Svalbard is known for its doomsday vault where hundreds of thousands of seeds are stored for posterity, and now the world’s corals will get something similar in Australia. The non-profit organization Great Barrier Reef Legacy intends to build a doomsday vault for corals .
It is about a new building that is described as a giant ultra-secure bunker above ground . The bunker is designed to withstand all kinds of natural disasters without damaging the corals.
In the 7,000 square meter bunker, 800 different species of corals will live in aquariums. Each aquarium will contain the algae and bacteria that this particular coral species needs to survive.
Corals have the peculiarity that they can live for thousands of years. So if only the doomsday vault lasts, the corals can be replanted in new places when circumstances allow.
In addition to serving as a sheet for corals, the Great Barrier Reef Legacy hopes that the building will also become a major tourist destination. It would give the organization extra income and be able to spread knowledge about corals to many more.
According to the organization, there is no doubt that a doomsday vault is needed.
– Corals around the world are fighting for their survival now. Over 25 percent of all life in the oceans depends on reefs during some part of their lives, so a very large part of marine life needs living corals, says Dean Miller, marine biologist and head of the Great Barrier Reef Legacy in a comment to Oceanographic Magazine .
If everything goes according to plan, the doomsday vault will be completed in 2025.
