Biosphere 2 Podcast

We are joined by Dr. Joost Van Haren, the research director of the rainforest biome at Biosphere 2. Joost has been conducting research at Biosphere 2 since 1995, executing experiments in the rainforest related to rainforest ecosystem responses to climate change, including carbon cycling, water cycling, temperature limits, and the effects of drought. He is also an assistant research professor at the University of Arizona, where he teaches science courses and facilitates internships through the W.A. Franke Honors College.  In this episode, we talk about the amazing research that’s been done in the Biosphere 2 rainforest- past and present. We discuss Joosts fieldwork in Brazil and what makes Biosphere 2 complimentary to field observatories. We discuss the wonder of tropical trees and their unique responses to stress. This episode can get a bit technical, but stick with us. Whenever we got into technical points, I was sure to double back to explain terms and concepts further with Joost. Here is Joost Van Haren.  

Today we are joined by Dr. Forest Rhower, Dr. Breeann Kirby, and Dr. Ty Roach. Forest, Breeann, and Ty were all on site at Biosphere 2 as facilitators of the Desert Arks Meeting– a meeting where scientists and artists from institutions worldwide gather around a common experiment in coral reef ecology, known as the Coral Reef Arks project. An ark is a large geodesic structure submerged in the ocean that serves as a mesocosm for studying coral reef ecosystems. Imagine massive midwater structures colonized with luminescent corals, anemones, crabs and urchins, and circled by giant schools of fish. These are Coral Reef Arks. The Arks were conceived to address a global need for developing new technologies that will help mitigate widespread coral reef degradation. Two years ago, arks were deployed in Curacao, Puerto Rico, and San Diego. The Desert Arks Meeting served as a meeting place to check in on the progress of the Arks, to learn from failed hypothesis, and to iterate on design and technology of the Ark systems.  In this episode, we talk about the success of the Desert Arks conference and how artists play a valuable role in facilitating research. Further, we discuss the arks in-depth, debriefing some of the highlights of the Arks Meeting, and asking more questions about the best way to move the research forward.  About our guests:  Doctor Forest Rohwer is a microbial ecologist and Professor of Biology at San Diego State University. His particular interests include coral reef microbial ecology and viruses as both evolutionary agents and opportunistic pathogens in various environments. Being a marine microbial ecologist, Dr. Forest Rohwer sees a coral reef as a finely-tuned community in which the microbes and viruses are major players. Recognizing their importance, he pioneered the use of metagenomics as a means to characterize these previously inscrutable organisms and to investigate their role in coral reef health and disease.   Doctor Breeann Kyte Kirby is a research scientist turned creative writer. She works in both fields, facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations between artists, scientists, and thinkers. Dr. Kirby is a professor of creative writing and environmental studies at Point Loma Nazarene University. There she designed and heads the interdisciplinary humanities based environmental studies program. Her current books examine how to convey complex science accurately in engaging fiction. Doctor Ty Roach is a molecular biologist, freelance scientist, and a decorated competitive surfer and wrestler. Ty is a former Postdoctoral Researcher at Biosphere 2, where he split time between the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and living on site at Biosphere 2. He has done extensive research in the Biosphere 2 Ocean system, logging over 100 hours underwater. Today, Ty is making his way through academia as a freelance scientist with research focused on microbial and viral ecology, coral reef science, and theoretical biophysics. He is currently an Adjunct Research Professor at the Viral Information Institute at San Diego State University.  Ty, Forest, and Breeann are co-authoring a book on the positive roles of viruses and bacteria in human and ecological health that will be coming out this year.  

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Ty Roach. Ty is a molecular biologist, freelance scientist, and a decorated competitive surfer and wrestler. Ty is a former Postdoctoral Researcher at Biosphere 2, where he split time between the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and living on site at Biosphere 2. He has done extensive research in the Biosphere 2 Ocean system, logging over 100 hours underwater. Today, Ty is making his way through academia as a freelance scientist with research focused on microbial and viral ecology, coral reef science, and theoretical biophysics. He is currently an Adjunct Research Professor at the Viral Information Institute at San Diego State University. Additionally, he is co-authoring a book with Drs Forest Rohwer and Breeann Kirby on the positive roles of viruses and bacteria in human and ecological health that will be coming out next year. As a competitive surfer, Ty has won two National championships and four consecutive East Coast Longboard championships, along with numerous professional level surfing titles. As a Division 1 wrestler, Ty was named a two-time Academic All-Conference athlete, an Academic All-American, and was presented the North Carolina State Top Scholar Athlete Award four times.  In this episode, Ty shares his experience at Biosphere 2 and reflects upon his journey as a molecular biologist exploring the frontiers of viruses and bacteriophages in coral reef environments all over the world. We cover many topics, including: the Biosphere 2 Ocean, coral reef resilience, viruses, Ty’s unconventional career path, professional surfing, designing surfboards, biophysics, phage therapy, and coral reef restoration, among other topics. Without further ado, here is Dr. Ty Roach. Thank you for listening to the Biosphere 2 Podcast. I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Dr. Ty Roach. You can follow his surfing and science on social media @smokinroachjr This episode was co-produced by Keelin Joy Connely. As always thank you for listening to the Biosphere 2 podcast.  

Today we are joined by Bill Dempster. From 1985 to 1994, Bill Dempster served as the Director of Systems Engineering and chief engineer for Space Biospheres Ventures, the company responsible for designing and building Biosphere 2. As Systems Engineer, Bill was responsible for managing the integrity of Biosphere 2’s atmospheric seal. This role  included leading the design and development of the Biosphere 2 Lung and leading a crucial leak testing campaign required for sealing the structure. After his time at Biosphere 2, Bill went on to serve as the President of the Institute of Ecotechnics, a London-based international ecological development institute where he’s continued to engage in systems engineering projects around the world. In our conversation, Bill reminisces on the construction and design phase of Biosphere 2, shedding light on his team's engineering triumphs and challenges in constructing the world’s largest closed system experiment. Without further ado, here is Bill Dempster.  

In this episode we are joined by Kai Staats. Kai is a veteran developer, designer, filmmaker, and scientist. Kai is the Director of SAM, Space Analog for the Moon and Mars, here at Biosphere 2. SAM is a hi-fidelity, hermetically sealed Mars habitat analog with greenhouse, living quarters, airlock, pressure suits, and a half acre Mars yard. Since 2021 Kai and his team have been constructing SAM, and just last month, SAM hosted it’s first two sealed missions, Inclusion 1 and Inclusion 2.  Prior to SAM, Kai was co-founder and CEO of the world-renowned Yellow Dog Linux operating system for ten years. The YDL platform was used extensively in Department of Energy, NASA, and University research across a full spectrum of sciences. Kai also designed and developed iConji, an icon-based language for international communication. Further, he wrote the machine learning algorithm Karoo GP which has been used at LIGO for classification of glitches and supernovae. Kai was principal designer of the Mt. Meru Astronomical Observatory in Tanzania, the first of its kind in East Africa. At Arizona State University Kai led the development of SIMOC, a research-grade computer simulation and educational interface hosted by National Geographic that enables citizen scientists to explore the complexity of a human habitat on Mars. In this podcast, Kai takes us on his journey to build SAM. Breaking down the inspiration for SAM’s creation, and the research goals for SAM’s future.  

In this episode we are joined by microbial ecologist and climate scientist, Dr. Steve Allison. Dr. Allison is a Professor of Ecology in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of California Irvine. He holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and in 2013, Dr. Allison was named an Early Career Fellow of the Ecological Society of America.  His research addresses the resilience of microbial communities to drought and climate change in southern California ecosystems. His lab studies how microbes function in ecosystems by using both experiments and mathematical models to predict what might happen to microbes as the climate gets warmer and drier.   Steve talks about micro-biomes, climate change, and how his lab group studies microbial communities in a variety of field sites across California with a focus on climate and drought.    https://allisonlab.bio.uci.edu/

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Dan Killam. Dan is a post- doctoral researcher in the Coral Reef Laboratory here at Biosphere 2. Dan's central research focus is the study of giant clams. His research involves growing giant clams to understand how they embed signatures in their shells that relate to the activity of symbiotic algae in the clams bodies. Prior to Biosphere 2, Dan was a Zuckerman Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Haifa in Israel, where he studied the effects of climate change on bittersweet clams found on the Israeli coast. Dan completed his PhD in Paleobiology at UC Santa Cruz where he studied the ecological and physiological history of bivalves.   In this episode, Dan takes us deep into world of Giant Clam research-- revealing a wide array of fascinating facts about these overshadowed bivalves found within Coral Reefs. Further, Dan tells us why the Biosphere 2 Ocean is a great place to study clams, he explains his past research studying Clams in the Red Sea, and he guides us through the life history and symbiosis of Giant Clams.   https://dantheclamman.blog/

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Stuart Sandin. Stuart is the Oliver Chair in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. He is a professor in the Marine Biology Research Division, and he serves as director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation.  Sandin has coordinated multiple ship- and land-based expeditions to the remote islands of the central and south Pacific Ocean, with much work conducted in the Line Islands archipelago. He has been using this island gradient and others to study the individual and interacting roles that local human activities and oceanographic context play in the fisheries dynamics and general functioning of coral reef ecosystems. The work in the Pacific has led to the development of the 100 Island Challenge research campaign.   In this episode, Stuart and I discuss what Caribbean reefs used to look like and why they've changed.  Further, we explore how Stuarts Lab is using structure from motion technology to map out reefs systems over time. We broach the topics of self organization, resilience, evolutionary succession, and technology driven ecological research.   Learn more about this project at 100IslandChallenge.org. https://sandinlab.ucsd.edu/

Today we are joined by Dr. Vishnu Reddy. Dr. Reddy is an Associate Professor of Planetary Sciences at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona. Prior to serving as faculty, Vishnu was a research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson. He is a co-investigator of NASA's Near Earth Camera Mission to discover 90% of Near Earth Objects larger than 140M. In addition to his work with NASA, Vishnu is part of the space- situational awareness program at UArizona where he has developed a network of small optical sensors to characterize orbital debris and active resident space objects for the US Air Force Research Laboratory. Dr. Reddy’s research focuses on understanding the behavior of space  objects (both natural and artificial) using a range of Earth and space-based assets.   In this episode, Dr. Reddy shares his amazing and unorthodox journey of becoming a planetary scientist. We discuss in-depth the threats that near earth objects like asteroids and comets pose to our society, and revisit catastrophic and regional impact events from the past. Dr. Reddy discusses his current research and the changes in congressional support for asteroid research in more recent years. Vishnu's passion for planetary science and teaching is palpable, and I hope you enjoy this episode.

Jeff Orlowski is the director, producer, and cinematographer of the award-winning films Chasing Coral and Chasing Ice. Chasing Coral received the US Documentary Audience Award at Sundance in 2017. Chasing Ice received the Documentary Cinematography award at Sundance in 2012 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Both films were shortlisted for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, screened at Congress and the United Nations, and have garnered awards and accolades from film festivals around the globe. Jeff founded Exposure Labs, a production company dedicated to impact through film. His latest film, The Social Dilemma, had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.   In this episode, Jeff takes us through his rich journey as a filmmaker, negotiator, and a change-maker. He sheds light on the challenges and triumphs of documenting massive and often invisible, global environmental and social challenges unfolding in our world today.   www.exposurelabs.com https://www.chasingcoral.com/ https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/  

In this episode we are joined by marine biologist and invertebrate zoologist Rick Brusca. Rick is Executive Director, Emeritus, of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum where he still conducts research. He is also a Research Scientist at the University of Arizona and the Center of Research for Food and Development in Mexico.  Rick is the author of over 200 research publications and 20 books, including the largest-selling text on invertebrate zoology (Invertebrates 3rd ed., ) and the popular field guides Common Intertidal Invertebrates of the Gulf of California and A Natural History of the Santa Catalina Mountains. As a scientist, Rick’s areas of greatest interest is the Sea of Cortez and the Sonoran Desert.   In this episode we dive deep into the Gulf of California also known as the Sea of Cortez. Starting with the famed travels of Ed Ricketts and John Steinbeck on the Western Flyer, our conversation ranges from the the Gulf of California's geologic formation and biodiversity, to its conservation challenges and weirdest creatures. Additionally Rick gazes inwardly as an author and invertebrate zoologist and describes highlights from his own career and how the field is changing.   https://www.rickbrusca.com/http___www.rickbrusca.com_index.html/Cool_Inverts.html https://www.westernflyer.org/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/tongue-eating-fish-parasites-never-cease-to-amaze

In September of 2016, a NASA spacecraft known as OSIRIS REx began its journey to the near Earth asteroid Bennu, an ancient asteroid believed to be a remnant from the dawn of the solar system. Late last year, OSIRIS REx successfully collected and stored a  surface sample from Bennu completing one more of several  successful mission objectives on its journey. In this episode we are joined by Heather Enos, the Deputy Principal Investigator for the OSIRIS REx mission. Heather Enos has a long history in project management with University of Arizona space missions.  Before OSIRIS REx, she was previously Project Manager for the 2001 Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer team as well as the Project Manager for the 2007 Phoenix Thermal Evolve Gas Analyzer.   In this discussion Heather speaks to some of the OSIRIS REx missions greatest challenges and how her team adapted and responded on the fly. Heather talks about why her science team is interested in Bennu and we get first hand insight into what it takes to lead large interdisciplinary teams on NASA Missions. Before listening to this talk, I encourage you to follow some of the links in the description, particularly the video of the OSIRIS REx Tagsam sample collection. And now, here is Heather Enos.   https://www.asteroidmission.org/galleries/

In this episode, we are joined by the Executive Director of Biosphere 2, Dr. Joaquin Ruiz. Joaquin is the Vice President of Global Environmental Futures at the University of Arizona where he was previously the Dean of the College of Science for nearly 20 years. Joaquin is a distinguished  Thomas R. Brown chair Professor of Geochemistry in the department of Geosciences. He is a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences and was named a National Researcher by the Mexican government in 2010. In 2018, the Mexican Secretary of State named Dr. Ruiz one of forty distinguished Mexican citizens living abroad who have brought distinction to the country. As a scientist with equal abilities in chemistry and in geology, Dr. Ruiz has addressed many first-order problems in the Earth Sciences, such as the development of new isotope systems for studying ore deposits and the tectonic processes involved in the growth and evolution of Mexico. His research teams address problems ranging from the origins of life to present-day climate change.   In this episode, we discuss Joaquin's origins as a scientist, his career in geochemistry, and the legacy and impact of Biosphere 2 as in Icon of Possibilities in Global Climate Change Solutions.

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg. Daisy is an artist examining our fraught relationships with nature and technology. Through  artworks, writing, and curatorial projects, Daisy’s work explores  subjects as diverse as artificial intelligence, exobiology, synthetic  biology, conservation, biodiversity, and evolution, as she investigates  the human impulse to “better” the world.    Daisy has spent over ten  years experimentally engaging with the field of synthetic biology,  developing new roles for artists and designers. She is lead author of Synthetic Aesthetics: Investigating Synthetic Biology’s Designs on Nature (MIT Press, 2014), and in 2017 completed Better,  her PhD by practice, at London’s Royal College of Art (RCA),  interrogating how powerful dreams of “better” futures shape the things  that get designed. Daisy studied architecture at the University of Cambridge, was a visiting scholar at Harvard University, and received her MA in Design Interactions from the Royal College of Art.    Daisy won the World Technology Award  for design in 2011, the London Design Medal for Emerging Talent in 2012,  and the Dezeen Changemaker Award 2019. Her work has twice been  nominated for Designs of the Year (2011, 2015). Daisy exhibits  internationally, including at MoMA New York, the Museum of Contemporary  Art, Tokyo, the National Museum of China, and the  Royal Academy. Daisy is a resident at  Somerset House Studios in London, and is working on a major new commission for the Eden Project for 2021.   I highly encourage you to check out Daisy's website linked in the show notes BEFORE listening to the podcast. We refer to a number of her works by title, and do our best to describe each project in depth for our listeners, but her work is best appreciated through the visual medium.   https://www.daisyginsberg.com/work   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEeBeEfGoYU&t=3893s

In this episode we are joined by systems ecologist and original Biospherian Dr. Linda Leigh. Linda was one of the eight crew members living inside the closed system here at Biosphere 2 during the first mission. Before her time inside Biosphere 2, Linda worked as the Biome Design Coordinator during the building phase, where she assisted in collecting plant species from around the world that would be added to the Biosphere 2 biomes like the Tropical Rain Forest, Fog Desert, and Savannah. Following Biosphere 2, Linda went on to study with systems ecologist H.T. Odum, where she deepened her expertise in ecological systems. Linda is now the co-owner of the Vermillion Wormery and the Oracle Community Garden, right here in Oracle, AZ.   In this episode, we learn about Linda's early years, how she joined the Biosphere 2 team, and how she and a group of science specialists came together to design and build entire ecosystems. Linda shares her own experiences and challenges from life on the inside of Biosphere 2 and shares with us how Biosphere 2 has had an impact on the rest of her life.

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Melanie Culver & Susan Malusa. Dr. Melanie Culver is a geneticist and an Assistant Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Science at the University of Arizona School of Natural Resources. She is an Assistant Leader of the USGS Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and her genetic work studies a variety of species including jaguars, pumas, black bears, bighorn sheep, raptors, herps, and freshwater mussels, among others.   Susan Malusa is a Research Specialist for the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona. She is the co-coordinator (along with Melanie) of the UA (Citizen Science) Jaguar and Ocelot Monitoring Program. Her specialty is biogeography and data science.   From 2011 to 2015, Melanie and Sue led an extensive Jaguar and Ocelot field monitoring campaign in the borderlands of Arizona. Since then, the monitoring project has transitioned into a citizen science  Monitoring Program, which continues to actively collect field data across southern Arizona, recording not only Jaguar and Ocelot data, but other rare species seldom seen across the southwest. In this conversation, Melanie and Sue, share their insights  and expertise on the Arizona Jaguars and other big Felids of the Southwest.   wildcatresearch.arizona.edu   Jaguar Photo Captures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfws_southwest/albums/72157632294203147

In this episode we are joined by Anthropologist turned coffee & mezcal Entrepreneur Doug Smith. Doug is the co-owner of the Exo Roast Company and the El Crisol Mezcal Bar in Tucson, AZ. Doug earned a Ph.D. in Cultural and Social Anthropology from Stanford  University, conducting major investigations into agricultural history in  several states in Mexico. He taught Anthropology for ten years in several universities, finishing as an Associate Professor at Western  Oregon University before returning to Arizona in 2008 to begin Exo’s coffee roastery.   Doug's first experience with mezcal, during a fiesta patronal in a village in Guerrero, initiated a long engagement with cultures of agave. Many research trips to Sonora have put Doug into contact and relationship with Bacanora producers in the Rio Sonora and Rio Moctezuma  valleys. His current interest is to explore agave cultures in Arizona-Sonora and  reestablish  relationships between people and the plant. El Crisol mezcaleria, which opened in 2017, aims not only to introduce guests to mezcal, but to educate people on the spirit, its production, and its  cultural history. Additionally, Doug serves on the board of Native Seed Search and the Borderlands Restoration Network, working on conservation and community building initiatives throughout the greater Arizona/Sonora region.   https://www.exocoffee.com/   https://www.borderlandsrestoration.org/

In this episode we are joined by Oceanographer and Geoscientist, Dr. Joellen Russell. Joellen is Professor and the Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair of Integrative Science at the University of Arizona Department of Geosciences. Joellen is the lead for the modeling team of the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling project (SOCCOM), a multi institutional program based at Princeton focused on unlocking the mysteries of the Southern Ocean. She serves as the Co-chair of the Science Advisory Board’s Climate Working Group at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA. Before joining the University of Arizona, Dr. Russell was a Research Scientist at Princeton University and NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (NOAA/GFDL). She received her A.B. in Environmental Geoscience from Harvard and her PhD in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. Prof. Russell is one of the 14 scientists behind an amicus curiae brief supporting the plaintiff in the historic 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision on carbon dioxide emissions and climate change, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Joellen's research uses global climate and earth system models to simulate the climate and carbon cycle of the past, the present and the future, often utilizing satellite data, floating robotic ocean sensors known as Argo floats, and cutting edge supercomputers. Her work on the westerly winds led to the creation of a new paradigm in climate science, namely that warmer climates produce stronger westerly winds. This insight solved one of the long-standing climate paradoxes, the mechanism responsible for transferring one-third of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into the ocean and then back out again during our repeated glacial-interglacial cycles. FV3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrGrbiHBmWg&t=9s Robot Floats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AVOr-wPdqs SOCCOM: https://soccom.princeton.edu/ Joellen Russell Presentation: Climate and the Deep Blue Sea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7aykuhkj90

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Christina Agapakis. Christina is a synthetic biologist, artist, and writer. She is the Creative Director of Gingko Bioworks, a boston based biotech company, and the Executive Editor of Grow Magazine, a magazine focused on  the current endeavors, neglected histories, and collective futures in synthetic biology.    As creative director, Christina engages with people, policies, and potential futures involved in synthetic biology, working for more open, equitable, and renewable technologies.   In the lab, Christina has worked on enzymes involved in the production of biofuels, ecological design principles for synthetic biology, and the evolution of microbial communities in the soil. As an artist, she's mapped the microbial diversity of California, isolated halophilic bacteria from the Salton Sea, and made cheese from bacteria living on human skin.   https://www.agapakis.com/   https://www.growbyginkgo.com/   https://www.ted.com/talks/christina_agapakis_what_happens_when_biology_becomes_technology

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Bryan Black. Bryan is an associate professor at the Laboratory of Tree Ring Research at the University of Arizona. In his research, he applies techniques used in dendrochronology, the science of tree rings, to study the hard parts of marine and freshwater species like fish, clams, and corals. Similar to the study of tree rings, the patterns analyzed within select marine species, can be used for studying species productivity, age, and their relationships to climate throughout history.   Bryan combines these data from across different species to describe linkages among marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems AND to generate multi-millennial climate histories.   Originally trained as a forest ecologist, Bryan also maintains interests in developing histories of forest disturbance and natural hazards including large landslides and earthquakes from the past.   https://ltrr.arizona.edu/person/bryan-black   https://ltrr.arizona.edu/about/treerings