A facility constructed deep in the Norwegian permafrost and designed to be self-sustaining now has
to be watched around the clock to ensure that no other water damage takes place.
The advisory group Statsbygg, which plays a key role in managing the vault, is reportedly planning
improvements to the entrance and outer tunnel at Svalbard to prevent similar incidents from
happening in the future. These improvements include drains on the sides of the entrance to better
disperse melted water, and water-tight barriers inside the main tunnel to contain water that did get
through. Closer monitoring of temperature and permafrost conditions at Svalbard will apparently take
place as well.
As the whole planet warms, including Svalbard, ensuring that the vault is better protected from water
is likely to become more important. When the vault was built its designers took into account,
geologic stability, humidity, level above sea, access and other factors but apparently not the
possibility permafrost near the entrance could melt in sufficient quantity to pose a flooding danger to
the facility.
Svalbard is such a beautiful initiative and I have high hopes this slight flaw in an otherwise
magnificent facility will be corrected, and humanity’s seeds will be protected for ages to come.
Carl Kruse
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Carl Kruse