After failing as an experiment in self-sufficient living, a 3-acre glass complex containing replicas of a savannah, marsh and rain forest will be used as a scientific laboratory and tourist attraction.
Under an agreement announced Monday, Columbia University is taking over management of Biosphere 2, criticized by scientists when eight people tried to live there in self-supporting isolation for two years.Columbia will make Biosphere available to scientists to study such environmental issues as global climate change, biodiversity and sustainable agriculture, said Michael Crow, the university's vice provost.
"It means Biosphere 2 is going to evolve into the major scientific and educational center it was always intended to be," said Stephen Bannon, Biosphere's acting chief executive officer.
Plans also call for more hands-on exhibits for tourists and students, and for placing college and graduate students at the site - perhaps 100 by next summer. The university doesn't plan any long live-in missions, said university President George Rupp.
Edward P. Bass, the Texas billionaire who bankrolled the project and then wrested control from the group that built it, will continue to provide the bulk of the funding.
Exact terms weren't disclosed, but officials said Biosphere's budget will be $15 million to $17 million a year.
The sealed complex located in the desert 30 miles north of Tucson contains replicas of an ocean, savannah, rain forest and marsh, and a working farm, allowing scientists to study Earth's processes under controlled conditions.