'Doomsday Library' opens in Norway where the world's most precious BOOKS will be stored in digital form to protect them from the apocalypse
- The World Arctic Archive has opened in the Arctic wasteland of Svalbard
- Representatives from Brazil, Mexico and Norway will be the first to save files
- The vault sits alongside the Global Seed Vault – a huge collection of seeds that would allow humanity to survive, should food supplies be wiped out
In the hopes of protecting the world's most important books, a second 'Doomsday Vault' has been opened in the frozen Arctic wasteland of Svalbard, Norway.
The precious books will be stored in digital form, allowing them to survive the most extreme conditions, including nuclear war.
Alongside Norway, representatives from Brazil and Mexico will be the first to save copies of their files in the vault.
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The precious books will be stored in digital form, allowing them to survive the most extreme conditions, including nuclear war (stock image)
The vault, which is called the World Arctic Archive, is based in Svalbard, which is already home to the Global Seed Vault – a huge collection of seeds that would allow humanity to survive, should food supplies be wiped out.
Incredible new technology by a firm called Piql, will be used to store data as film, rather than hard drives, or other forms of storage.
With expertise in film and using both EU funds and support from the Norwegian Research Council and Innovation Norway, Piql has performed vast research on film as a storage medium.
Speaking to NRK, a Norwegian national broadcaster, Kartrine Loen Thomson from Piql said: 'We believe that we can save the data using our technology for a whole 1,000 years.'
The vault, which is called the World Arctic Archive, is based in Svalbard, which is already home to the Global Seed Vault (pictured) – a huge collection of seeds that would allow humanity to survive, should food supplies be wiped out
The film will be stored deep inside a deep mine called Mine 3 that is frozen in permafrost, ensuring it keeps a constant temperature.
Svalbard is a particularly safe area to store the precious books.
Norway has sovereignty over the archipelago owing to the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, which was signed by 42 countries and effectively made Svalbard a demilitarised zone.
The film will be stored deep inside a deep mine called Mine 3 that is frozen in permafrost, ensuring it keeps a constant temperature
Pal Berg, from SNSK, a Norwegian coal mining firm, said: 'We can be reasonably confident that no military attack will happen.'
So far the UK and US have not opted to store any national archives in the vault, but they may choose to join Brazil and Mexico in saving data later.
Eric Cardoso, from Mexico's National Archives, said: 'There is a special feeling that I should save my nation's memory on the Arctic island.'
The Doomsday Vault will sit alongside the Global Seed Vault in the Arctic wasteland of Svalbard, Norway
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