7th February 2013 New state-of-the-art Antarctic research station opens A brand new Antarctic research station is beginning operation. Mounted on hydraulic ski-legs allowing it to be moved across the ice, it features an advanced modular design and is expected to endure the Antarctic climate until 2050.
Halley VI – Britain’s latest Antarctic Research Station – becomes fully operational this month, signalling a new dawn for 21st century polar research. Opening 100 years after Captain Scott’s Antarctic expeditions, the new state-of-the-art facility demonstrates the UK’s ambition to remain at the forefront of scientific endeavour. Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), the British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) Halley VI Research Station is set to become an icon for British science, architecture and engineering. Built on the floating Brunt Ice Shelf, it replaces the 20-year old Halley V facility, and is the sixth base to be constructed in the area. The first station, occupied in 1957 for a Royal Society expedition, established the region as an important natural laboratory for studying the Earth's magnetic field and the near-space atmosphere. It was data from Halley that led to the 1985 discovery of the ozone hole. Halley bases I to IV were abandoned after being buried in snow and carried to the ice edge, where they were subsequently dropped in the ocean. The new design for Halley VI makes it far more robust, less labour intensive and with easier adjustments for moving. It has a striking appearance which "looks like something in space" according to the architect Hugh Broughton. Speaking at an event in London to celebrate the opening of the new station, the UK Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, said: "The new Halley Research Station is a triumph of British design, innovation and engineering. The UK’s world-class polar science community now has a unique, cutting edge suite of laboratories on the ice. The legacy of Captain Scott, together with our strong track record of scientific discovery in Antarctica, is set to continue in this excellent new facility."
Hugh Broughton Architects and engineers AECOM won the international competition to design a new research station. Their challenge was to create laboratory and living accommodation capable of withstanding extreme winter weather – temperatures dropping to -56°C (-69°F) and the site buffeted by winds in excess of 100 mph – being raised sufficiently to stay above metres of annual snowfall, and of being relocated inland periodically to avoid being stranded on an iceberg as the floating ice shelf moves towards the sea. Galliford Try won the £26 million construction contract and worked in partnership with technical teams from the British Antarctic Survey. Construction was carried out during four Antarctic summers, each build season lasting just nine weeks, with teams working round the clock in freezing conditions to complete this extreme challenge. It is hoped that Halley VI can last 30-40 years before a new structure is required. By that time, Antarctica may be facing an uncertain future – with global warming threatening large areas of the continent, and the international treaty on its environmental protection coming up for review (see 2048). More pictures of the new research station can be seen at the BAS gallery and the architect's website.
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