Halley Research Station, Antarctica: calving risks and monitoring strategies

The British Antarctic Survey's Halley Research Station is located on the Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica, where it is potentially vulnerable to calving events. Existing historical records show that the Brunt Ice Shelf is currently extended further into the Weddell Sea than it was before its last la...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
Main Authors: R. Anderson, D. H. Jones, G. H. Gudmundsson
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2014
Subjects:
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
TD1-1066
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation
G
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Geology
QE1-996.5
Antarctic
Brunt Ice Shelf
Halley Research Station
Stancomb-Wills Glacier
Stancomb-Wills Glacier Tongue
Weddell
Weddell Sea
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice Shelf
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-917-2014
https://doaj.org/article/ef972fb9231a4325b35b9d423120a586
Description
Summary:The British Antarctic Survey's Halley Research Station is located on the Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica, where it is potentially vulnerable to calving events. Existing historical records show that the Brunt Ice Shelf is currently extended further into the Weddell Sea than it was before its last large calving event, so a new calving event may be overdue. We describe three different possible future scenarios for a large-scale calving event on Brunt Ice Shelf. We conclude that currently the most threatening scenario for the Halley Research Station is a calving event on the neighbouring Stancomb-Wills Glacier Tongue, with subsequent detrimental consequences for the stability of the Brunt Ice Shelf. Based on available data, we suggest an increasing likelihood of this scenario occurring after 2020. We furthermore describe ongoing monitoring efforts aimed at giving advanced warning of an imminent calving event.

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