Why do apocalypse-proof seed vaults last for thousands of years?

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a backup facility that protects the world's crop diversity, safeguarding the world's food supply in the event of a nuclear war or other disasters.

The tunnel is located 120 meters deep inside the sandstone mountain on the island of Spitsbergen and is surrounded by permafrost, helping to preserve seeds forever.

The entire basement had a construction cost of only 8.8 million USD. Inside the tunnel, refrigerators cool the seeds according to international standards of -18 degrees Celsius. If the equipment breaks down for some reason, will the ice inside the tunnel melt and cause the seeds to spoil?

The answer is no. Because the tunnel is built underground, surrounded by permafrost soil, soil with temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius for at least 2 consecutive years. The oldest frozen ground known to man remained frozen for 700,000 years.

The seed vault is surrounded by permafrost that keeps the temperature inside the vault at -3 degrees Celsius if the equipment fails. If that happens, it will take several weeks or months for the temperature in the tunnel to increase from -18 to -3 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the seeds here are preserved for hundreds of years without worrying about spoilage.

The seed vault does not require permanent on-site staff. All seeds in the cellar have been placed in aluminum bags since 2004, before that they were placed in glass bottles. Low temperatures and limited exposure to oxygen help limit metabolism and prevent seeds from aging.

As of 2022, nearly 1.2 million seed varieties are stored in vaults. The total capacity of the vault is 2.5 billion seeds.

Jessica Tanner

Update 06 January 2024