Vault Upgrade

In 2008, engineers completed the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway. It was built to protect the world’s food supply in the face of threats like climate change. But researchers didn’t anticipate that rising global temperatures on Earth would put the vault itself in jeopardy. To keep the facility functioning in a warming world, it’s slated to receive a $4.4 million upgrade.

The Arctic vault safeguards hundreds of millions of seeds in underground chambers surrounded by permafrost. This soil stays frozen all year—and was expected to help preserve the seeds. But this fall, higher-than-average temperatures melted some of that permafrost. Meltwater seeped into the vault’s entrance. Luckily, all the seeds remained dry and undamaged.

Architects and engineers are now working on waterproofing the vault’s walls, digging ditches to help water drain, and defending against melting permafrost in the future. “It’s better to be safe than sorry,” says vault spokeswoman Cierra Martin.