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Why Are Scientists Building an "Ocean" in the Middle of a Desert?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140718-biosphere-gulf-california-environment-ocean-science/
Why Are Scientists Building an "Ocean" in the Middle of a Desert?
They hope the scaled-down version of the Gulf of California will open doors to exciting new science and outreach opportunities.
By Jane J. Lee
National Geographic
Published July 18, 2014
If you build it, scientists and the public will come. That's the hope researchers are holding on to as they work to revive a defunct artificial ocean in the middle of the Arizona desert.
The ocean belongs to Biosphere 2, the glass-walled structure near Tucson, Arizona, made famous by human experiments in the 1990s. Eight people sealed themselves inside the facility designed as a self-sustaining version of Earth. The two-year mission was supposed to approximate how people would have to live and work on a space colony. (Related: "1994: People Migrate to Biosphere 2."
Biosphere 2's original 676,000-gallon (2,555,894-liter) ocean was designed as a coral reef reminiscent of the Caribbean. But over the years, most of the coral died and a series of Biosphere 2 owners have considered draining the miniature sea entirely. Then the University of Arizona in Tucson took over the site in 2007, the latest in a line of efforts aimed at reviving the facility. After years of watching the ocean lie dormant, marine biologist Rafe Sagarin decided to turn it into a research and education tool.
<snip>
The educational and public outreach opportunities have already started being realized. A new "ocean gallery" allows visitors a peek inside Biosphere 2's marine realm via viewing windows, and exhibits present the ecology and history of the Gulf of California.
<snip>
Why Are Scientists Building an "Ocean" in the Middle of a Desert?
They hope the scaled-down version of the Gulf of California will open doors to exciting new science and outreach opportunities.
By Jane J. Lee
National Geographic
Published July 18, 2014
If you build it, scientists and the public will come. That's the hope researchers are holding on to as they work to revive a defunct artificial ocean in the middle of the Arizona desert.
The ocean belongs to Biosphere 2, the glass-walled structure near Tucson, Arizona, made famous by human experiments in the 1990s. Eight people sealed themselves inside the facility designed as a self-sustaining version of Earth. The two-year mission was supposed to approximate how people would have to live and work on a space colony. (Related: "1994: People Migrate to Biosphere 2."
Biosphere 2's original 676,000-gallon (2,555,894-liter) ocean was designed as a coral reef reminiscent of the Caribbean. But over the years, most of the coral died and a series of Biosphere 2 owners have considered draining the miniature sea entirely. Then the University of Arizona in Tucson took over the site in 2007, the latest in a line of efforts aimed at reviving the facility. After years of watching the ocean lie dormant, marine biologist Rafe Sagarin decided to turn it into a research and education tool.
<snip>
The educational and public outreach opportunities have already started being realized. A new "ocean gallery" allows visitors a peek inside Biosphere 2's marine realm via viewing windows, and exhibits present the ecology and history of the Gulf of California.
<snip>
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