Svalbard Global Seed Vault: Closing to visitors and commencing cooling

 

The construction work is close to completion. On Saturday 17 November the seed vault will close to visitors and commence cooling to -18 degrees Celsius.

This milestone will be commemorated by an open day for the residents of Svalbard. This is the last chance for everyone who wants to take a look at the gigantic project before it is closed to visitors, both from the media and the general public, and the freeze button is pressed.

Interested members of the press are requested to contact the undersigned immediately. 

4,500 cubic metres
The seed vault consists of three enormous caverns that have been excavated from stable sandstone rock. The plant is located in the mountain area facing the Longyearbyen airport about 130 metres above sea level. Each of the three caverns are approximately 1,500 cubic metres in size (25 metres deep, 10 metres wide and 6 metres high) and have a collective capacity for storing 4.5 million seed samples from all over the world.

The location deep inside the mountain guarantees stable permafrost for the foreseeable future and is so high above sea level that it secures the facility from any rise in ocean levels that may result from global warming.

18 degrees below freezing
The current temperature in the vault is approximately -4 degrees Celsius. However, experts have determined that the ideal temperature for storing seeds is -18 degrees Celsius. For this reason extra cooling systems have been installed in the facility. The vault will have reached the ideal temperature in plenty of time for the official opening in February 2008.

More information:
Ole G. Hertzenberg, communication director, tel. +47 90 10 04 42.