If emissions continue, permafrost near the surface (anything less than 32 feet deep or so) in western Svalbard is projected to thaw and perhaps completely disappear by the next century.Įven if emissions are reduced according to the Paris climate agreement goals, the Arctic permafrost is still expected to shrink by 45%, according to a report from the United Nations.
What's more, the scientists reported that Svalbard has the warmest permafrost this far north in the Arctic. More water, of course, means more melting, floods, and avalanches. They also warn that instances of heavy rainfall in the Svalbard area will get more frequent, with 45% to 65% more annual precipitation than we see today. The report's authors project that surrounding air temperatures will increase by 18 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 if greenhouse-gas emissions continue to increase at current rates. Mari Tefre/Svalbard Globale frøhvelv/Flickr Longyearbyen endures four months of perpetual darkness during the winter. A new report from the Norwegian Centre for Climate Services warns that increasing Arctic temperatures are putting the seed vault and the surrounding area at risk. The idea is that in the event of a global disaster, people from anywhere in the world should be able to withdraw seeds for crops that they'd need to re-grow.īut Longyearbyen is no longer as invulnerable as scientists initially thought when it opened in 2008. The vault's location and design protect its contents from the effects of sunlight, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, warfare, and political strife. It's also home to the most important agricultural safeguard in the world.īuried inside a mountain in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, the Global Seed Vault - often referred to as the doomsday seed vault - stores back-up seeds for every one of humanity's food crops. The area boasts more polar bears than people and a bustling adventure-tourism economy. The 2,100-person town of Longyearbyen endures four months of perpetual darkness in the winter, followed by four months of sunlight in the summer.
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