In November 2007 refrigeration units, like those seen above, began cooling the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to prepare for seed storage in late February 2008.

Temperatures inside the vault are meant to stay between -4 and 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 and -10 degrees Celsius). Cold air will be drawn in automatically during the winter, and cooling equipment will kick in for the warmer months.

Thick concrete walls lined with insulation will help ensure that the vault stays below 25.7 degrees Fahrenheit (-3.5 degrees Celsius) even if the facility loses power.

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