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Halley Research Station Antarctica to close for winter | |
admin | |
2017-01-16 | |
发布年 | 2017 |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | 英国 |
领域 | 资源环境 |
正文(英文) | The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has decided not to winter at Halley VI Research Station for safety reasons. The station, which is located on the floating Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, will shut down between March and November 2017. ![]() Halley Research Station. Copyright British Antarctic Survey. Changes to the ice, particularly the growth of a new crack, presents a complex glaciological picture that means that BAS scientists are unable to predict with certainty what will happen to the ice shelf during the forthcoming Antarctic winter. As a precautionary measure, BAS will remove its people before the Antarctic winter begins. Halley VI station is in the final stages of being relocated 23km from its present site to put it upstream of a previously dormant ice chasm that began to show signs of growth in 2012. In October 2016, a second crack appeared some 17km to the north of the research station. Since then, glaciologists have monitored the growth of this crack using a network of GPS instruments that measure the deformation of the ice, together with European Space Agency satellite imagery, ground penetrating radar, and on-site drone footage, which show that the recent changes to the Brunt Ice Shelf have not been seen before. They have run computer models and created bathymetric maps to determine whether or not a large iceberg will calve, and the impact that could have on the remaining ice shelf. They conclude that they are unable to predict with certainty what will happen to the ice shelf during the forthcoming Antarctic winter and beyond. There is no immediate risk to the people currently at the station, or to the station itself. However, there is sufficient uncertainty about what could happen to the ice during the coming Antarctic winter for BAS to change its operational plans. BAS is confident of mounting a fast uplift of personnel during summer months if a fracturing of the ice shelf occurred. However, access to Halley by ship or aircraft is extremely difficult during the winter months of 24-hour darkness, extremely low temperatures and the frozen sea. The director of BAS has therefore decided that it is prudent for safety reasons to shut down the station as a precautionary measure and remove its people before the Antarctic winter begins. There are currently 88 people on station including summer-only staff working on the relocation project and 16 who were scheduled to over-winter. Every effort is currently being made to ensure the continuity of long-term scientific data capture in these circumstances. Options to temporarily redeploy research and technical support teams to other parts of BAS are being explored. Halley VI Research Station is an internationally important platform for global Earth, atmospheric and space weather observation in a climate-sensitive zone. In 2013, the station attained the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) global station status, becoming the 29th in the world and 3rd in Antarctica. Director of Operations Captain Tim Stockings said:
Further informationAthena Dinar NotesAbout Halley VIHalley VI Research Station sits on Antarctica's 150m-thick Brunt Ice Shelf. This floating ice shelf flows at a rate of 0·4km per year west towards the sea where, at irregular intervals, it calves off as icebergs. Halley is crucial to studies into globally important issues such as the impact of extreme space weather events, climate change, and atmospheric phenomena. It was ozone measurements at Halley that led to the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in 1985 - they are now being used to evaluate its recovery. Long-term monitoring of the natural changes that occur in the ice shelf has revealed changes, including recent growth of a chasm that was previously dormant for around 35 years. Preparatory work for the re-location was carried out during the 2015-2016 Antarctic summer season (November-March), and moving the station is almost complete. This involved uncoupling the eight station modules and using large tractors to transport each module further inland. There have been six Halley research stations on the Brunt Ice Shelf since 1956. About closing the station for winterWhilst BAS is confident of mounting a fast uplift of personnel during summer months if a fracturing of the ice shelf occurred the same cannot be said for winter. Between now and early March, science and technical teams will complete the relocation of the station modules and prepare them for winter and ready for recommissioning next season. Remote instruments will continue to capture and store data about movement of the ice shelf. A staged removal of summer-only personnel whose work on the relocation is complete is expected to begin in mid-February. All remaining personnel are scheduled to leave by early March. About Halley science
![]() Map showing the relocation of Halley. Copyright British Antarctic Survey. The map shows the position of the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antartica, the current site of Halley 6 on the ice shelf and the planned new site 23km away, 40km inland from the sea. Chasm 1 became active again in 2013. Since then, the crack has propagated at a rate of about 1.7km per year. About the re-location project
Britain in Antarctica
BAS, an institute of NERC, delivers and enables world-leading interdisciplinary research in the polar regions. Its skilled science and support staff based in Cambridge, Antarctica and the Arctic, work together to deliver research that uses the polar regions to advance our understanding of Earth as a sustainable planet. Through its extensive logistic capability and know-how, BAS facilitates access for the British and international science community to the UK polar research operation. Numerous national and international collaborations, combined with an excellent infrastructure, help sustain a world leading position for the UK in Antarctic affairs. |
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来源平台 | Natural Environment Research Council |
文献类型 | 新闻 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/103797 |
专题 | 资源环境科学 |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | admin. Halley Research Station Antarctica to close for winter. 2017. |
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