Fascinating. Global warming has unexpected impacts.--Tom M. -----Original Message----- From: Laurel Hopwood <[log in to unmask]> To: CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sat, May 20, 2017 9:54 am Subject: Arctic stronghold of world’s seeds flooded after permafrost melts https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/19/arctic-stronghold-of-worlds-seeds-flooded-after-permafrost-melts Arctic stronghold of world’s seeds flooded after permafrost melts No seeds were lost but the ability of the rock vault to provide failsafe protection against all disasters is now threatened by climate change. EDITED It was designed as an impregnable deep-freeze to protect the world’s most precious seeds from any global disaster and ensure humanity’s food supply forever. But the Global Seed Vault, buried in a mountain deep inside the Arctic circle, has been breached after global warming produced extraordinary temperatures over the winter, sending meltwater gushing into the entrance tunnel. Soaring temperatures in the Arctic at the end of the world’s hottest ever recorded year led to melting and heavy rain, when light snow should have been falling. The breach has questioned the ability of the vault to survive as a lifeline for humanity if catastrophe strikes. “The question is whether this is just happening now, or will it escalate?” said Aschim. The Svalbard archipelago, of which Spitsbergen is part, has warmed rapidly in recent decades, according to Ketil Isaksen, from Norway’s Meteorological Institute. The vault managers are now taking precautions, including major work to waterproof the 100m-long tunnel into the mountain and digging trenches into the mountainside to channel meltwater and rain away. They have also removed electrical equipment from the tunnel that produced some heat and installed pumps in the vault itself in case of a future flood. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to [log in to unmask] For all the latest news and activities, sign up for Sierra Club Insider (http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra-club-email/insider), the Club's twice-monthly flagship e-newsletter.