Shocking satellite image reveals giant Antarctic 'Halloween crack' is still expanding at 200 metres per DAY
- The crack in the ice shelf, dubbed the 'halloween crack,' appeared last October
- The Halley VI base of the British Antarctic Survey was only 17km from the crack
- Satellites are monitoring the crack, which is lengthening at 200 metres per day
- The crack is on the Brunt Ice Shelf, a floating ice sheet in the Weddell Sea
- The floating ice occasionally calves - when chunks of ice break into icebergs
- Information from ESA satellites helped to decide to close the base temporarily
A shocking new satellite image has revealed the march of a giant crack in the Antarctic ice shelf dubbed the 'Halloween crack'.
Taken by the European Space Agency's Copernicus programme, which is aimed at Earth Observation, the data was instrumental in the recent decision to temporarily close down the British Halley VI research station in Antarctica.
The crack is located on the Brunt Ice Shelf - a floating ice sheet that moves steadily towards the ocean where it occasionally calves - when chunks of ice break off glaciers to make an iceberg.
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Images of the Halloween crack generated by The Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B satellites. The crack is located on the Brunt Ice Shelf - a floating ice sheet that moves steadily towards the ocean where it occasionally calves - when chunks of ice break off glaciers to make an iceberg
The crack first appeared last October, when the Halley VI base of the British Antarctic Survey was only 17km from it.
Information from two satellites - Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2, were used to monitor the crack's development.
A company called Enveo, which uses satellite data to monitor to study the frozen parts of the world, also helped with the observations.
In November and December, the crack was growing in length by as much as 600 metres per day.
While the Halley Research station had to move because of this, it was designed to be relocated if the ice becomes dangerous.
The station already had to relocate 23km inland during Antarctica's last summer months because of another chasm (crack) which had lain dormant for more than three decades but became active again in 2013.
Dr Hilmar Gudmundsson, the survey's lead scientist, said: 'The frequency of Sentinel-2 images and Sentinel-1 radar products allows us to follow in detail and almost in real time the development of the crack as it grows week by week.'
The two Sentinel satellites are being used to monitor three cracks - the Halloween crack, which is now growing at 200 metres per day, and two other ice chasms.
The satellites are also being used to detect any new cracks that may arise.
The Halley VI Research Station was forced to close its Antarctic research base amid rising fears it could fall into a huge ice chasm. Shocking new drone footage shows just how massive the growing crack in the ice is
The Sentinel-2 satellite has been programmed so that it takes images every time it flies over the cracks so that there's a maximum chances of photos without clouds in them.
Other satellites, Sentinel 1-A and Sentinel 1-B, have also been recording data with two crossing tracks.
This allows researchers to map the growing rift and, showing how the ice shelf is deforming at the tip of the growing crack.
Dr Mark Drinkwater, head of ESA’s Earth observation mission, said: 'Routine Antarctic summer observations by the combination of Copernicus Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-1A and -1B are now demonstrating their value for monitoring rapid environmental change and providing information crucial to informed decisions on matters of safety and security in Antarctica.'
'Though without direct effect on Antarctic infrastructure, similarly dramatic summer development of ice-shelf fractures is revealed around Antarctica, notably Pine Island glacier in West Antarctica and the Larsen-C and Brunt ice shelves in the Weddell Sea.'
Antarctica will soon be facing the dark winter months, and the Sentinel-1 satellite will continue to provide images so that thes changes can be monitored.
The first chasm, which had lain dormant for more than three decades, became active again in 2013. Since them, the crack has lengthened at a rate of 1.7 km per year.
On October 2016, a second crack appeared some 17 km to the north of the research station.
Researchers conclude that they are unable to predict with certainty what will happen to the ice shelf during the forthcoming Antarctic winter and beyond.
The Halley VI Research Station was relocated 14 miles across the Brunt Ice Shelf, amid fears in could slide into an encroaching fissure in the ice shelf. This map shows the current location of the original crack that forced the research station to relocate, labelled as Chasm 1
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