Thirteen thousand kilometers beyond the Arctic Circle, deep in the permafrost, is the world's largest secure seed storage facility. The vault hold the seeds of more than thirty thousand varieties of essential food crops such as beans, wheat, and rice. 

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened in 2008.

The Global Seed Vault is buried deep in a mountainside on a remote island in the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Crates of seeds from across the globe are sent here for secure long-term storage in cold and dry rock vaults. 

Learn more here.

The Vault's Purpose is to be a Backup to Plant Extinction

As climate change, drought, and the earth's ever increasing population affect the ability of humanity to feed itself, seed vaults act as a food-preservation time capsule for the future. 

Read more here.

864,309 Seed Samples are in the Vault

"Currently, the Vault holds more than 880,000 samples, originating from almost every country in the world. Ranging from unique varieties of major African and Asian food staples such as maize, rice, wheat, cowpea, and sorghum to European and South American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley, and potato. In fact, the Vault already holds the most diverse collection of food crop seeds in the world."

Read more here.

Water Breached the 'Doomsday' Vault Entrance

An unusually warm spring has caused water to seep 50 feet into the entrance tunnel of the "Doomsday" seed vault. From the entrance lobby, a tube of corrugated steel pipe, called "Svalbard pipe," tunnels into the mountain base. Fortunately, water did not reached the three areas where the seeds are actually stored. Still, the effects of climate change could change the viability of the permafrost in which the vault was built into forcing the Norwegian government to find ways to update the structure.

Learn more here.

Syria's Need for Seed

In 2015, a conflict in Syria led to the need for seeds to be withdrawn from the vault for the first time since it began. The Syrian Civil War caused scientists in Aleppo working on new strains of drought and heat-resistant wheat to be unable to continue their work. The reclaimed seeds were used at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, which allows for continued progress in research.

Learn more here.