Biosphere 2

Today we went to the Biosphere 2. Before our tour we looked around at a small museum about the Biosphere 2. Our first stop was the rain forest. It was awesome, hot and humid.

The next stop was the ocean biome. There was a coral reef in it that wasn’t doing that well. They are about to remake it similar to the sea of Cortez. It is using new advancement in ways to make coral more durable/sustainable.

Then we saw the hydroponics area. It was a irrigation system where koi fish poop was the fertilizer of plants, and that poop water flowed through lava rock that 4 levels of plants were in, and then the water was recycled back up to the top. This saved 90% of the water that was needed to grow the crops. Some different types of plants growing here were chili peppers, Swiss chard, strawberries, rosemary, tomatoes, corn and lemons. I would like to try this at home someday because not only does it save a lot of water, it would be kinda cool to have a koi pond.

Right next to it was the Mangrove Forest and then we saw the desert. There were different cactus in this desert biome then were just outside the building, so it was fun to see the different varieties.

Next we saw the technosphere which was all of the electronics and technology underneath all of Biosphere 2. All of the air that would expand and contract because of temperature changes went to the “lung” which we saw next. There were 2 lungs built with the worry that the building’s windows would break with the pressure, but this worked perfect. Only one was ever used.

The Biosphere 2 was a great way to learn about the world and the possibility of life on Mars or perhaps the moon. I really do think that could happen with what I saw today! To see the inside check out my Vlog.

(-WT)