Earth 2 Restarting on a new planet

Created and Published By Alejandro A., Aaron M., and Rick C.

The Kepler Chronicle Magazine

Special “Kepler 22b”Issue! From the view of the scientists that picked which biomes to put

on Earth 2.

Also, poster of The Phoenix Located on the last page.

Kepler 22b In December of 2011, Kepler 22b was confirmed by the

Kepler telescope as an extra-solar planet orbiting the star of Kepler 22. Over the course of the next couple of decades, many other planets were discovered. But even though this scientific progress was great, social and economic events occurred, destroying the living biosphere of the Earth and making it un-inhabitable. Humanity, faced with extinction, decided to make the journey to Kepler 22b in a spacecraft dubbed The Pheonix, and that is where we come in. We, Alejandro, Aaron, and Rick, have been tasked with picking all the animals and plants that we need in order to maintain some form of living conditions when we get there.

Graph of Masses

1

34.96

Compared masses of Kepler 22b

and Earth

Earth Kepler 22b All in Earth Masses

Earth Kepler 22b

70

71

72

Earth Kepler 22b

70.7

72

Key: All in Fahrenheit

Graph of Average

Temperatures

Comparison of Compositions of Earth

and Kepler 22b

Water 73% Snow

Land 6%

Mountains 6%

Dry Land 6%

Farmable Land 9%

Percentages of Land on Earth Percentages of Land

on Earth 2 (Kepler 22b)

Rocky

Nutrient Rich soil

Sand

Water

Precipitation on Earth 2 (Kepler 22b)

In the tundra's

In the Grass lands

In the Desert

Biogeochemical cycles

When we got to Earth 2, we found that not very many animals had evolved on the planet. We found some simple multi-cellular life-forms that resembled crabs though, pointing to the conclusion that these animals were early in their evolution and had not exited the sea. So, we settlers decided to test and see whether our life-forms could co-exist with the Keplers (the alien life-forms) and it worked.We still controlled our organisms though, just so that the Keplers could still naturally progress through their evolution. Continue on next page…

Biogeochemical cycles 2 Continued…Therefore, energy transfer within the

ecosystems we created was pretty much the same as it was on Earth. Here is and illustration to signify that.

Biogeochemical cycles 3 As you can see, energy is transferred first from the Primary

producers (plants, algae, phytoplankton), into Herbivores, and then through the levels of carnivores until the energy is returned to the original producers through animals that decompose the carnivores and anything left by them.

Biogeochemical cycles 4 This energy transfer was exemplified in every ecosystem on

earth, from the Tundra to the bottom of the ocean. And now it is exemplified in the various ecosystems created by the settlers of Earth 2

Biomes and Ecosystems

Here are some examples of biomes/ecosystems taken by the settlers of Earth 2 so as to keep Earth biomes going.

• Farm Ecosystem

• Forest Biome

• Desert Biome

• Tundra Biome

Farm ecosystem

The Farm ecosystem is a very important ecosystem to humans. This ecosystem is how we grow our food and provide for our families and the community. Therefore, this is the most important ecosystem carried to Kepler by the settlers, as it will provide the members of Earth 2’s community with food and nutrients during those first few years after arriving and before they have had time to adjust.

Example of one of the Farms (one

farm ecosystem).

• Main producers: Maize, Rice, Wheat and, Cotton. These would be the primary producers in the ecosystem, providing food and nourishment for humans.

• Herbivores: None in the agricultural farms, but in the Cattle and animal farms, the settlers would have cows, buffalo, oxen, chicken, and different types fish. These herbivorous animals would provide the humans with food and nutrition.

Example of one of the Farms (one

farm ecosystem)2. • Carnivores: First there would be some field mice,

moles, shrews, and other types of animals like that. These carnivores/omnivores would eat worms, beetles, and any other small insects. On the next level of predator, there would be the owl and the cat. These predators would control the population of the 1st level carnivores.

• Decomposers: There would be Earthworms in the dirt and various beetles around the growing fields to decompose the dead matter taken out of the farm area.

Desert Biome

• This biome would be created in the sand deserts on Kepler 22b to house desert organisms from Earth.

Desert Biome (example of one desert

food chain). • Producers: Cacti, desert shrubs, and wildflower. These plants would

be planted in the desert to provide a strong base of producers for any animals living in the desert.

• Herbivores: Lizards, beetles, Quail, and some types of rats. Also, there would be some types of desert birds. These animals provide the next step of the food chain, gobbling up all those plants and providing a varied set of food for the big predators.

• Carnivores/predators: For this category, the settlers would bring coyotes/foxes, birds of prey (hawks, falcons, owls), and scorpions. These predators provide the last level of the food chain, eating and controlling the herbivorous population.

• Decomposers: So as to move nutrients along the food chain, the settlers would bring millipedes, earthworms, beetles, and bacteria. These organisms, as said before, move nutrients around the food chain so as to provide the needed balance to maintain an ecosystem.

Forest Biome This biome will be important to the settlers because it will

house all of the trees needed to make wood, rubber, and fruit. Also, this biome provides a place to live for many species from Earth.

Forest Biome Organisms

• Producers: On Earth 2, the settlers will find a small area and randomly plant trees, bushes, shrubs, and other flora. There will be too many types of flora to say, but some examples could be Pine Trees, Oak Trees, various types of fruit growing trees, shrubbery, and many types of flower.

Forest Biome Organisms 2

• Herbivores: On the forest floor and in the canopies, there will be many types of plant eating organisms. For example, there will be deer, chipmunks, squirrels, elk, and moose. Also, the settlers could include beetles and some types of insects. All of these animals provide a broad force of eaters eating all the different plants growing in the forest.

• Side note: In a small corner, there would also be some white mulberry trees (blocked off from the others) inhabited by silk worms. These worms would provide silk for the human settlers.

Forest Biome organisms 3

• Carnivores: Along with many herbivores, forests have many types of carnivores. For example, forests are inhabited by wolves, bears, spiders, birds, and owls. Some spiders though will be left in the laboratory since the settlers wouldn’t want to have a large amount of spiders. Same thing goes for the insects in this and all other biomes. Back to the carnivores, having these animals would make sure that the food chain is in balance and that the herbivores don’t over populate the forest.

• Decomposers: Decomposers in the forest would consist mostly of various mushroom species, earthworms, and insects (again).

The Tundra • This biome is for the animals who lived on Earth’s tundra’s

before they warmed up and melted. It will be located near the arctic circle of Earth 2 and will include some taiga forests and grassy plains. As a side note, I will also say that the animals and plants put in the tundra will partially provide for those who chose to live in those areas.

Tundra organisms • Producers: Due to the cold conditions of the tundra, the settlers

won’t really be able to bring too many organisms to it. Some plants that could be put there though are Arctic Moss, Caribou Moss, Pasque Flower, Diamond-leaf willow, and Dwarf Birch.

• Herbivores: Since this is the tundra, the settlers will again not be putting a lot of animals up there. The animals that do go up will be musk-ox, caribou, lemmings, and Reindeer. These animals will serve as the vital middle of the Earth 2 tundra food chain and also feed the humans who decide to live in the tundra.

• Carnivores: To control the population of herbivores, the settlers will put in multiple carnivores indigenous to the Tundra’s of the Earth. These will be the Wolverine, Wolves, foxes, and Lynxes.

• Decomposers: In the Tundra, the settlers will place only a couple types of decomposers. These would be fungi and lichen (symbioses).

Map of Biomes

Desert Biome

Forest Biome

Tundra Biome

Taiga (part of the Tundra)

Lake biome (undeveloped due to preexisting native life).

Farming area

Reasoning for Containment of Certain

Biomes/Ecosystems Even though the settlers will be relocating a lot of organisms from

Earth onto Earth 2, a lot more still will be left in laboratories or just left on Earth until wanted or needed. This will be done in order to make sure Earth species don’t overwhelm the land of Earth 2. Some of the animals on Earth also weren’t really beneficial in any way, to the human race or to the needs of a planet. These animals include parasites, certain types of insects, and things like that, which causes major problems and could undermine our society and the delicate balance of the artificial ecosystems created on Kepler. In addition, this will be done to ensure that the various biomes mentioned before are kept from spilling into the ocean, so as not to disturb the natural progression of Earth 2’s native (still-evolving) inhabitants. This manner of control over ecosystems will also be a way in which humans reduce their footprint on Earth 2

How we will prevent what happened

on Earth from happening on Earth 2 We settlers of Earth 2 remember what drove us from our home of

Earth. Rising temperatures and seas, Greenhouse gases polluting the atmosphere, extreme drought in one area of the world and extreme floods in the other. The worst part is remembering that we caused it all. That is why, on Earth 2, our society has taken steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again. On Earth 2, our society has adopted various clean energy sources to power our homes and businesses. With the steel and composites factories that we brought with us in our spaceship, we have been able to create solar farms, wind farms, and hydroelectric power plants. Also, construction has started on a Nuclear Fusion reactor, capable of producing massive amounts of energy without polluting the environment.

Now, not only are we using clean energy sources, but we are also making sure that we don’t pollute the environment, recycle our waste, and use renewable materials. Yes, we do use steel and composites, but we use them in a way that is environmentally friendly and non-polluting.

Editor’s note. Hello. This is the editor of the Kepler Chronicle Magazine

Alejandro Arroyo. I hope you have been enlightened by the information presented in this special issue. All of this information is from six months ago, when we were just starting to assimilate Kepler 22b into Earth 2. So far, the ecosystems and biomes created by those fabulous scientists on board The Phoenix (who shall remain unknown) have been working perfectly, with no ill effects upon the surrounding environment or the Keplers living in the ocean. Our green living has also paid off, allowing us to live in harmony with Earth 2. We hope that you, the reading public, have enjoyed reading about the creation of our current environment. Please look at the back of this issue for the list of new holidays recently agreed on by the government. Thank you and subscribe for next month’s edition of….The Kepler Chronicle.

New Calendar. Months end at October due to shorter year on Earth 2.

• Halloween moved to first Saturday of October. • Thanksgiving moved to 3rd Saturday of October. • Christmas has now been moved to the last Monday of October • All other holiday dates from old Earth calendar still apply

except for individual country Independence holidays. New Holidays • May 1st is departure day, marking when the last humans

heading for Kepler 22b left Earth. • October 3rd : Arrival Day, marking when we arrived at Kepler

22b. • June 1st marks the day we first encountered semi-intelligent

life in the form of crab-like creatures in the ocean.

Breaking News Link

•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLhpcSgOyvo&feature=youtu.be

Engine areas

Biome sanctuaries (for all animals and plants being brought)

Exploration spacecraft

Command Bridge

Observation Deck

Areas for the General population

(including a Six Flags!!!).

Artificial beach area

The Phoenix