The Hills are Alive: Building an
Interdisciplinary Earth Science Research
Facility at Biosphere 2
INQUIRY
RESEARCH &
DISCOVERY
2B Institute
2B art
E hscience
To Tackle Scientific
Grand Challenges
To Address Global
Environmental Change
EDUCATION &
OUTREACH
iosp
B
here 2
To Serve Arizona and
the Public At Large
Peter Troch – University of Arizona
Where science
lives.
 Biosphere 2 is a large-scale Earth science facility
 Precise climate and mass balance control at large scales
 UA is building a science program to bridge the gap
between:
 patial
S
scales (laboratory versus field experiments)
 emporal
T
scales (event-based versus long-term observations)
iosp
B
here 2
ore
C
Mission
oT serve as a center for research, outreach,
teaching, and life-long learning about art
E h,
its living systems, and its place in the
universe.
iosp
B
here 2
ore
C
Mission
oT serve as a center for research, outreach,
teaching, and life-long learning about art
E h,
its living systems, and its place in the
universe.
Catalyze interdisciplinary thinking and understanding
about the Earth and its future
iosp
B
here 2
ore
C
Mission
oT serve as a center for research, outreach,
teaching, and life-long learning about art
E h,
its living systems, and its place in the
universe.
Catalyze interdisciplinary thinking and understanding
about the Earth and its future
Be an adaptive tool for Earth education and outreach
to industry, government, and the public , and the
public;
iosp
B
here 2
ore
C
Mission
oT serve as a center for research, outreach,
teaching, and life-long learning about art
E h,
its living systems, and its place in the
universe.
Catalyze interdisciplinary thinking and understanding
about the Earth and its future
Be an adaptive tool for Earth education and outreach
to industry, government, and the public , and the
public;
Distill issues related to Earth systems planning and
management for use by policymakers, students, and
the public.
Global hC ange and ater
W
ycle
C
Dynamics
Changing Climate
Changing Land Surface
Reduced Rainfall
Rising emperature
T
Breshears et al., PNAS, 20
Global hC ange and ater
W
ycle
C
Dynamics
• How does water affect the behavior of
life?
• How does life affects water cycle
dynamics?
a
1200
Overall
-2
ANPP (g m )
1000
Removal of
resource limitations
800
600
Site-level
400
Precipitation
change
200
0
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
-1
PPT (mm y )
Weltzin et al., (2001) BioScience
Huxman et al., (2004) Nature
art
E hScience xperimental
E
Facility
Design of the Institutional Experiment
A Biosphere2-CUAHSI co-production
art
E hScience xperimental
E
Facility
 Three bays available for institutional experiment
 Precise climate and mass balance control
 ydrologic,
H
biogeochemical, geomorphologic, ecologic
interactions
 Intermediate spatial scale (3mx
0 m)
51
 ot
B h event-based and long-term (10 years) observations
art
E hScience xperimental
E
Facility
 Three bays available for institutional experiment
 Precise climate and mass balance control
 ydrologic,
H
biogeochemical, geomorphologic, ecologic
interactions
 Intermediate spatial scale (3mx
0 m)
51
 ot
B h event-based and long-term (10 years) observations
Hillslope hydrology
ur
O onceptua
C
l Model
Biosphere 2
Surface/subsurface water
flow paths & connectivity
Microbial and plant
colonization
Biogeo-weathering &
ecosystem dynamics
Huxman et al., EOS, 2009
Design Considerations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
C1: Relevance of the results to the semi-arid setting of the
Biosphere2 facility
C2: Spatially variable moisture regimes, including convergence
C3: Lateral connectivity of processes through transient subsurface
flow
C4: Ensuring sufficient water available in the root zone
C5: Temporal dynamics and response to climatic variation
C6: Avoiding significant overland flow
C7: Minimize the imposed structure and maximize the emergent
structure
C8: Simplicity and elegance
C9: Technical feasibility
Hopp et al., HESS, in prep
Zero-order catchment
Hopp et al., HESS, in prep
Parsimonious hydrologic modeling
Hopp et al., HESS, in prep
Detailed hydrologic modeling
Hopp et al., HESS, in prep
Engineering Design
Linking hydrology and geochemistry
Dontsova et al., in prep
(advection, dispersion, diffusion)
(saturated / unsaturated)
Transport (HYDRUS)
Hydro-geochemical modeling
Geochemical Reactions
(CrunchFlow)
velocity
water sat.
-aqueous speciation
-kinetic mineral dissolution/precipitation
-ion exchange
-surface complexation
reaction-induced porosity
& permeability feedback
Sharon Desilets
59
8
57
0.05 mm/h
55
5 mm/h
4
53
0.26 mm/h
0.41 mm/h
2
51
0
49
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Surface area
10
59
8
57
0.1 m2/g
6
1.7 m2/g
4
2
51
0
49
0
200
57
0.05 mm/h
55
5 mm/h
0.26 mm/h
53
0.41 mm/h
2
51
0
49
200
400
600
Time, days
800
1000
Volume % of secondary minerals
8
Volume % of primary minerals
Volume % of secondary minerals
59
0
400
600
800
1000
Time, days
10
4
53
3.2 m2/g
Time, days
6
55
10
59
8
57
0.1 m2/g
6
55
1.7 m2/g
4
53
3.2 m2/g
2
51
0
49
0
200
400
600
Time, days
800
1000
Volume % of primary minerals
6
Volume % of secondary minerals
10
Volume % of primary minerals
Volume % of secondary minerals
Flow velocity
Volume % of primary minerals
Subsurface weathering and
precipitation
Subsurface weathering and
precipitation
Primary Mineral Fraction
Secondary Mineral Fraction
V=0.0026 m/h
V=0.0026 m/h
A: 168 days (3 years equivalent)
B: 560 days (10 years equivalent)
C: 1000 days (18 years equivalent)
Dontsova et al., in prep
tRIBS-VEGGIE Model
R
H
Satm
λE
Qin
G
θ
Qout
Valeriy Ivanov
Fully vegetated (1996-2007)
Mean ANPP
STD of
root moisture
Mean
root moisture
Ivanov et al., in prep.
CV vs mean SM: Bare soil – Vegetated
Ivanov et al., in prep.
SM spatial variability vs mean SM
Transition of the dominant factors that
contribute to soil water heterogeneity
Ivanov et al., in prep.
Subsurface flow
dominates
Evapotranspiration
dominates
Capillarity and
evapotranspiration
Initial state #2
Temporal design: replicates vs treatment
Phase 1: bare soil
Replication
Phase 2: model organisms
Phase 3: biological perturbation
Huxman et al., EOS, 2009
Climate change
Phase 4: different climate regimes
Development of coupled systems model
Goal: To develop a predictive, modular system for hypothesis
generation and prediction, coupling subsurface & surface
hydrology, sediment transport, ecosystem dynamics, and biogeochemical processes.
Motivation: Numerical modeling must be part of B2 “learning
cycle” and is necessary for developing quantitative tools for
better prediction of real-world landscape processes.
Jon Pelletier
Similar initiatives in other biomes
Scott Saleska: NSF PIRE PI and coordinator
Acknowledgements
• Thanks to many, many people!!
– B2Science and SAHRA team
– Hydrologic Synthesis team (UIUC)
– Workshop participants
– CUAHSI
• Read more about Biosphere 2 EarthScience:
– www.b2science.org
– EOS brief report to appear in April
• Input and feedback welcome: patroch@hwr.arizona.edu
Thanks for your attention!
QUESTIONS?