Talk:Svalbard Global Seed Vault

message: The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (also called Norwegian Seed Bank or globalt sikkerhetshvelv for frø på Svalbard) is a "doomsday" seedbank under construction on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote arctic Svalbard archipelago. 
globalt sikkerhetshvelv for frø på Svalbard. This isn't like, the norwegian name for the seed vault. I can say so with certainty because this "name" is phrased generically.
It says "(a) global security vault for seeds on Svalbard", and not "The ..."
Noone, not even Norway would name something like this in a generic term.
No specific name seems to have been given yet. But I can see multiple references to Svalbard globale frøhvelv, but in the end it will probably get a very fancy UN-ish name dreamt up by a very clever marketing executive deep within the Norwegian government. Something like Svalseed or Svalvault. But don't quote me on it! ;)
the--dud 18:58, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Error with Norwegian name

message: I am totally for genetic engineering, but a big part of these kinds of banks is to have something to go back to if one of the plants we make gets out of control and the old version no longer exists.  Say we make a new kind of corn but a few decades from now when everyone is using it a new bug comes along and finds a weakness in this new crop.  Seeds from the now-exinct original versions would be a great resource.   I know it's an awkward addition so if anyone could help me out I would be quite grateful. --Mboverload 18:04, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Misc Comments 

message: "'Doomsday' vault design unveiled", 9 February 2007.
Lots of details here including several images that, if taken from the original source, may be acceptable for us.  violet/riga (t) 10:37, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I have used the images provided to create a 3d model and upload an image. Fosnez 13:54, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Great work - well done!  violet/riga (t) 07:15, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Good new BBC report 

message: the comment "but the vault's relative inaccessibility will facilitate monitoring human activity" to me makes no sense at all.
As there is no citation I'm not sure what the author was trying to say - any ideas ? ahpook 13:03, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Error in grammar ? 

message: Why is "expecting to raise about $10^4/a"? included in the article. For the sake of understandig and speed, and everyday normal language shouldnt this be "expecting to raise about $10000 per annum".
Bmgoau (talk) 07:55, 6 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Strange Units 

message: Examples? --Paul Pot (talk) 14:57, 23 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  "In recent years, some national genebanks have also been destroyed by war and civil strife"? 

message: I saw on a news report this morning that they were going to have armed security. Is this temporary?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Posikyle (talk • contribs) 19:38, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  No Permanent Staff? 

message: I think it would be interesting to know if they are storing seeds for illicit drugs in the vault. (I don't know the answer)
-Ryan  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Benchcomptons (talk • contribs) 02:03, 27 February 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: The seeds are not illicit, the possession of these seeds might be illicit. And that depends on the country. I guess Norwegian laws apply. Paul Pot (talk) 22:49, 30 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Illicit drugs seeds? 

message: I'm an agronomist.Well, I think that in near South pole, a better place for a global seed vault.Because of climate and no country would have total control.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.9.89.230 (talk) 14:05, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Construction in Antarctica is prohibitively expensive due to its remoteness, climate, and lack of infrastructure. You're right, though, if the costs were the same, it would be better near the South Pole. This is all original research, though, so we can't put it in the article. -kotra (talk) 17:41, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Antarctic would be a better place

message: www.naturalnews.com/022829.html 
Additional investors behind the Svalbard Seed Bank include the questionable involvement of the GMO companies Monsanto and the Syngenta Foundation.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Smarrie (talk • contribs) 04:36, 9 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  This HTML is my source for the information below 

message: I'm surprised not to find a "criticisms" or "controversy" section in this article; it seems that the GSV might be a controversial thing (among non-crazy, non-conspiracy theory people) for a few reasons:
#people might disagree that it takes sufficient (or the right kind of) precautions to preserve seed viability.
#people might disagree that the GSV is necessary or an "efficient" way to spend money.
#people might think that the GSV is an "admission of defeat" and that it could in the future legitimize things that may decrease actual seed diversity.
Perhaps those more familiar with the project could add some more information on this? Sdedeo (tips) 23:44, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: a "controversy" section?

message: Around the internet and on Wikipedia there have been references to the involvement of Monsanto Corporation in the Seed Vault.  Almost all of these references source the William F. Engdahl article written in Global Research (referenced on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault page).  While this article does list some accurate donors to the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the listing of Monsanto was an error.
Monsanto has not deposited seeds at the Seed Vault.  The list of depositors in the Seed Vault is now referenced on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault page.  Neither has the corporation supported the building or operations of the Seed Vault.  Monsanto has not donated to the Global Crop Diversity Trust.  The list of donors to the Trust is referenced on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault page. As such, it's irrelevant to include assertions on the viability of Monsanto's seeds. 
Only the depositors of seed at the Seed Vault have access to their seeds.   The depositor has the sole right of access to materials stored in the Seed Vault.  No one has access to anyone else’s seeds from the Seed Vault.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Crop.Trust (talk • contribs) 10:24, 6 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Clarification on Role of Monsanto at the Seed Vault 

message: http://www.zimbio.com/Svalbard+Global+Seed+Vault/articles/37/Norway+Doomsday+Ark+Seed+Vault+Planet+X+2012
According to that, the vault serves another purpose should the above happen.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zevvi (talk • contribs) 13:47, 17 March 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Err, totally bogus. Neither video mentioned anything about a Planet X, so I have no idea where he got that. Possibly just made up, since it is just user-generated content. Feel free to disregard. — Huntster (t • @ • c) 00:46, 18 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Unsure if this is just conspiracy, but... 

message: Since Norway is a member of NATO, is it likely that there are nuclear weapons targeted on this location by Russia or China?
--Radical Mallard June 28, 2009, 5:47 AM EST
:Irrelevant to this article, unless for some reason a source specifically introduces this as a significant issue, which they won't, because such targets are not made public (usually). In the future, please don't use article talk pages for simple discussion, and don't refactor someone else's words, as you did to the title of the section above this one. — Huntster (t • @ • c) 11:05, 28 June 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, like I said, this page is for discussing the article itself, not possible scenarios involving the vault. Anything like that would be original research. I love such types of debate...this just isn't the place for it. — Huntster (t @ c) 06:52, 14 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Targeted for Destruction by Russia or China? (Nuclear Weapons) 

message: The article says that Spitsbergen was chosen for the vault because of its lack of tectonic activity, but the Svalbard article mentions earthquakes of magnitudes 6.2 and 6.5 in the last two years. Has this caused any problems? PhilUK (talk) 18:36, 29 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Earthquakes 

message: Shouldn't Dr Cary Fowler, Exec. Dir. Global Crop Diversity Trust and others be mentioned as founders for the Seed Vault?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.116.147.146 (talk) 06:46, 14 June 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: If you have a solid third-party source that credits him and those others as founders, then I see no reason why not. To be honest, the history section is pretty abysmal right now. — Huntster (t @ c) 09:09, 14 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Credit for this idea?

message: I think the images have an issue. The images of the floor plan and the artist's rendition are different. One shows the office on the left and one shows the office on the right.
Hum richard (talk) 20:15, 23 June 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: That's true, though I'd guess it is just an issue of one of the images got mirrored along the publication or production route. Either way, they are just there to give a general idea of the layout, though of course finding out the proper configuration would be a good thing. — Huntster (t @ c) 06:57, 14 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Images 

message: That crystal-like structure above the entrance: What is is and what does it mean? -- megA (talk) 14:53, 13 July 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: I believe it is just decorative; something an sculptor made for the project. I don't know any of the particulars. — Huntster (t @ c) 06:58, 14 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Entrance 

message: Should the electricity that is cooling the seeds fail the temperature will still maintain a suitable temperature for storage for some time, as I've read.  All signs point, though, to the idea that eventually these seeds will fail due to age at this higher temperature.  Can we find some more documentation on how long of a lifetime this project could be considered viable?  At some time they will fail and at different temperatures this will happen at different rates.  What are the best and worst case future scenarios for the length of time a seed can continue to be viable under this set of variables over a set number of years. Cs302b (talk) 04:01, 14 July 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: This is an interesting thought...I recall hearing a time frame given somewhere, which took into account the average temperature the permafrost in that area stays at, but I've not seen anything which accounted for possible differences in temperature, due to global warming for example. I'll try to relocate that source; it might even be in one of the sources already listed in the article...I just don't remember. — Huntster (t @ c) 06:56, 14 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Amount of time seeds will be potential

message: The seed vault was on the latest episode of futurama (season 6 episode 13)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.203.157.127 (talk) 06:00, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks. Added. Chromista (talk) 10:26, 7 June 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  In Pop Culture 

message: Per WP:EL, I've removed a number of inappropriate and extraneous external links, leaving only some generic links directly pertaining to SGSV. Some of these may be very useful for inline citations, so I'm dropping them here in case someone can find a valid use for them. — Huntster (t @ c) 07:02, 4 July 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Removed external links 

message: *Japanese sculptor Mitsuaki Tanabe (田辺光彰) presented a work to the vault named "The Seed 2009 / Momi In-Situ Conservation".<ref> http://www.portwave.gr.jp/tanabe/english/itou/200910.html   97.87.29.188 (talk) 20:51, 11 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I have little objection, except that it's duplicated, and the ja: link should not be in the article.  — Arthur Rubin  (talk) 10:06, 12 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Obviously it shouldn't be duplicated in the text, but I see no issue with including the ja: link, though at the moment their article doesn't offer much content. However, it is more likely to improve before an en: article is deemed warranted. — Huntster (t @ c) 10:10, 12 July 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Include [[art]]ist ... 

message: Are there any nearby glaciers that could one day in the far future roll over the vault? --Guy Macon (talk) 14:51, 18 September 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: (...Sound of Crickets...) --Guy Macon (talk) 20:22, 14 March 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: , sorry, I didn't see this before. Svalbard in general has a ridiculously high percentage of glacier coverage, around 60% at times, but the area of Longyearbyen is fairly clear of them. It's one of the reasons the site was chosen: dry air, elevated and almost plateau-like terrain. Check out this map of Svalbard, zoomed in on the area around the Seed Vault. Glaciers are in white. Platåbreen is the nearest glacier to the site, and it isn't going anywhere quickly. Sure, there's always the possibility that a future ice age could roll over the entire region, but that's so far off that I imagine we'll have developed far more enduring technologies for preservation that simply burying seeds underground. — Huntster (t @ c) 22:53, 14 March 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Glaciers? 

message: The seeds requested by researchers include "samples of wheat, barley and grasses suited to dry regions" to replace "seeds in a gene bank near the Syrian city of Aleppo that has been damaged by the war."
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/23/442858657/syrian-civil-war-prompts-first-withdrawal-from-doomsday-seed-vault-in-the-arctic
--Guy Macon (talk) 06:00, 24 September 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Syrian Civil War Prompts First Withdrawal From Doomsday Seed Vault In The Arctic 

message: The article was recently changed to state that the seed packets are of three-ply foil construction, versus the previous four-ply. This is of course backed by a citation, but there's an issue. While this link clearly states three-ply, this link on the same site and in the same section says four-ply. I've emailed the Crop Trust to get a clarification on this, as I'd like to not see any back and forth editing using different sources. Minor issue, but I thought I'd bring it up here. Also pinging  just as an FYI about this. — Huntster (t @ c) 15:51, 18 May 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Seed packet construction