Biosphere 2: Overview of System Performance During the First Nine Months

Biosphere 2 is a large closed ecological system occupied by eight human inhabitants in complete material isolation. It has been in operation continuously for 9 months of the initial 2 year run which commenced on Sept 26, 1991. The major areas of observation summarized in this paper are the dynamics of atmospheric composition, food production, health, quantification of leakage, plant growth, and species survival.