The Svalbard Doomsday Global Seed Vault is surpassing 500,000 samples to become the most diverse collection of seeds in history, notes the Barents Observer.
Just days after celebrating its second anniversary, the seed vault received thousands of new seeds this week.
These will push its collection to more than half a million unique samples, NRK reports.
The vault was established to preserve a wide variety of plant seeds from locations around the world in an underground cavern built 120 metres inside a frozen mountainside.
The vault holds duplicate samples, or "spare" copies, of seeds held in gene banks in other locations. It's intended to act as an insurance against the loss of seeds in gene banks, as well as a refuge for seeds in the case of large scale regional or global crises.
500,000 seeds and counting
Svalbard's seed vault safeguards the most diverse collection of seeds in history.
Published: 12.03.2010 12:59
Climate change
17.12.2010 13:31
Siku's pause has extended as considered whether to continue this daily circumpolar news round-up In the meantime, we encourage you to consult our archived material, much of which is not accessible elsewhere on the internet.
Read more 17.12.2010 04:59
"We recognize that the Mackenzie Gas Project would have much larger and more far-reaching effects than previous developments in the North"
16.12.2010 12:16
The park lies in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, an area known for its rich bird cliffs and large populations of walrus and polar bears.
Read more 16.12.2010 11:56
Unlike Axel Heiberg's fossil forest, this one lies with the national park on Ellesmere.
Read more 15.12.2010 11:33
“If [the federal government] is serious about sovereignty and Canada’s North, we really need viable communities to be living in"
Read more 15.12.2010 11:25
"I am delighted that the negotiations ended with progress at key points such as adaptation to climate change, shaping and formal approval of a Green Fund, and transferring knowledge and technology"
Read more 15.12.2010 11:15
A single household will dispose of 60-65 kilos of still edible food per year, a new study found.
15.12.2010 11:10
Alaska filed a lawsuit Dec. 14 in an effort to stop the National Marine Fisheries Service's plan to protect endangered sea lions.
15.12.2010 10:55
The work of Inuk artist and writer Alootook Ipellie continues to be appreciated— mainly in Europe.
Read more 14.12.2010 12:43
The Yellowknife woman was caught swallowing crack that she had been selling while pregnant.
Read more