Located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near the north pole, the Norwegian government unveiled its Arctic seed vault this week.  The vault will house millions of seeds from across the world that include food staples and plants.  The effort is intended to preserve and secure against negative impacts associate with climate change and the loss of biodiversity; the seeds essentially act as the building blocks to humanity.  

The vault itself was constructed close to 500 feet below a mountain and has a monitoring system regulating temperature and provides security in similar fashion to that of a missile silo.  The Arctic location was chosen due in part to its remote location and also so that the ambient temperature will allow the seeds to remain frozen and stay preserved for years.

Entrance to the Arctic Seed Vault                                                                                                                                                           Credit: New York Times

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Near Arctic, Seed Vault Is a Fort Knox of Food – New York Times