The vault sits at the end of a 120-meter (131-yard) tunnel blasted inside the mountain.

'We believe the design of the facility will ensure that the seeds will stay well-preserved even if such forces as global warming raise temperatures outside the facility,' said Magnus Bredeli Tveiten, project manager for the Norwegian government. The vault's location deep inside a mountain in the frozen north ensures the seeds can be stored safely no matter what happens outside. 'At these temperatures, seeds for important crops like wheat, barley and peas can last for up to 10,000 years.' 'The seed vault is the perfect place for keeping seeds safe for centuries,' said Cary Fowler, executive director of the trust. The United Nations founded the trust in 2004 to support the long-term conservation of crop diversity, and countries and foundations provide the funding. The Norwegian government paid to build the vault in a mountainside near Longyearbyen, in the remote Svalbard islands between Norway and the North Pole. Watch as 'Doomsday' seed vault opens »Įventually the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, as it is officially known, will hold as many as 4.5 million distinct samples of seeds - or some 2 billion seeds in total - encompassing almost every variety of most important food crops in the world, the Global Crop Diversity Trust said. The shipment amounts to a 100 million seeds in total, ranging from major African and Asian food staples like maize, rice, and wheat to European and South American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley, and potato, according to the Global Crop Diversity Trust, which is paying to collect and maintain the seeds. In all, the shipment of seeds secured in the vault Tuesday weighed approximately 10 tons, filling 676 boxes.

The inaugural shipment represent 268,000 distinct samples of seeds, with each sample containing a hundred-plus seeds and originating from a different farm or field around the world. Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmental and political activist who won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, placed the first seeds inside the vault, followed by other dignitaries. Norwegian musicians performed Tuesday as part of an elaborate opening ceremony marking the opening of the vault, located 130 meters (427 feet) inside a frozen mountain. Write your answers in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.LONGYEARBYEN, Norway (CNN) - A vast underground vault storing millions of seeds from around the world took delivery of its first shipment Tuesday.ĭubbed the 'Doomsday Vault,' the seed bank on a remote island near the Arctic Ocean is considered the ultimate safety net for the world's seed collections, protecting them from a wide range of threats including war, natural disasters, lack of funding or simply poor agricultural management. Using NO MORE THAN FIVE WORDS, answer the following questions. The remote location, as well as the rugged structure, provide unparalleled security for the world’s agricultural heritage. The minimal moisture level and low temperature ensure low metabolic activity. The seeds are placed in sealed boxes and stored on shelves in the vaults. and pass the information back to the appropriate authorities at Longyearbyen and the Nordic Gene Bank which provide the technical information for managing the seed vaults. Electronic transmitters linked to a satellite system monitor temperature, etc. Deep in the vault at the end of a long tunnel, are three storage vaults which are lined with insulated panels to help maintain the cold temperatures. We, or our descendants, will not have to retread thousands of years of agriculture from scratch.ī. If something goes wrong in the world, the vault will provide the means to restore farming. Here, seeds from the world’s most vital food crops will be locked away for hundreds or even thousands of years. For this reason, it is the site of a vault that will safeguard a priceless component of our common heritage – the seeds of our staple crops. About 1,000 km from the North Pole, Svalbard is one of the most remote places on earth. Seed vault guards resources for the futureįiona Harvey paid a visit to a building whose contents are very preciousĪ. 1 Seed vault guards resources for the future.

North pole seed vault