What was the result of the Bio-dome Experiment in Arizona?

Question

I remember hearing about it but I never found out what happened to people they put in there? were they alright? What else was locked up inside there with them? Animals and Insects?

Answer 1

The structure still exists, and I believe it was turned over to Cornell University after the initial experiment, which was called "Biosphere II" failed. It is a fact that ~90% of the Earth's oxygen supply is provided by plankton and algae in the sea, and the designers failed to realize this fact, and therefore failed to include enough open water with algae in the experiment, and so the O2 levels progressively dropped and they had to "import" Oxygen from the outside. Even this was not enough however and the experiment was aborted when one of the humans got too sick to continue. The criticism was that the whole thing was created by a bunch of non-scientists who thought it would be fun to try but they really didn't have a clue about real science, so that is why it was ultimately turned over to Cornell.

Answer 2

Oxygen levels went down too low and pure oxygen was pumped in from the outside. Many suspected the drop in oxygen was due to microbes in the soil. One problem critics of this theory have cited was that microbes breathing that much oxygen would also be creating a massive amount of carbon dioxide. Yet this jump in CO2 was undetected in the atmosphere readings. Further investigation revealed that the concrete at the base of the facility had been absorbing the carbon dioxide as it cured. This effect absorbed a large portion of the carbon dioxide being produced by the microbes which in turn had been depleting the facility's oxygen supply. Nevertheless, since oxygen and other supplies were provided, the project lost some credibility. The facility is still there and open for tours.

Answer 3

In my humble opinion, Biosphere 2 wasn't a failure. It cost a lot of money and taught us an important lesson; it isn't that easy to make an artificial biosphere. Most of science, like police work, doesn't consist of brilliant discoveries. It is dull, boring plodding, eliminating the impossible, so, whatever is left must be the truth. Biosphere 2 was very complicated, but not complicated enough. It contained animals, insects, umpteen different species of bacteria and plants, but still it couldn't handle things for more than a few weeks, and even then you were restricted in what you could do, compared with Biosphere 1; Earth. No bonfires, an almost vegetarian diet, no cars, etc. Sooner or later, we'll need to build a Biosphere 2 that works, if we're ever going to explore space properly.

Answer 4

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RE:
What was the result of the Bio-dome Experiment in Arizona?
I remember hearing about it but I never found out what happened to people they put in there? were they alright? What else was locked up inside there with them? Animals and Insects?

Answer 5

The BioSphere experiments could be improved, with enough interest, support and financing. But it would have to be MUCH larger than previous versions. In the end, it was an interesting effort, but practically speaking it was doomed. Mostly because the premise was flawed: you can't take an assortment of lifeforms that were adapted to the Earth and subject them to conditions similar enough in a limited environment and expect them to flourish long term. It would be useful technology if we ever made the attempt at launching a multi-generational star ship - which would face exactly this kind of problem.

Answer 6

Biodome Arizona

Answer 7

The people inside could not get along and they had to cut the experiment short. That's all it was. No oxygen shortage or anything else. Personalities, and politics.

Answer 8

On September 26, 1993, four men and four women walked out of the world's largest glass bubble, known as Biosphere II, into the Arizona desert and breathed a sigh of relief: Literally. They breathed deeply, smelling the fresh, rich, warm air, drawing it into their lungs.

http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/acsdisplay.html?DOC=vc2%5C2my%5Cmy2_biosphere.html

http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3297

Answer 9

the end result of the bio-dome was that pauly shore and his buddy got real high and partied out

Answer 10

You mean Biosphere II.
Failure.
They ended up with too much carbon dioxide and too little oxygen. They had too many animals, too much soil bacteria, and too much outgassing from their gear. The air became toxic and the people got sick. They had to let oxygen in, and get chemical scrubbers to remove the carbon dioxide.