Mon. Jun 9th, 2025
Arctic Vault Safeguards Cultural Masterpieces

High above the Arctic Circle, the Svalbard archipelago is situated midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

This frigid, mountainous, and remote region is home to a substantial polar bear population and a few small settlements.

Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost town, is one such settlement. Just outside, within a decommissioned coal mine, lies the Arctic World Archive (AWA) – a secure underground data vault.

Clients pay to have their data preserved on film within this vault, ensuring its potential survival for centuries.

“Our mission is to ensure information survives technological obsolescence and the passage of time,” explains founder Rune Bjerkestrand, guiding a tour.

With headlamps illuminating the way, we descended a dark passageway, following old railway tracks 300 meters into the mountainside, to reach the archive’s metal door.

Inside the vault, a shipping container is filled with silver packets, each containing reels of film storing the archived data.

“It’s a vast collection of memories and heritage,” Mr. Bjerkestrand notes.

“It encompasses everything from digitized art and literature to music, motion pictures, and more.”

Since its inception eight years ago, the archive has received over 100 deposits from institutions, companies, and individuals across 30+ countries.

These digitized artifacts include 3D scans of the Taj Mahal; sections of ancient Vatican Library manuscripts; satellite Earth observations; and Norway’s iconic “The Scream” by Edvard Munch.

The AWA is a commercial venture, utilizing technology provided by Piql, a Norwegian data preservation company also led by Mr. Bjerkestrand.

Inspired by the nearby Global Seed Vault, it serves as a repository for data recovery following natural or human-caused disasters.

“Today, information and data face numerous threats,” Mr. Bjerkestrand states. “Terrorism, war, and cyberattacks pose significant risks.”

He considers Svalbard the ideal location for a secure data storage facility.

“It’s far removed from conflicts, crises, and disasters. What could be safer?”

The underground vault’s dark, dry, and consistently sub-zero temperatures create ideal conditions for long-term film preservation, according to Mr. Bjerkestrand.

Even potential permafrost thaw due to global warming shouldn’t compromise the vault’s robustness, he assures.

A separate large metal box at the chamber’s rear houses GitHub’s Code Vault.

This contains hundreds of reels of open-source code – the foundational elements of computer operating systems, software, websites, and apps.

Programming languages, AI tools, and all active public repositories from its 150 million users are also archived here.

“Securing software’s future is crucial for humanity; it’s integral to our daily lives,” emphasizes GitHub’s chief operating officer, Kyle Daigle.

His company explored various long-term storage solutions, acknowledging the challenges. “Some methods offer long-term storage, but require specific technology for retrieval.”

At Piql’s southern Norway headquarters, data files are encoded onto photosensitive film.

“Data is a sequence of bits and bytes,” explains senior product developer Alexey Mantsev, demonstrating film passing through a spool.

“We convert this sequence into images. Each image contains approximately eight million pixels.”

The processed film appears grey, but closer inspection reveals a pattern resembling numerous tiny QR codes.

This information is immutable and easily retrievable, Mr. Mantsev clarifies. “We can scan and decode it like a hard drive, but from film.”

A key concern with long-term storage is future comprehension and retrieval. Piql addresses this by incorporating a magnified, optically readable guide onto the film itself.

With daily data usage and generation exceeding previous levels, experts warn of a potential digital Dark Age as technology renders older software and hardware obsolete.

Current file formats may face the same fate as floppy disks and DVDs.

Numerous firms offer long-term data storage solutions.

LTO (Linear Tape Open) magnetic tape cassettes are common, but newer innovations promise to revolutionize information preservation.

For instance, Microsoft’s Project Silica uses 2mm-thick glass panes for data storage via lasers. Scientists at the University of Southampton created a 5D memory crystal, archiving the human genome.

This is also stored in the Memory of Mankind repository, an Austrian salt mine vault safeguarding historical documents.

The Arctic World Archive accepts deposits thrice yearly. During our visit, recordings of endangered languages and Chopin’s manuscripts were among the latest additions.

Photographer Christian Clauwers, documenting South Pacific islands threatened by sea-level rise, also contributed his work.

“I deposited footage and photographs, visual records of the Marshall Islands,” he explains.

“The islands’ highest point is three meters, and they face severe climate change impacts.”

“The experience was humbling and surreal,” shares archivist Joanne Shortland, after depositing Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust records, engineering drawings, and photographs of historic car models.

“Many of our formats are becoming obsolete. Maintaining accessibility over 20 or 30 years requires constant file format updates. The digital world presents numerous challenges.”

The US currently has no high-speed rail services, but two are under construction, and more planned.

The planned layoffs mean the Japanese carmaker has now cut about 15% of its workforce in the past year.

Chinese online retailers had previously relied on the “de minimis” loophole to ship low-value items to the US.

Giant tyre firms are testing tyres that can survive conditions on the Moon and Mars.

The government say the findings, shown on an open source map, present a worrying picture.

Arctic Vault Safeguards Cultural Masterpieces

High above the Arctic Circle, the Svalbard archipelago sits midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

This remote, mountainous, and frozen land is home to numerous polar bears and a few small settlements.

Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost town, is one such settlement. Just outside, within a decommissioned coal mine, lies the Arctic World Archive (AWA)—an underground data vault.

Clients pay to store their data on film within the vault, potentially preserving it for centuries.

“Our mission is to ensure information survives technological obsolescence and the passage of time,” explains founder Rune Bjerkestrand, guiding a tour.

With headlamps illuminating our path, we traversed a dark passage, following old railway tracks 300 meters into the mountainside to reach the archive’s metal door.

Inside the vault, a shipping container holds numerous silver packets, each containing film reels storing data.

“It’s a vast collection of memories, heritage,” Mr. Bjerkestrand notes. “Everything from digitized art and literature to music, film—you name it.”

Since its inception eight years ago, the archive has received over 100 deposits from institutions, companies, and individuals in over 30 countries.

Among the digitized artifacts are 3D scans of the Taj Mahal, ancient Vatican Library manuscripts, satellite imagery, and Edvard Munch’s iconic “The Scream.”

The AWA, a commercial venture, utilizes technology from Piql, a Norwegian data preservation company also headed by Mr. Bjerkestrand. Its inspiration comes from the nearby Global Seed Vault.

“Today, information faces numerous threats,” Mr. Bjerkestrand observes. “Terrorism, war, cyberattacks—the list is long.”

He considers Svalbard ideal for secure data storage. “It’s isolated! Far from conflicts, crises, and disasters. What could be safer?”

The underground vault is dark, dry, and consistently sub-zero, conditions Mr. Bjerkestrand claims are ideal for centuries-long film preservation.

Even potential permafrost thaw due to global warming poses no threat to the vault’s structural integrity, he assures.

Another large metal box at the chamber’s rear contains GitHub’s Code Vault.

The software developer has archived hundreds of reels of open-source code here—the foundation of operating systems, software, websites, and apps.

Programming languages, AI tools, and every active public repository from its 150 million users are also stored.

“Securing software’s future is crucial for humanity; it’s integral to our daily lives,” GitHub’s chief operating officer, Kyle Daigle, tells the BBC.

His firm has explored various long-term storage solutions, acknowledging challenges. “Some methods offer long-term storage, but require specific technology for retrieval.”

At Piql’s headquarters in southern Norway, data files are encoded onto photosensitive film.

“Data is a sequence of bits and bytes,” explains senior product developer Alexey Mantsev, demonstrating film running through a spool. “We convert these bits into images; each frame contains around eight million pixels.”

The processed film appears grey, resembling a mass of tiny QR codes. Mr. Mantsev explains the information is immutable and easily retrievable.

“We can scan and decode it, similar to reading a hard drive, but from film.”

A key concern with long-term storage is future accessibility. Piql addresses this by incorporating a magnified, optically readable guide onto the film.

Daily data generation exceeds all previous levels, yet experts warn of a potential digital dark age as technology renders older formats obsolete.

This could render current file formats as obsolete as floppy disks and DVDs.

Numerous firms offer long-term data storage.

LTO (Linear Tape Open) magnetic tapes are common, but newer innovations promise to revolutionize preservation methods.

For instance, Microsoft’s Project Silica uses 2mm-thick glass panes for data storage via lasers. Scientists at the University of Southampton created a 5D memory crystal, storing the human genome.

This crystal is housed in the Memory of Mankind repository, an Austrian salt mine vault safeguarding historical documents.

The Arctic World Archive accepts deposits three times yearly. During the BBC’s visit, recordings of endangered languages and Chopin’s manuscripts were among the latest additions.

Photographer Christian Clauwers, documenting South Pacific islands threatened by sea-level rise, also contributed his work.

“I deposited footage and photography—visual records of the Marshall Islands,” he states. “The highest point is three meters; they face immense climate change impacts.”

“It was humbling and surreal,” says archivist Joanne Shortland of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust after depositing records, engineering drawings, and photos of historic car models.

“Many of my formats are becoming obsolete. You must constantly update file formats to ensure accessibility in 20 or 30 years. The digital world presents many challenges.”

The UK government stated there’s “no veto on Chinese investment” in its US tariff deal.

The short-term rental company aims to expand its travel experiences.

The US lacks high-speed rail, but two lines are under construction, with more planned.

Recent layoffs represent a 15% workforce reduction for the Japanese automaker in the past year.

Chinese online retailers previously utilized the “de minimis” loophole for shipping low-value items to the US.