Crack in Antarctic ice shelf threatens research station
A giant crack in East Antarctica is threatening to cleave off part of the ice where a key research station sits and leave the facility drifting on an iceberg.
The chasm, which was dormant for 35 years, is now growing at a pace of about 1.7 kilometers, or 1 mile, per year on the Brunt ice shelf, according to the British Antarctic Survey.
The U.K. science office on Tuesday said it was preparing to move the Halley VI Research Station to save it from splintering off into the sea. The station is a globally important platform for gathering data on space, weather, climate change and ozone measurements.
Scientists in 1985 first discovered a hole in the ozone layer at the station's current location.
British Antarctic Survey said it plans to move Halley VI piece by piece over the next three years to a new location some 23 kilometers, or 14.3 miles, inland.
The research station was built with such a journey in mind. The facility is made up of eight connected modules that sit atop hydraulically elevated ski-like legs. To move each module, the researchers will tow each module using large tractors to its new home.
"Halley was designed and engineered specifically to be relocated in response to changes in the ice," Tim Stockings, director of operators at the British Antarctic Survey, said Tuesday in a statement.
"Over the last couple of years, our operational teams have been meticulous in developing very detailed plans for the move," he added. "We are excited by the challenge."
Satellite monitoring in 2012 first revealed signs of the chasm's movement on the 150-meter-thick Brunt ice shelf.
In the 2015-2016 field season, from November to March, glaciologists used ice-penetrating radar technologies to calculate the chasm's most likely path and speed. They also began making plans for the station's relocation.
East Antarctica, once considered the most stable part of Antarctica, is now showing signs of increased melting due in part to human-caused climate change. Still, the British scientists indicated the Brunt ice shelf's chasm was part of a "natural" glaciological change.
Maria Gallucci was a Science Reporter at Mashable. She was previously the energy and environment reporter at International Business Times; features editor of Makeshift magazine; clean economy reporter for InsideClimate News; and a correspondent in Mexico City until 2011. Maria holds degrees in journalism and Spanish from Ohio University's Honors Tutorial College.
