With the constant hammering snow and shifting ice, Antarctic scientific research stations are always being battered and beaten. But, with a little ingenuity and innovative metal joining methods, British researchers hope their new construct will succeed where others have failed.
Paul Seagrove, a spokesman for the British Antarctic Survey, told R&D Magazine that five stations, all located on what is described as a “floating sheet of ice about 10 miles from the edge of the South Atlantic,” have faced these extreme weather conditions over the years. Most of them were crushed under the weight of the unrelenting snow, while the last one had to be abandoned for fear that the ice sheet was about to split and the station would be lost in the frigid waters.
However, Halley VI, the designation of the latest facility to be built on the Brunt Ice Shelf, is a bit different than its predecessors. According to the news source, it “looks like something out of a ‘Star Wars’ movie.”
The station consists of a series of four-legged modules, each connected via enclosed walkways. The entire structure sits atop “ski-clad stilts” measuring roughly 13 feet tall. These serve to keep the station elevated above the level of the ice, and the whole facility can then be towed to a different location after disconnecting the modules if shifting ice or other factors threaten safety.
As the article explained, Halley VI took four years to complete because engineers only had a very limited window within which to work – the 9-week-long Antarctic summer. In such situations, cutting-edge joining methods for metal are critical for a project’s success. Workers have little room for error and must deal with severe time constraints. They rely on technologies that are efficient and can stand the test of time in harsh environments.
Without innovative ways of joining dissimilar metals, building a structure of this size that can be moved amidst savage snow and shifting ice would be impossible.