Britain is preparing to move its research station in the Antarctic 23 km further inland because it is under threat from a growing crack in the ice, informs The Guardian.

The British Antarctic Survey’s Halley VI research station has recorded data relevant to space weather, climate change, and atmospheric phenomena from its site on the Brunt Ice Shelf shelf since 2012.

However, due to a growing chasm about 7 km away that risks cutting the station off from the rest of the shelf, officials have announced that base will have to be moved.

The new site, nicknamed Halley VI A, was identified during in-depth site surveys in the 2015-16 Antarctic summer. Now that winter has passed, the relocation team are preparing to tow the station 23 km to its new home using large tractors.

Though the station has not been moved from its present location since it was taken there from its construction site in 2012, it was designed with potential relocation in mind to accommodate movement in the ice.

In 2012, satellite monitoring revealed the first signs of movement in a chasm in the ice shelf that had lain dormant for at least 35 years. Glaciologists have since determined the most likely path and speed of the crack, and monitoring is ongoing.

Parts of the ice shelf irregularly cleave off from the ice sheet, creating icebergs. It is not known if the growth of the crack is related to global warming.

In October, a second crack emerged in the ice about 17 km north of the station, across a route sometimes used to resupply the base. Alternative paths have been used since.

The planned move will be completed in stages over a period of three years, allowing scientific research to continue in temporary facilities at Halley at the existing site.

The station’s eight modules will eventually be unattached and moved inland across the ice by tractor. Operations will then be moved to the new location next season.

The relocation should be completed by 6 April 2018.