well.

We stopped at a local restaurant for dinner. They were offering German food so Ron partook of a German entrée and I had a burger.  Both were very good. To date, we have not had a bad meal anywhere we have eaten.

Back home we settled in for the evening. The plan is to stay at the campsite on Sunday and get some much needed organizing and cleaning done.