Antarctic research base will be evacuated and relocated amid fears it could be swallowed by giant ice chasm

The British research base in Antarctica which first discovered the hole in the ozone layer is to evacuate and close for the winter amid concerns it could fall into a giant ice chasm.

Scientists will be removed from the Halley VI Research Station, run by the British Antarctic Survey and situated on an ice shelf, between March and November as a “precautionary measure” amid fears it could slide into an encroaching fissure.

The centre, based on the floating Brunt Ice Shelf, will be relocated inland to a safer area, 23km from its present site upstream of a previously dormant ice chasm that began to show signs of growth in 2012. Now experts say the growth of a new crack 16km north of the station means they are unable to predict what will happen to the ice during the Antarctic winter.

The organisation said while there was no immediate risk to its 88 staff working at the station the new crack “presents a complex glaciological picture” and that it would be extremely difficult to evacuate during the winter if the ice shelf fractured.

Tim Stockings, director of operations, said Halley VI, which was due to be occupied by 16 staff over the winter months, was designed specifically to move inland if required and that the relocation was going well. He said: “This challenging engineering project is scheduled to complete as planned by early March 2017. We want to do the right thing for our people. Bringing them home for winter is a prudent precaution given the changes that our glaciologists have seen in the ice shelf in recent months.”