Arctic Mountain 'Doomsday Vault' for World's Seeds

I was browsing through the news this evening and found this story. They are creating what they are calling a 'doomsday vault' to store three million species of food grains, etc. I wonder if they know something we don't...

Source
Arctic mountain is a Noah's Ark for world's seeds
By Sam Lister

A vault deep in the permafrost will keep millions of grains safe in the event of a global catastrophe

WORK began yesterday on a “doomsday” vault buried in the Arctic permafrost that will become the guardian of 10,000 years of agriculture, protecting millions of seed samples in the event of a global catastrophe.

The project, dubbed the Noah’s Ark for seeds, will catalogue and preserve more than threemillion species to ensure the long-term survival of the world’s vital food crops.

The vault — on an island on the Svalbard archipelago, 620 miles (1,000 km) from the North Pole — will be carved into the side of a mountain where the temperature is unlikely to rise above -3C (27F), even in the event of severe global warming. It will be surrounded by concrete walls 1m (3ft) thick.

The precious contents will be accessed by a single door using one of six master keys held by international bodies such as the United Nations. Nature, in the form of blizzards, ice floes and marauding polar bears, will provide security.

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Pretty wild stuff, great idea, but still pretty wild.

Nice post. But there is another thread about this. Please add any contributions to the other thread.

Doomsday Vault



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