Britain's Antarctic base Halley VI to shut over ice crack concerns
The British Antarctic Survey is withdrawing all its research staff because of "uncertainty" over a crack in the ice.
Tuesday 17 January 2017 14:55, UK
A British research base in Antarctica is being shut down for eight months because it is perched on an ice shelf which is cracking.
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is withdrawing all staff from its space-age Halley VI base from March to November.
BAS says a new crack in the floating Brunt ice shelf presents "a complex glaciological picture" and scientists are unable to predict what will happen during the Antarctic winter.
"As a precautionary measure BAS will remove its people before the Antarctic winter begins," the organisation said.
Halley VI is in the final stages of being moved 14 miles (23km) to a new location upstream of a previously dormant ice chasm.
In October 2016 a second crack appeared around 10 miles (17km) to the north of the research station.
Glaciologists have been monitoring the growth of the crack using a network of GPS instruments that measure the change in the ice, together with European Space Agency satellite imagery, ground penetrating radar and drone footage.
"There is no immediate risk to the people currently at the station, or to the station itself," said BAS.
"However, there is sufficient uncertainty about what could happen to the ice during the coming Antarctic winter for BAS to change its operational plans."
There are currently 88 people on Halley VI, including summer-only staff working on the relocation project and 16 who were scheduled to stay during the winter.
BAS says the base is an "internationally important platform for global earth, atmospheric and space weather observation in a climate-sensitive zone".
Director of Operations Captain Tim Stockings said: "We want to do the right thing for our people.
"Bringing them home for winter is a prudent precaution given the changes that our glaciologists have seen in the ice shelf in recent months."