Arctic Seed Vault

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a protected seed bank, located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, close to Longyearbyen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago, around 1,300-kilometers from the North Pole. Conservationist Cary Fowler, in partnership with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), began the vault in 2008 to save a wide assortment of plant seeds that are duplicate samples, or “spare” copies, of seeds held in gene banks worldwide. As of March 2016, there are approximately 864,309 seed varieties in the vault. The vault is situated in permafrost at a constant 3-4° Celsius below zero to aid in preservation. All of the seeds are stored in four-ply sealed envelopes, then placed into plastic tote containers on metal shelving racks, while storage rooms are kept at -18°C. Click here to view the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one showing what happens when you drink heavy water.

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