Providing a broad historical perspective, this book explores the interactions between humans, microorganisms, and plants in a closed habitat, and the life support systems necessary to maintain habitability over long periods of time. Topics include the cultivation of bacteria, microalgae and higher plants; the use of biotechnology to support life outside the Earth's biosphere; methods for recycling air, water and food for human consumption; interactions between humans and other organisms in CMESs; and methods for intensifying the level of photosynthesis. In addition to space the authors investigate problems associated with living conditions in dangerous or difficult environmental areas on Earth such as the Arctic and Antarctica, deserts and mountains.
What Is Closed Ecological Systems A closed ecological system is an ecosystem that provides for the maintenance of life through complete reutilization of available material, in particular by means of cycles wherein exhaled carbon dioxide, fuel and other waste matter are converted, chemically or by photosynthesis, into oxygen, water and food. Closed Ecological Systems: Can They Save the Future? What is a Closed Ecological System? Why Would We Need Closed Ecological Systems? What Are the Different Types of Closed Ecological Systems? BIOS-1, BIOS-2, and BIOS-3 Biosphere 2 MELiSSA What Are the Challenges of Creating Closed Ecological Systems? Can Closed Ecological Systems Change the Future? How You Will Benefit (I) Insights, and validations about the following topics: Chapter 1: Closed Ecological System Chapter 2: Biosphere Chapter 3: Biosphere 2 Chapter 4: Bioshelter Chapter 5: Greenhouse Chapter 6: Seawater Greenhouse Chapter 7: IBTS Greenhouse Chapter 8: Eden Project Chapter 9: Chang'e 4 Chapter 10: Space Stations and Habitats in Fiction Chapter 11: Controlled Ecological Life-Support System Chapter 12: Controlled-Environment Agriculture Chapter 13: Ecosphere (Planetary) Chapter 14: Spome Chapter 15: Ecology Chapter 16: Ecosystem Service Chapter 17: Terraforming Chapter 18: Space Colonization (II) Answering the public top questions about closed ecological systems. (III) Real world examples for the usage of closed ecological systems in many fields. (IV) 17 appendices to explain, briefly, 266 emerging technology in each industry to have 360-degree full understanding of closed ecological systems' technologies. Who This Book Is For Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of closed ecological systems.
The book presents a consistent and complete ecosystem theory based on thermodynamic concepts. The first chapters are devoted to an interpretation of the first and second law of thermodynamics in ecosystem context. Then Prigogine's use of far from equilibrium thermodynamic is used on ecosystems to explain their reactions to perturbations. The introduction of the concept exergy makes it possible to give a more profound and comprehensive explanation of the ecosystem's reactions and growth-patterns. A tentative fourth law of thermodynamic is formulated and applied to facilitate these explanations. The trophic chain, the global energy and radiation balance and pattern and the reactions of ecological networks are all explained by the use of exergy. Finally, it is discussed how the presented theory can be applied more widely to explain ecological observations and rules, to assess ecosystem health and to develop ecological models.
Ecological Microcosms is a seminal work which reviews the expanding field of enclosed ecosystem research, and relates the results and models of microcosm studies to general concepts in ecology. Microcosms are miniaturized pieces of our biosphere, ranging from streams and lakes to terraria, agroecosystems, and waste systems. The study of these simplified ecosystems is providing provocative insights into ecological principles as well as issues of environmental management and global stability. The authors have used the well-known thermodynamic approach of H.T. Odum and numerous computer simulations. The book also includes an evaluation of alternative mesocosm approaches for the support of humans in space, as well as appendices to aid in the teaching of environmental concepts using student-created microcosms. Ecological Microcosms will be of interest to ecologists, environmental engineers, policy makers and environmental managers, space scientists, and educators. Robert J. Beyers is a Professor of Biology at the University of South Alabama. Howard T. Odum is Graduate Research Professor of Environmental Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida, and was awarded, with Eugene Odum, the 1987 Crafoord Prize in the Biosciences.
As the Gulf of Mexico recovers from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, natural resource managers face the challenge of understanding the impacts of the spill and setting priorities for restoration work. The full value of losses resulting from the spill cannot be captured, however, without consideration of changes in ecosystem services-the benefits delivered to society through natural processes. An Ecosystem Services Approach to Assessing the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico discusses the benefits and challenges associated with using an ecosystem services approach to damage assessment, describing potential impacts of response technologies, exploring the role of resilience, and offering suggestions for areas of future research. This report illustrates how this approach might be applied to coastal wetlands, fisheries, marine mammals, and the deep sea-each of which provide key ecosystem services in the Gulf-and identifies substantial differences among these case studies. The report also discusses the suite of technologies used in the spill response, including burning, skimming, and chemical dispersants, and their possible long-term impacts on ecosystem services.
What do outer space capsules, submarines, and office buildings have in common? Each is conceived as a closed system: a self-sustaining physical environment demarcated from its surroundings by a boundary that does not allow for the transfer of matter or energy. Contemporary discussions about global warming, recycling, and sustainability have emerged as direct conceptual constructs related to the study and analysis of closed systems. From the space program to countercultural architectural groups experimenting with autonomous living, this publication documents a disciplinary transformation and the rise of a new environmental consensus in the form of a synthetic naturalism. It presents an archive of 39 historical living prototypes from 1928 to the present that put forth an unexplored genealogy of closed resource regeneration systems. Prototypes are presented through unique discursive narratives with historical images, and each includes new analysis in the form of a feedback drawing that problematizes the language of environmental representation by illustrating loss, derailment, and the production of new substances and atmospheres.
This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.
