Raising the LoH site

Michal Krzysztofowicz
Mon, 14 Nov 2016 22:03:57 +0000

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In this image, taken yesterday in the field about 14 km South of the Halley VI Station, BAS Glaciologist Jan de Rydt is seen connecting together various elements of the GPS station monitoring the movement of the Brunt Ice Shelf.

Halley VI station is positioned on a moving ice shelf, with the current average daily drift due west, at the rate in the region of 1.3-1.5m per day. To ensure the safety of the station and to provide scientific data on the changes of the ice shelf, a network of GPS stations like the one in the picture has been established in multiple locations of the Brunt. All those GPS stations collectively constitute an experiment called Lifetime of Halley (LoH). The data from each GPS station is downloaded and processed every day to calculate the station's movement along with the part of the ice shelf it's located on. These then get compared to the reference point (which currently is the Halley VI station itself) and variations in drift are analysed. To ensure all year round operation of the station, a set of batteries are installed to power the instruments, as well as a wind turbine and a solar panel (the latter one only working n the summer season, when the sun is above the horizon).