On December 8, 2016, Digital Journal reported that preparations were under way to move the portable and modular research station to a new location, located 23 kilometers (14 miles) upstream on the Brunt Ice Shelf.
At that time, the primary focus was on a huge chasm that became active again in 2012, moving at a rate of about 1.7 kilometers (one mile) per year, threatening to cut the station off if it’s not relocated. In 2014, pre-move preparations were started in anticipation of the change in the station’s location being completed in the 2016-2017 season, reports the Verge.
While the relocation effort is nearly complete, the problem isn’t with the huge chasm, but with another crack that appeared in the ice shelf about 17kilometers (10.5 miles) to the north and east of the new base position. It has been dubbed the “Halloween Crack” because it was discovered on 31 October, reports the BBC.
“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,” the research organization said in a statement.
The BAS doesn’t know if or when the Brunt ice shelf will collapse, nor do they know what affects a calving event will have on the ice sheet, reports Gizmodo. But they are not taking any chances. So as of March this year, the ice station will be shut down for the Antarctic winter, allowing the 88 scientists to go home for a short while.
The decision also makes a lot of sense because while rescue operations during the Antarctic summers are relatively easy, winter can be downright dangerous with rescuers having to deal with 24 hours of darkness, extremely low temperatures, and the frozen sea.