Chapter 635 As long as the caliber is smaller, I am not at ease.
Walking inside the huge seed vault, everything is full of science fiction.
It was like walking into a huge spaceship that carried humanity's hope of escaping into the universe. The surrounding sounds were horribly monotonous, with only the sound of the cooling machine running.
Being far away from the gathering places of human life means being far away from unstable factors such as the vortex of war.
The geographical location is remote and the climate is harsh. It is the hometown of polar bears. These unfavorable factors for human habitation can keep the "seed bank" away from various external threats.
The permafrost zone is very suitable for long-term storage of seeds without being affected by temperature changes. The air in the cellar is changed every winter. However, if this is not possible for some reason, the permafrost will also keep the seeds fresh and safe for storage.
for decades.
Finally, there is stable geology. The possibility of earthquakes here is zero. The seed bank is located more than 130 meters above sea level. Even if the Greenland ice sheet melts or the ice in Antarctica completely melts and the sea level rises 61 meters, it will be safe.
.
In addition, Longyearbyen has a good dock and airport, which provides convenience for countries to transport seeds here.
There is no better place on earth to build Noah's Ark.
"The construction of the seed bank started in March 2007 and was officially completed on February 26, 2008. At the completion ceremony, José Manuel Barroso, Chairman of the European Union Executive Committee and the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner
Wangari Maathai, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and nearly 150 people from 33 countries attended the ceremony."
"That time was also the one with the largest number of visitors. After that, almost no one could come in."
"The Global Crop Diversity Trust will be responsible for providing technical guidance, seed delivery and management."
"According to the safety design model of the U.S. National Gold Reserve, a seed bank is built at the end of the tunnel, and a 1-meter-thick concrete slab is built around the tunnel and seed bank. Outside the tunnel is a structure that can withstand the explosion of several tons of explosives.
The powerful sealing door and 2 airlock cabins, the overall strength can withstand earthquakes, nuclear weapons and even asteroids hitting the earth."
Even if someone really wanted to deliberately sabotage the seed bank, it would not be easy.
The island where the seed bank is located has no commercial flights.
Even Bifang himself had to make a boat when he came here.
"The area where the seed bank is located is often visited by polar bears, which can be said to be the natural 'security' of the seed bank, because all outsiders who enter their territory are regarded as 'undesirables' by polar bears."
"It is rare for locals to come here on their own initiative because it is really dangerous. In fact, if Mr. Fang hadn't come here today, we would have planned to drive there to pick you up."
There was some helplessness in Barritt's words. According to Bifang's flight, it was clear that he had just arrived today, but he rushed over all day without stopping, leaving them little time to prepare.
"Haha." Bi Fang scratched his head, "No wonder I saw so many polar bears on the hillside when I came here."
Barritt has a lot to say.
Even the builders of the seed bank had to treat the polar bears with both kindness and power, feeding them and guarding them with guns, so that they could live in peace with them for the time being.
Besides Bifang, who else in the world dares to run around alone in the wilds of Svalbard?
Polar bears can be seen on almost every hillside, and if you are not careful, you will become a ghost in the bear's mouth.
[666, Seeing Lao Fang running over alone, I thought that’s how he came over. I thought it was quite dangerous...]
【plus one......】
[Facts have proved that I thought too much. This is an abnormal way for a normal person to travel]
At the end, Barritt also showed the new seeds this year to everyone.
The seeds are contained in a sealed glass test tube and look very ordinary.
"In February this year, when there were volcanoes, floods, and locust plagues, the seed bank was filled with another 60,000 seed samples, which can be regarded as accelerating the accumulation of samples."
"very beautiful."
Bi Fang praised that in the transparent resin tube, carefully calculated seeds were densely packed together, and each one was almost exactly the same size and shape, giving it a unique beauty.
"Although these boxes have a small monetary value, they may hold the key to global food security and the balance of biodiversity."
After solemnly putting the seeds back into the storage box, Barritt took Bifang away from the warehouse, and the audience was even a little reluctant to leave.
Unknowingly, I have been here for nearly three hours.
Returning along the original path, passing through the long corridor, Barritt closed the doors one after another and returned to the original small room.
Barritt carefully opened the outermost iron door, looked through the crack in the door for a long time, and only after confirming that there were no polar bears outside and the environment was safe, he took Bi Fang out.
Barritt's task is to act as a tour guide, and the entire seed vault does not need to be guarded, so we just leave together.
Walking outside the dome, the sky above your head is already dotted with stars.
As soon as the audience's eyes moved upward, they couldn't move away.
【Wow, why is this starry sky so beautiful?】
Following Bi Fang around the world, the audience in the live broadcast room had never seen any starry sky. The clearest one was probably the one in the desert.
But even that time was far from comparable to the starry sky at this time.
Under the black curtain, there are densely packed stars.
Clear.
It is obviously a dark night, but it can remind people of the word "clear".
You can clearly see the general situation around you without even using a flashlight.
"It's a pity that there is no aurora tonight." Bi Fang lamented, "Aurora are very common in Svalbard. It is also the only place on earth where the northern lights can appear during the day."
"At this time, tourists from all over the world will come here to enjoy the gorgeous Northern Lights. From early spring to autumn, Svalbard will have 99-141 days of extreme daylight. At this time, there will be a wonder of daytime sunshine. Unfortunately, we have no chance to see it.
.”
Bi Fang felt a little regretful and followed Barritt through the snow to the off-road vehicle parked on the other side of the seed bank.
No wonder I didn't see it when I came here.
Bi Fang suddenly realized that the off-road vehicle was parked on the other side where he came from, and was blocked by the wedge-shaped seed bank exposed outside the mountain.
Get into the car, turn on the heater, and it will feel much warmer all of a sudden.
At this time, the temperature outside the car was minus eight degrees Celsius.
While waiting for the engine to warm up, Bi Fang also noticed the gun holster under the rear seat.
Barritt noticed Bifang's gaze, picked up the holster, and took it apart, revealing the whole picture.
"CR308, caliber 7.62×51mm, AR rifle developed by Germany's Heinel Defense Company." With just one glance, Bifang recognized the model of this gun.
"That's right." Barritt was surprised by Bi Fang's professionalism, but when he thought about the other party's identity, he felt that it was not surprising. "This kind of rifle fires medium-caliber full-power ammunition. It can have enough ammunition when it is attacked by a polar bear."
The lethality is so high that a 20-round magazine is enough to knock down a head."
"The scientific research stations in your country are basically equipped with this kind of gun. For a three-meter-long polar bear, if the caliber is smaller, I don't think it is reliable. In fact, I am not sure whether one magazine is enough."
Barritt has obviously dealt with polar bears, but he has no clear understanding of the power of guns or the defensive capabilities of polar bears.
Only a handful of people have ever hunted a polar bear these days.
"Actually, it's not that exaggerated." Bi Fang smiled.
There are many photos of the early establishment of the Great Wall Station in China, and many of them have foreign armed guards in the exterior scenes. At that time, they were still holding Winchester lever rifles and round-nose bullets.
The polar bear is strong, but if twenty rounds of medium-caliber bullets are fired at full power, it will not only fall down, but also turn into a sieve.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
There is a huge island of garbage in the northern Pacific Ocean, known as the Pacific Garbage Patch. Ocean currents carry plastic and other waste into swirling funnels, which fail to allow the garbage to float farther away, creating a huge island of garbage. The entire garbage island
It covers an area of more than 1.6 million square kilometers, an area six times that of the United Kingdom. It contains about 100 million tons of various wastes, 70% of which fell into the seabed, and is known as the Eighth Continent.