Hally (Antarctic Station)

Hally was founded in 1956 by the international geophysical year 1957-1958 by the expedition of the Royal Society of London . The bay where the expedition decided to create its base was named Halley Bay, in honor of the astronomer Edmond Halley . The station was originally called Halley Bay, but in 1977 the name was changed to Halley, as the bay disappeared due to changes in the ice shelf. The last station Hally-6 was officially opened in February 2013 after a harsh winter. ^[3]

July 30, 2014 the station was left without electricity and heat for 19 hours ^[4] . The cause of the accident was the leakage of coolant from the heating system of the station, as a result of which the generators overheated and turned off ^[5] . Ironically, the outside temperature during the accident reached record low and dropped to -55 ° C. The power supply was partially restored, but all scientific activity, except for meteorological observations necessary for weather forecasting, had to be suspended ^[4] . The polar explorers planned to abandon some of the eight modules and take refuge in several others ^[6] .

In total, six bases were built. At the same time, various construction methods were tested, from unprotected wooden houses to steel tunnels. The first four bases were buried under snow drifts and crushed to a condition unsuitable for life. ^[7]

Hally 1

Wooden house. Built in 1956. ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]} Abandoned in 1968.

The external office building was built in 1964, the main residential building was built in 1961.

Halle 2

1967-1973 year. In 1967, several wooden houses were built for Hally-2. ^{[12] [13] The} roofs were reinforced with metal supports to help support the weight of the snow, but the station still had to be abandoned in 1973, just seven years later. ^[7]

Halle 3

The station was built in 1973 inside Armco steel pipes designed for snow loads on the building. After 10 years, the base was buried under 12-15 meters of snow, while problems with access and ventilation led to the abandonment of the station. ^[14] Many years later, she found herself on the surface of an ice cliff in the sea. ^[7]

Hally 4

The station was built by 1983 in such a way as to withstand burial under the snow. Two-story buildings were built inside four interconnected plywood pipes with a mine access to the surface. The pipes were 9 meters in diameter and consisted of insulated reinforced panels designed to withstand the pressure of layers of snow and ice lying on top. ^{[15] [16]} In 1994, the station was completely bombarded and abandoned.

Hally 5

It was commissioned in 1989. The main buildings of Hally-5 were built on steel platforms, which were raised annually so that they remained above the surface of the snow. Piles were fixed on a shifting ice shelf, so the station, in the end, was too close to the iceberg-forming edge. ^[2]

The main platform was the Lawes platform.

The two-story building for the summer residence of Drewry stood on a sled, and every year it could be moved to a new, more elevated place. ^[17] (The Drury block was later relocated to Hally 6 base.)

The Simpson Building (Ice Climate Building, ICB) is installed on stilts ^[18] and is raised every year in accordance with the height of the snow cover. The building houses a Dobson spectrophotometer, which is used to detect an ozone hole.

The Piggot platform (space science building) is used to study the upper atmosphere. ^[nineteen]

Hally-5 was demolished at the end of 2012, after the commissioning of Hally-6 ^[20] .

Hally 6

This is a structure that, like Hally-5, is raised on supports to be higher than snow deposits. Unlike Hally-5, a slide is installed on the lower part of the supports, which allow you to periodically move the building.

The building is a chain of 8 modules, each of which is mounted on stilts with piles. ^{[21] [22] [23] [24]} The station has been operating since February 28, 2012. ^{[25] [26]}

The Drury Summerhouse and the Hally-5 garage have been relocated to the Hally-6 site and continue to be used.

In June 2004, RIBA Competitions and the Antarctic Bureau of Great Britain announced a competition for architectural projects for a new project for Halle-6. A number of architectural and engineering firms took part in the competition. In July 2005, a winning project was selected by Faber Maunsell and Hugh Broughton Architects.

Hally 6 was built in Cape Town (South Africa) by a South African consortium. ^{[27] [28]} Servaccomm supplied modular building blocks for the new station through Galliford Try International. ^[29] The contract was concluded for the manufacture of a total of 26 units mounted in eight modules ^[30] , which provide a comfortable stay for 32 people. The first sections were delivered to Antarctica in December 2007. Hally-6 was mounted next to Hally-5 ^[31] , and then it was moved one section at a distance of 15 km and reconnected. ^[32]

Halli-6 Station was officially opened in Antarctica on February 5, 2013. Kirk Watson, a director from Scotland, filmed the construction of a space-age station for four years. A trailer with additional information can be seen on the links below. A description of the engineering tasks and the creation of the consortium was provided by Adam Rutherford and was timed to coincide with the exhibition in Glasgow. ^[33]

It will be closed from March to November 2017 due to a crack of 40 kilometers in length; according to one version, the cause of the appearance of a giant crack in Antarctica was global warming ^[34] .

The temperature on Halle rarely rises above 0 ° C, although temperatures around −10 ° C are common on sunny summer days. Typical winter temperatures are below −20 ° C with extreme lows of about −55 ° C. ^[2]

Winds prevail mainly from the east; Strong winds often raise fine snow from the surface, reducing visibility to a few meters.

One of the reasons for this location of Hally is that it is located under the oval of auroras, which makes it ideal for geocosmic exploration and leads to the frequent appearance of Southern aurora overhead. It is easiest to observe for 105 days (April 29 - August 13), when the sun does not rise above the horizon.

In the winter months, as a rule, about 14 wintering people live here. In a typical winter, they are isolated from the moment the last ship leaves at the end of February until the first plane arrives in early November. At the height of the summer period, from the end of December to the end of February, the number of employees increases to about 70 people.

Sometimes none of the wintering team is a scientist. Most are technicians who are required to operate the station and conduct scientific experiments. In 2012, a group of wintering men at Halley included a cook, a doctor, a communications manager, a car mechanic, an electrician, a plumber, an on-site assistant, two electronic engineers, two meteorologists, and a database administrator. In addition, the winter commander of the base, who is sworn in as a justice of the peace before arriving at the scene. Their main role is to control the day-to-day management of the station.

In 1996, the first female winterwomen appeared at Halle. Every year until 2009, at least two women wintered. ^[35]

Life in Antarctica is predominantly seasonal with short, intense summers and long winters. At bases such as Halle, where replenishment is carried out by sea, the most significant event of the year is the arrival of a cargo ship (currently the British scientific ship Ernest Shackleton , until 1999 the British scientific ship Bransfield ) at the end of December. It is accompanied by intensive work on unloading all supplies before the ship is forced to leave: as a rule, this takes less than two weeks.

The summer season at Halle continues from early November, when the first plane arrives, until the end of February, when the last ship leaves.

Significant dates in the winter months: sunset (the last day when the sun is visible) on April 29, mid-winter on June 21 and sunrise (the first day when the sun rises after winter) on August 13. Traditionally, the oldest person at the station lowers a tattered flag at sunset, and the youngest raises a new flag at sunrise. Mid-winter is a week-long holiday when one of the winterers is chosen to store the old flag. Also, winterers exchange handmade souvenirs.

• List of polar stations in Antarctica

• Official website British Antarctic Survey
  • BAS Halley Research Station page
  • BAS images of Halley station
• "Halley Station" . British Antarctic Survey . Retrieved December 3, 2009 .
• "Halley Station Diary . " BAS . Retrieved December 3, 2009 .
• "Halley VI" . British Antarctic Survey . Retrieved December 3, 2009 .
• COMNAP Antarctic Facilities
• COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map

• "Halley . " Polar Conservation Organization . Retrieved December 3, 2009 .

• "Halley Winterers 1956-present . " ZFids . Retrieved December 3, 2009 .

• Gemma Clarke, Structural Engineer with Faber Maunsell discusses working on Halley VI
• RIBA, Architecture and Climate Change talks: Hugh Broughton, Halley VI Research Station
• "Halley VI Research Station opened today . " Kirk of the Antarctic (Blog at WordPress.com). February 5, 2013 . Retrieved February 6, 2013 .