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Biosphere 2, 1991.

FOREWORD TO SECOND EDITION by Sylvia A. Earle

“YES!” WAS MY IMMEDIATE RESPONSE to the invitation to be present and speak at the opening of Biosphere 2 after eight intrepid explorers had lived and worked within the confines of their glass-enclosed microcosm for two full years, September 26, 1991-September 26, 1993. Like many others, I had followed with fascinated interest what seemed to be an Arthur C. Clarke-like futuristic fantasy, but in fact involved real people living an otherworldly experience in real time. As a witness, as a scientist, and as one who had been part of a space simulation project more than twenty years earlier, I was intrigued and sometimes incredulous as the audacity of the Biosphere 2 vision became a successful reality. The Biosphere 2 team quickly demonstrated that one doesn’t have to travel far to discover extraordinary new horizons.

Like Abigail (Gaie) Alling, co-author of this book, I am a marine biologist who literally becomes immersed in my research. I could not resist the opportunity in 1970 to live underwater for two weeks, leading a team of five women scientists and engineers during the NASA-US Navy-Smithsonian Institution-US Department of the Interior-sponsored Tektite II Project. Like the biospherians, those of us who lived as aquanauts isolated from direct contact with people on the outside were subjected to intense scrutiny by physicians, psychologists, and the public who were hoping to learn from the behavior of the ten teams who participated in the project, insights applicable to living in space and potentially, on the moon or other planets.

And, like the biospherians, we were keenly aware of the limits of our life support systems, from food and freshwater supply, to temperature, pressure, and especially the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air. But unlike them, we did not face the challenge of spending two years essentially self-contained, relying on living systems that had to be assiduously cared for to produce food and oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide, recycle wastes and otherwise provide for aesthetic and psychologically pleasing surroundings.

What I find most remarkable is that the Biosphere 2 system worked as well and lasted as long as it did before an outside source of supplemental oxygen was required. After all, it took four and a half billion years to develop Biosphere 1, Earth, as we know it: a living planet that is home to millions of species that together, maintain sufficiently stable chemistry and temperature to persist as a place habitable for life in an otherwise extremely hostile universe.

Most surprising, Biosphere 2 worked despite a distinctly terrestrial bias, while Earth is literally a “water planet.” All life requires water and ninety-seven percent of Earth’s water is ocean. It is also where about ninety-seven percent of life exists and where most of the oxygen in the atmosphere is generated, mostly by photosynthetic plankton. The essential role of microbial life in shaping the chemistry of individual organisms, of ecosystems, and ultimately of the entire planet has only recently begun to come into focus. The ocean hosts a bountiful microbial minestrone of bacteria, Archaea, and viruses that underpin the rest of life as we know it. Climate, weather, temperature, and planetary chemistry are largely governed by the living sea.

Though small in size, and relatively limited in diversity compared to natural coral reef systems, Biosphere 2’s ocean appeared to be in good health when I was privileged to dive into it, accompanying Gaie on a tour the day that the team emerged. I was delighted to see not only healthy, living corals but also a number of young coral colonies, evidence that spawning, settling, and growth had taken place in their cocooned world. A common species of brown algae, Dictyota, was abundant, and Gaie said she had to periodically “weed” the reef to prevent damaging overgrowth of the corals. It was exciting to discover a relatively rare kind of green algae thriving amid various other algal species, invertebrates, and fish. I also noted when I slipped underwater, that a number of confused cockroaches swam out of the crevices of my borrowed equipment. Conscientiously, I rescued and returned them to the shore. Although uninvited residents, they and a kind of ant clearly had made places for themselves within the Biosphere’s ecosystem.

Just as remarkable as the success attained by the biospherians at self-sufficiency in a limited space with a limited ocean and limited sources of sustenance, was their ability to maintain a civil, often congenial working relationship. It is a testament to the creativity, discipline, dedication, intelligence, and overall good nature of the participants that they successfully managed to not only survive but physically and mentally thrive during their confined co-existence. Though bonded by common purpose, shipmates at sea typically adhere to a certain mutually respected discipline in order to maintain harmony. Similarly bonded by common purpose, occupants of Biosphere 2’s mini-world society had to cope with normal human differences, preferences, habits, capabilities, quirks, and “personalities” of the others. This was not a television program where individuals could get voted “off the island!”

As described in this thoughtful volume, the knowledge gained from the two-year Biosphere 2 odyssey has already inspired actions on many fronts, far beyond what may have been the original goals. Since the eight explorers completed their epic journeys within a confined space, interest has steadily grown in having humans as active participants in the exploration of the realms beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The pioneering experiences recorded here serve as a vital baseline of evidence of what could be replicated in places currently unimagined. But far and away, the most important impact of Biosphere 2 may be the enhanced respect gained for the miraculous existence of Biosphere 1.

In closing, Bravo: Gaie Alling, Mark Nelson, and Sally Silverstone for sharing your knowledge and wisdom in this book, and for your continuing explorations, education, and sense of caring. Your legacy is real, your message clear: we must explore and care for this ocean-blessed planet as if our lives depend on it, because they do. A special salute, too, to the spirit of Biosphere 2 for inspiring the formation of the Biosphere Foundation as a means of fostering love and respect for the Earth among people globally.

– Sylvia A. Earle, oceanographer, author, Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society