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Welcome to Svalbard
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago locate about 746 miles ( 1,200 kilometers ) from the North Pole . The island , known for its frozen tundra , snowy landscapes and spectacular glacier , is also home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault . [ record more about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault ]
Vault entrance
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault , located underground , is the globe ’s largest protection memory board for seed .
Loading zone
The vault was designed to protect all of the mankind ’s significant crop seeds in instance of a valet - made or natural disaster . Here , Aasmund Asdal , coordinator of the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre , carries crates of seeds from Japan and the United States into the seed vault in Svalbard .
Down the tunnel
To enter the seed vault , visitant must pass through four locked room access : the wakeless brand entrance doors , a 2nd door some 380 feet ( 115 meters ) down the tunnel and last the two keyed air - interlace doors . Here ’s a view down the entering tunnel toward the offices and store chambers in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault .
In the tundra
The strong vault has a mental ability to admit 4.5 million grain . It presently stores seeds from culture all over the earth in an effort to conserve transmissible diversity and defend against major food crises . The germ vault is housed about 430 feet ( 130 m ) below sea level , which guarantees that the seeds will remain dry even in the fount of uprise ocean levels and dethaw glaciers .
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is carved into the Arctic permafrost . Here , a research worker is see accessing the vault ’s entranceway . [ Read more about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault ]
Nice and cold
In the hurdle ’s independent storage elbow room , seeded player are kept at minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit ( minus 18 degrees Celsius ) .
Seed stocks
box seat with seeds from around the globe are salvage for posterity in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault . The vault can defy 4.5 million germ sample — and since each sample distribution contains about 500 seeds , a maximum of 2.25 billion seminal fluid will suit into the vault .
Seed preservation
The seeds are maintain in bag inside the bank vault . The icy permafrost offer natural freeze for the seeds , but the vault also has additional cooling system to keep temperature at minus 0.4 academic degree Fahrenheit ( minus 18 degrees Celsius ) .
Seed bank
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault was formally open up on Feb. 26 , 2008 , and function as a jumbo refrigerator of sorts for the world ’s important crop seeds . [ register more about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault ]
