Global Seed Vault: the Arctic’s doomsday depository that could save plant life from climate change
Some 1,300 miles into the Arctic Circleand just 650 miles from the North Pole lies the world’s most important freezer.
Situated on Spitsbergen Island in the Svalbard archipelago, the Global Seed Vault is owned by the Norwegian government.
Contained within in it are 930,000 varieties of the world’s most precious seeds, sent by the gene banks across the globe to insure them against risks in their home country, such as natural disasters, war and looting [saccheggio].
Built to house as many as five million seed varieties, in the most extreme circumstances, the vault is intended to act as a “doomsday” [eterno] depository for global agriculture, should a major catastrophe wipe out the plants we rely on.
Three vaults lie at the end of a 130m tunnel inside the flank [fianco]of Mount Plateau, allowing the seeds to be stored deep within the Arctic permafrost. In the Vault Room the seeds are cooled to an optimal –18C.
