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Halley was founded in 1956, for the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, by an expedition from the Royal Society. The bay where the expedition decided to set up their base was named Halley Bay, after the astronomer Edmond Halley. The name was changed to Halley in 1977 as the original bay had disappeared due to changes in the ice shelf.
During winter there are usually around 16 over wintering staff (winterers). In the summer period, from late December to early March, these staffs increase to around 70.
It is often not clear from articles about Antarctic bases that very few of the winterers are scientists. Most are the technical specialists required to keep the station and the scientific experiments running. The wintering team at Halley includes a chef, a doctor, mechanics, an electrician, several electronics engineers and a heating and ventilation engineer.
One of the winterers each year is designated as the Winter Base Commander and sworn in as a magistrate; this job is carried out in addition to their normal duties.
1996 saw the first female winterers at Halley, reflecting the changes within the British Antarctic Survey. There have been at least two women wintering every year since then.
The station operates throughout the year with a maximum population of 70 in the summer and an average of 16 over winter. The Emperor penguin colony near Halley, which is present from May to February, is a special attraction, while other recreational trips take members further inland towards the "hinge zone" where the floating ice shelf is joined to the continent.
Approximately 1.2 metres of snow accumulate each year on the Brunt Ice Shelf and buildings on the surface become covered and eventually crushed by snow, necessitating periodic rebuilding of the station. This part of the ice shelf is also moving westward by approx. 700m per year.
There have been five Halley bases built so far. The first four were all buried by snow accumulation and crushed until they were uninhabitable. Various construction methods were tried, from unprotected wooden huts to steel tunnels. Halley V has the main buildings built on steel platforms that are raised annually to keep them above the snow surface.
For more information on the Halley Research Station in Antarctica, please visit http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/living_and_working/research_stations/halley/index.php .It’s early Sunday morning at Halley Research Station, Antarctica. The sun is rising quickly on the horizon, the wind is low and the temperature outside is a modest -18 degrees C. Conditions look perfect. As I look across the dining room at my friends and colleagues Niv and Colin I see two smiling faces nodding [...]
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During the winter months on the Antarctic continent not only do we experience 24 hour darkness but we are privileged to see the aurora australis. Here at Halley Station we were looking forward to experiencing many a night gazing at the dancing lights as they flitter across the sky. Reading the small print however, revealed [...]
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VP-FBB on the Antarctic Plateau
As I take off from the ice runway at the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley base, situated on the Brunt Ice Shelf (75o34’S 26o34’W), I finally realise I am living and working at the extreme of human endurance. I am in one of the Survey’s De Havilland Twin Otters, known as Victor [...]
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Editor’s Note: This article was written by Agnieszka Fryckowska, Meteorologist and Halley Winter Base Commander at Halley Station in Antarctica. This is the first of an ongoing series of posts written by the Halley Station team, which will give readers a window into life in Antarctica.
Introducing Halley Station (75°34’S 26°34’W), located on the 150m thick, [...]
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