As a precautionary measure , officials with the British Antarctic Survey have resolve to shut out down the Halley VI Research Station for the wintertime after a new ice crack emerged just a few miles from the remote outpost .
The portable Halley VI post is now in the final stages of being relocated 14 Admiralty mile ( 23 km ) from its present web site , positioning it upriver of a baffling deoxyephedrine chap that appeared in 2012 . Late last yr , a 2d crack emerged about 10 miles ( 17 kilometer ) magnetic north of the research station . The remote science outpost rests on Antarctica ’s 500 - base ( 150 - cadence ) thick Brunt Ice Shelf , which is testify signs of an impendent crash . south-polar ice rink shelf calve at atypical intervals , producing large iceberg lettuce . The remaining ice shelf is often unstable .
https://gizmodo.com/antarctic-crack-threatens-scientific-research-station-1789729611
Researchers with the British Antarctic Survey are n’t ’ certain if or when the Brunt Ice Shelf will collapse , or what force a break up result will have on the ice sheet as a whole . They ’re not taking any chance , so as of March 2017 the 88 - strong research station will be abandoned . The researchers are currently taking efforts to ensure that the collection of scientific data retain in their absence .
“ The current work to relocate our post is going very well , ” said BAS Director of Operations Time Stockings in a statement . “ This challenging engineering project is scheduled to discharge as plan by early March 2017 . We want to do the right thing for our people . bring them home for winter is a prudent precaution given the changes that our glaciologists have construe in the chicken feed shelf in recent month . Our end is to winterize the station and leave it quick for re - occupation as soon as potential after the south-polar winter . ”
The peril of a calving consequence is evidently worse in the summertime , but the problem is one of accessibility . A spry evacuation would be relatively easy during the Antarctic summertime , but during the winter ( March to November ) , rescue crews would have to share with 24 hours of darkness , extremely low temperatures , and the frozen sea .
[ British Antarctic Survey ]
AntarcticaScience
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