Biosphere2 - Citizen PhotoArizona’s much maligned, highly controversial Biosphere 2 is on it’s way to becoming a world-class ecological research facility, according to an article in the Tucson Daily Citizen newspaper. The University of Arizona announced today it would take control of the facility July 1st, and promises to have world-class researchers on site by year’s end.

The university has formed B2 Earthscience to operate a think tank, and conduct ecological research at the property, 35 miles north of Tucson near Oracle. The main thrust is expected to be a study of Earth’s ecological processes and global climate change, claiming the research will be relevant into the next century.

The property was developed in 1984 by billionaire Edward P Bass at a cost of $200 million, and enjoyed a not-so favorable reputation. The biosphere was originally designed as a for-profit venture, to help researchers determine ways to explore and settle other planets, and as a tourist attraction. In both cases, the facility failed to live up to its investor’s expectations.

In 1991, four men and four women entered the 2.5-acre, sealed terrarium for a two-year experiment, complete with plants, animals and insects. It also contains climatic regions meant to mimic that of Earth, including a rain forest, an ocean and a desert. Their experiment reportedly fell short of expectations nearly two years later when oxygen was pumped into the biosphere. Crewmembers were said to be fatigued, and had difficulty sleeping because the environment wasn’t supplying enough oxygen. They ended their stay shortly afterward.

To make a really long story short, a second crew entered the facility in 1994 when seven people, five men and two women, tried living in the biosphere to conduct ecological experiments over a period of 120 days to one year. That lasted less than a month when someone sabotaged the biosphere by opening doors and breaking the atmospheric seal.

In 1996, Columbia University began management of Biosphere 2, conducting research until 2003, when they vacated the property. Since then the facility has remained a tourist attraction to this day. The U of A will continue to court tourists

On June 5th of this year, a Texas home builder purchased Biosphere 2 and 1,700 surrounding acres for development of a 1,550 home development with a 200-room resort. Construction isn’t expected to begin for another two years.

The U of A will lease the terrarium and some neighboring buildings for from the developer for $100 annually. According to UA President Robert N Shelton, the university has $30 million set aside to launch management of the biosphere and sustain annual operating costs for 10 years.

First project on the list, according to the university, will be a study of how water interacts with flora typical of deserts, grasslands and savannahs. Researchers hope to learn more on how water is lost, how the area will be affected years from now and what vegetation will survive.

UA officials are quick to say failure is no longer an option at Biosphere2. One spokesman said, “We’ll be chugging along with the Biosphere for decades.”