![]() It is also threatening to increase the rate at which greenhouse gases are pouring into the atmosphere, since as the frozen soil melts, bacteria within it break down organic matter and emit methane, carbon dioxide and other planet-warming gases. There is no question that the climate is warming faster throughout the Svalbard Archipelago than was anticipated just a couple decades ago.Īnd the melting of permafrost is not just putting the seed vault's original design at risk. Operators published press statements (Opens in a new tab) over the weekend laying out the renovations in detail, making clear that they concern the entranceway to the vault rather than the area where the seeds are stored. Some of these fixes include the removal of a power transformer to take away a heat source in the entranceway, as well as digging drainage ditches nearby.Īnimation of temperature anomalies in the Arctic, showing record warmth in 2016/17. Vault operators are making building improvements to minimize any water intrusion at the entrance to the vault. "We will not take any chances," Aschim added. Although the seeds were unaffected, she said the Norwegian government, which operates the vault, is consulting with climate researchers and taking other precautions to ensure "we do the right thing to protect the tunnel and the vault in the future." High temperatures and heavy rainfall in October 2016 caused "water intrusion" into the tunnel leading to the seed vault, she noted. However, she added, "The seeds and the vault never at risk." "It was not flooding but a lot of rainwater - and it's unusual –- we have not experienced that before," she said in an email. In comments to Mashable on Monday, Aschim said any media stories about "flooding" in the vault were overblown. "We must see what we can do to minimize all the risks and make sure the seed bank can take care of itself." The seed bank was supposed to operate on autopilot, but right now, workers are watching it around the clock, Aschim told the UK newspaper. ![]() "A lot of water went into the start of the tunnel and then it froze to ice, so it was like a glacier when you went in," she told the paper. "It was not in our plans to think that the permafrost would not be there and that it would experience extreme weather like that," Hege Njaa Aschim, from the Norwegian government, which owns the vault, told the Guardian. Air temperature departures from average during the Arctic winter of 2016-17. ![]()
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