Day 3
Catalina State Park Tucson, Arizona
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE!!
We began our day with a nice bike ride in the state park. After breakfast, we went to Biosphere 2. The earth has a geosphere which is the hard surface of our planet. There is a hydrosphere which is the water. There is an atmosphere which is our weather and the air surrounding the earth. Lastly, there is the biosphere…all of the living things on the planet. Biosphere 2 is an elaborate research facility affiliated with the University of Arizona.
The original mission of this facility was to create a simulation of the earth that would be closed, sealed and self-containing. In the early 90’s, in this environment, 8 people lived for 2 years and then a second crew for 7 months. The enclosure supplied its own oxygen, recycled its own water, and the crew was responsible for cultivating their own crops to feed themselves.
The buildings have been used to recreate some of earth’s biomes. There is an ocean, a rainforest, a desert, a marsh and a savanna biome. All of the biomes work together to provide oxygen, light, water, and other things necessary for life. This is an incredibly complex experimental arena. The different biomes can be sealed off from one another and the temperature, humidity, and even rainfall can be controlled.
As you can imagine…it is difficult to replicate the earth in a controlled setting!
Research was conducted here on the effects of increased carbon dioxide on the ocean. The scientists were able to accurately predict that as acidity levels rose in the sea water, the shellfish and coral would have a harder time absorbing calcium carbonate from the water. As a consequence, coral grows much slower.
There is also a lot of work here being done regarding aquaponics. This system uses koi. The koi are fed and their waste and the water is cycled through a bed of lava rock. The nutrients from the fish waste, feed the plants and the plants and rocks filter the water. The plants wrap their roots around the rock and take hold. Fruits and vegetables are produced. In other systems, sustainable, edible fishes are used. This system uses far less water than traditional farming. When you water an open field all the water showered on the crops is lost. In this closed system, 90% of the water is retained for re-use. The fruits and vegetables that are produced are nutritionally comparable to food grown in soil…but because no soil is used…the vegetables do not taste quite the same.
Other research is being conducted about the use of solar panels to shelter crops. The solar panels improve the efficiency of the growing food. They also allow for the water that would evaporate, to be conserved and to provide moisture for the seedlings. The solar panels also become more effective at harvesting energy because the plants emit a cooling effect. The idea is that if this could be used in large agricultural areas, laborers working in the fields could also be sheltered by the panels from the blistering Arizona sun.
The research possibilities are endless. The idea though is that the scientists continue to work to find ways to make the earth’s resources more sustainable.
To make all of this work requires an extensive underground system of controls. The large white barrels are called clouds. They house the water to make the project work.
The most amazing thing was “The Lung.” When the original facility was built, engineers realized that because the system was closed, the heat from the Arizona sun would expand inside. If there was not a method for dealing with this expanding air, the whole place could explode. Similarly, on a cold desert night, the air would contract. All of this air flow had to have a place to go. This giant metal diaphragm was constructed. The rubber ring around the metal plate allows the dome to raise to accommodate high pressure or warm air, and to contract again as the air gets cooler…so amazing!
This is Project LEO. Each of the three enclosures is comprised of basalt hillsides. The research is to determine how water flows through a slope and how rock is broken down to make soil.
A wood scorpion. Tiny…only an inch or so long…and poisonous…enough to sting and hurt!
There were other environmental message as well.
And…some cool mineral samples.
There is so much more to see at this amazing place. If you are in Tucson and you like science stuff…go!
This evening we went to Lee and Claudia’s for a sockeye salmon dinner. Lee and Claudia caught the fish while spending this summer in Alaska. We spent the evening feasting and sharing travel stories.