The BAS’s Halley research station, located on the Brunt ice shelf, has been closed for the Antarctic winter and its 12-person staff left earlier this month.
Scientists have been expecting for years that a large iceberg would break away due to large cracks that formed in the 150-meter-thick floating ice shelf, according to the BAS.
A new gorge, known as the North Rift, began moving to another large rift in November and grew a mile in January.
Aerial video taken in mid-February shows the North Rift stretching as far as the eye can see.
The crack extended to a few hundred meters on Friday morning and freed it from the rest of the ice shelf, the BAS said.
She said they get daily updates on the ice shelf from an automated network of high-precision GPS instruments as well as satellite imagery.
‘All the data is being sent back to Cambridge for analysis so we know what happens even in the Antarctic winter, when there are no staff at the station, it’s pitch black and the temperature drops below minus 50 degrees C (or -58F). , “she said.
The BAS moved the Halley research station further inland in 2016 as a precautionary measure and staff have only worked there since 2017 in the Antarctic summer because evacuations during the dark winter would be difficult.
“This is a dynamic situation. Four years ago, we moved the Halley research station inland to ensure that it would not be carried away when an iceberg finally formed. It was a wise decision,” he said. Simon Garrod, director of the BAS, said in the statement. “Our job now is to keep a close eye on the situation and assess the possible impact of the current calving on the remaining ice shelf.”
Since 1956, there have been six Halley research stations on the Brunt ice shelf to make atmospheric and spatial observations.
The ice shelf flows at about 2 kilometers per year to the sea and icebergs break down at irregular intervals.
“Change in the ice at Halley is a natural process and there is no connection to the calving events seen on Larsen C Ice Shelf, and no evidence that climate change has played an important role,” according to the BAS.
Scientists are now watching the iceberg to see what it will do next.
“In the coming weeks or months, the iceberg could pull away; or it could get stuck and stay near Brunt Ice Shelf,” Francis said in the statement.