Arctic Stronghold Of World’s Seeds Flooded After Permafrost Melts

And climate change has nearly successfully thwarted human attempts to safeguard the world's agricultural treasures against...climate change. The Global Seed Vault—in Spitsbergen, Norway—is the world's largest collection of seeds and functions as a depository of plant and crop genetic material, a safety stock in case of emergency. But it had its own emergency recently, as soaring temperatures in the Arctic caused meltwater to flood the entrance tunnel. The vault itself was not flooded and all seeds are safe for now, but the management of the facility is rethinking whether or not the vault can serve its purpose as a "lifeline for humanity if catastrophe strikes".

“It was supposed to [operate] without the help of humans, but now we are watching the seed vault 24 hours a day,” says Hege Njaa Aschim, a Norwegian official. “We must see what we can do to minimise all the risks and make sure the seed bank can take care of itself.” Other measures are being taken to prevent future incidences, including waterproof the vault tunnel and digging trenches to direct water away from the structure. But the memory and implications of the flooding looms over those who run the vault. This area of the Arctic is warming at a much faster rate than most other areas of the world, and a drastic decrease in global carbon emissions seems unlikely. If climate change is already threatening our "backstops," what else is in store in the future?