Two ice cracks threaten the Antarctic research station

The increasingly widespread cracks in the Antarctic ice shelf force the British mobile research station to close for the second time to avoid the risk of drift.

The British Antarctic Survey Agency (BAS) issued a notice last week about the closure of Halley VI station on the Brunt seaport in the Weddell Sea in the upcoming winter in the south pole from March to November 2018 shortly after the Summer activities are over, according to Live Science.

This is the second consecutive winter that Halley VI station must be closed because of the risk of being stuck between two growing cracks in the 150-meter-wide floating ice shelf.

Halley VI station moved to a new location on the Brunt ice shelf earlier this year.(Video: BAS).

The most recent assessment of the ice age shows that the expansion rate of a deep crack in the ice at about 20km from Halley VI station is increasing in the winter of 2017, and the second crack named Halloween appears. North of the station in October 2016 is also continuing to extend to the east.

BAS representative said the Halley VI station can be safely evacuated if the cracks become so large that it separates from the main part of the ice shelf, a phenomenon called "landslide event". However, in the face of the possibility of forced evacuation between harsh, dark weather and frozen seas of Antarctic winter, BAS chose to close the station as a precaution, according to the director. communications director Athena Dinar of BAS.

"The spread of both cracks during the last winter in Antarctica raises concerns. If the BAS staff goes through the winter at the station and the collapse event occurs, there will be no good aircraft. ships in the vicinity to join the rescue, " Dinar said.

Halloween cracks look from above.(Video: YouTube).

Halley VI station always has a team of 14 scientists and technicians who stay over the winter. They continue to collect data from laboratory equipment and operate the equipment of the station during the severe winter storms in Antarctica.

The staff of the staff who will spend the winter in the 2018 Halley VI station will be distributed to other Southern pole research stations of BAS or returned to England.

"We are witnessing the power and unpredictability of Nature. The safety of our employees is a top priority for us in these cases. Their Antarctic summer activity period I will continue to proceed as planned, " said Jane Francis, director of BAS.

Before 2012, deep cracks in the southwest of Halley VI station remained the status quo for at least 35 years. But the crack widened from then and extended by 1.7 kilometers a year. After the Halloween crack appeared north of the station in October 2016 with a length of 22km, BAS decided to relocate the Halley VI station to a new location on the ice shelf, where there was less chance of a landslide event. According to BAS's report, the Halloween crack has increased rapidly since its first appearance, and now its length is 37km.

Halley VI station always has a team of 14 scientists and technicians who stay over the winter.

The compartments of Halley VI station are equipped with skis and are designed to allow the ice to be pulled along in case of need to be removed. In early January of this year, BAS began pulling 8 10-ton compartments of Halley VI station to a new area about 23km away from the old location.

Before starting to close in March 2018, the Halley VI station will operate normally in the new location on the Brunt ice shelf for 4 summer months. The facility is being "frozen" by technicians after eight months of inactivity, preparing to receive 73 BAS employees to Antarctica this week.