Doomsday Vault: Norwegian seed facility gets biggest ever deposit

SVALBARD, NORWAY— The Svalbard[f] Global Seed Vault is a repository that houses a collection of seeds from around the world in order to safeguard plant genealogy amid the growing threat of climate change.

According to a press release from Crop Trust, the vault received a new deposit of seeds consisting of several hundred plant species on February 25 from different institutions around the world. This is said to be the largest deposit it has ever received.

These contents include common staple crops, vegetables, herbs and even wild plant relatives.

Global Seed Vault's website explains that it has previously received large varieties of rice, wheat and barley crops among others.

The vault is located on the tectonically inactive Norwegian island of Spitsbergen.

It has been constructed 130 meters above sea level in order to keep the seeds dry and to allow easy maintenance in the event of a power failure.