The Doomsday Vault as everyone would call is designed to safeguard all the genetically important seeds. The vault is built to withstand asteroid strikes, nuclear war, and other disasters. However, studies show that it is currently threatened by the effects of climate change and experts are giving us a warning.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault has found its home in Longyearbyen in the Arctic. Due to climate change, the vault can potentially suffer from devastating damages due to rockfalls, avalanches, and floods over the coming years. As the continued use of fossil fuels warms the other parts of the Earth, the same kind of heat is causing the ice to melt and for all these disastrous situations to happen in 2100.
"The problems in the region are real as the risks of landslides and avalanches continue to get stronger," said Professor Inger Hanssen-Bauer. He is heading the Norwegian Climate Centre. Hanssen-Bauer is also the lead author of the research conducted in the area.
The high temperatures have already caused the partial melting of the permafrost which already caused flooding in the access tunnel. The operators of the tunnel had to build additional structures as a defense against the flooding. New waterproof walls had to be installed while digging drainage of the sides as well.
Over the rest of the century, the report predicts that the average temperature in the area will further increase by 8 degrees Celsius and it may increase by 1 degree every decade. This may seem like a mall number to worry about but every degree added to the current temperature only worsens the heat. The melting of the ice is one problem and it could cause a multitude of other problems when it continues to melt. Flooding is only one of its devastating effects and there could be more.
"In March of this year, it will be recorded as the 100th month when the temperatures in Longyearbyen has been above its normal temperature," according to Professor Hanssen-Bauer. "I am not sure if there is any other town that is not suffering from the same kind of increase in temperature."
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault became operational in 2008. Svalbard in Norway was identified as the safest area on the entire planet to build such a facility. It was necessary that the seeds of the most important crops of the world are kept safe in case of any disaster as it will serve as the starting point of life after. It is strategically located 600 miles North of mainland in Norway with its temperatures as low as scientists want it to be.
If its current cooling system remains functional, it would be able to store the seeds at -18 degrees, making them viable enough for the next 1,000 years. The importance of this facility couldn't be further emphasized. It is important to mankind for the future that's why is it even more important to save it today.
