Biosphere 2

Biosphere 2 is a large-scale earth science facility near Tucson, Arizona, that encompasses about 3 acres of land and houses five synthetic ecosystems encased in a glass and metal shell. These communities have been in place for nearly 30 years and include a tropical rain forest, coastal fog desert, sub-tropical savanna, mangrove, ocean and its newest addition the Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO).  LEO consists of three artificial landscapes, each with 500 metric tons of crushed volcanic rock and nearly 2,000 sensors and samplers. Sealed off from the outside world, Biosphere 2 allows scientists to exert precise climate and mass balance control at large scales in these systems.