Doomsday-proof seed vault upgraded to avoid flooding

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV) in Norway is about to undergo several system upgrades including a new tunnel,International Business TimesThe entrance is built directly under the Arctic permafrost and maintains a temperature of -18 degrees Celsius.

The upgrades are estimated to cost nearly $13 million. The vault was originally built for $9 million in 2008. Changing weather conditions have affected the vault. Last year, the permafrost surrounding the vault began to melt, causing SGSV to partially flood the entrance. The upgrades are designed to prevent this from happening again.

"The project includes the construction of a new concrete access tunnel as well as a building to house emergency generators, refrigeration units and other electrical equipment that radiates heat through the tunnel. The project helps ensure that the seed vault will be an insurance source for food supplies for future generations," said Jon Georg Dale, Norway's Minister of Agriculture.

The SGSV acts as a plant bank, storing seeds from every country in the world so they can be replanted in the event of a global catastrophe. Disease, global warming or nuclear war could wipe out large swaths of land and the crops they contain.

Opened in 2008, the Svalbard seed vault acts as a giant refrigerator for countries to preserve valuable crops. It holds more than 850,000 samples of seeds provided by countries.