The Decision and the Diversion - Biosphere 2

Entering the Biosphere2 grounds in Oracle, Arizona

After weighing the pros and cons, figuring out the costs of each alternative and vacillating back and forth, we finally said ‘Screw it! We’re on a road trip and we’ll continue on!’ So… decision made, on to the diversion(s). First on the agenda, Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona.

Our first views of Biosphere2

David provided an overview of Biosphere2 in his last Blue View, but actually visiting and touring the facility was absolutely fascinating. We were a bit leery of a ‘tour’, but the website indicated that maximum group size was 6 and most of the tour would be outside, so we decided to go ahead. We purchased our tickets online and were prompted to download a Biosphere2 app which provided a podcast to which we listened while driving to Oracle. The podcast provided not only background on ‘the experiment’, but an interview with two of the eight who had actually spent two years (and twenty minutes) inside the biosphere.

The Biosphere2 app was excellent with an interesting background podcast before we visited and then a detailed audio guide throughout our tour.

Once we arrived, we found that the tour was self-guided using another aspect of the app for descriptions of each stop along a carefully defined route. We were rarely in close proximity with any other visitors or staff, and in fact, we rarely saw any other people. That suited us just fine.

We rarely met or even saw other people on our well-defined self-guided tour.

The facility is enormous… 3.14 acres in just the biosphere alone surrounded by desertscape as far as the eye could see. We toured the outside first, wandering the grounds at our own pace, getting an overview of the facility and its systems. We checked out the ‘Lungs’, essentially a huge bellows which kept the biosphere’s air pressure constant. The Energy Center seemed an anomaly since power was supplied by fossil-fueled generators outside the biosphere. Presumably in a space colony, geothermal and solar power would be relied upon.

The desert was only one of the biomes replicated inside the Biosphere2.

The most interesting part of the tour, however, was actually entering the biosphere. It has not been inhabited since the 1990s, but the different biomes remain… desert, tropical rain forest, savanna, ocean and even mangroves. Bananas grow in the hot, humid rain forest. Coffee trees and fruit trees bear fruit in the orchard. Cacti grow in the desert.

Waterfalls splash down and tropical plants thrive in the hot, humid atmosphere of the Tropical Rain Forest biome. They can even make it rain!

The ocean biome contains a coral reef which has unfortunately died… much like what’s happening to Australia’s Great Coral Reef.

Sadly, a once-thriving, now dead coral reef is still visible in the ocean. Tree branches poke out of the biosphere’s upper outer shell, no longer contained within a closed system. Experimentation and research continues under the auspices of the University of Arizona. How does increased temperature affect the Earth? What happens to the Earth when carbon dioxide levels increase?

Checking out the communal kitchen in Biosphere2.

We had limited access to the actual living quarters. We walked through the kitchen area only, where former inhabitants took turns cooking for their fellow biospherians, cooking with ingredients grown by the group.

We finished up our tour, but not our conversations. We continue to talk about our experience, about the Biosphere2 experiment, about the ramifications of our actions as humans, about the future of our planet. Whether the experiment is considered a success or a failure, more than just entertainment, our visit provided serious food for thought… and took our minds off Blue for a change.

Now that the decision to continue has been made, we’re figuring out our next move along our No Destination route… one day at a time.