Floating Antarctic ice goes from record high to record lows
南極浮冰從創(chuàng)記錄的高轉(zhuǎn)向了創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的低
By SETHBORENSTEIN︱July 2, 2019
剪輯：BM︱翻譯：Ray︱校對(duì)：Sally
The amount of ice circling Antarctica is suddenly plunging from a record high to record lows, baffling scientists.
科學(xué)家們困惑地說(shuō)，環(huán)繞南極洲的冰塊數(shù)量突然從創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的高點(diǎn)驟降到創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的低點(diǎn)。
baffling：使困惑;難住
Floating ice off the southern continent steadily increased from 1979 and hit a record high in 2014. But three years later, the annual average extent of Antarctic sea ice hit its lowest mark, wiping out three-and-a-half decades of gains — and then some, a NASA study of satellite data shows.
從1979年開(kāi)始，南部大陸的浮冰不斷增加，并在2014年創(chuàng)下歷史新高。但是三年后，南極海冰的年平均面積達(dá)到了最低點(diǎn)，抹去了三十五年的增長(zhǎng)，美國(guó)宇航局對(duì)衛(wèi)星數(shù)據(jù)的研究顯示，數(shù)據(jù)還在下降。
In recent years, “things have been crazy,” said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center. In an email, he called the plummeting ice levels “a white-knuckle ride.”
國(guó)家冰雪數(shù)據(jù)中心主任馬克·瑟雷茲說(shuō)，近年來(lái)，“事情一直很瘋狂”。在一封電子郵件中，他把冰層驟降稱為“坐過(guò)山車(chē)”。
plummeting：暴跌;速降
Serreze and other outside experts said they don’t know if this is a natural blip that will go away or more long-term global warming that is finally catching up with the South Pole. Antarctica hasn’t shown as much consistent warming as its northern Arctic cousin.
瑟雷茲和其他外部專家說(shuō)，他們不知道這是否是一個(gè)自然現(xiàn)象，會(huì)消失，或是還有更為長(zhǎng)期的全球變暖，最終影響南極。目前南極洲還沒(méi)有像其的表親北極那樣，顯現(xiàn)出持續(xù)不斷的溫度上升。
“But the fact that a change this big can happen in such a short time should be viewed as an indication that the Earth has the potential for significant and rapid change,” University of Colorado ice scientist Waleed Abdalati said in an email.
科羅拉多大學(xué)寒冰科學(xué)家瓦利德·阿卜杜拉蒂在一封電子郵件中說(shuō)：“但是，在如此短的時(shí)間內(nèi)發(fā)生如此巨大的轉(zhuǎn)變，這一事實(shí)應(yīng)該被視為地球有可能發(fā)生重大而迅速的變化。”
Ice melting on the ocean surface doesn’t change sea level. Non-scientists who reject mainstream climate science often had pointed at increasing Antarctic sea ice to deny or downplay the loss of Arctic sea ice.
海面上的冰塊融化不會(huì)改變海平面高度。拒絕主流氣候科學(xué)的非科學(xué)家們經(jīng)常指出，增加南極海冰數(shù)量是為了否定或淡化北極海冰的損失。
While the Arctic has shown consistent and generally steady warming and ice melt — with some slight year to year variation — Antarctica has had more ups and downs while generally trending upward. That is probably in part due to geography, Parkinson and Serreze said.
雖然北極已經(jīng)顯示出持續(xù)的和總體穩(wěn)定的溫度上升以及冰融化-每年之間略有不同-南極洲有更多的起伏，但總體趨勢(shì)向上。帕金森和瑟雷茲說(shuō)，這大概一部分是由于地理原因。
The Arctic is a floating ice cap on an ocean penned in by continents. Antarctica is just the opposite, with land surrounded by open ocean. That allows the ice to grow much farther out, Parkinson said.
北極是一個(gè)被大陸包圍的漂浮在海洋上的冰帽。南極洲正好相反，陸地被開(kāi)闊的海洋所包圍。帕金森說(shuō)，這樣冰塊就可以形成得更遠(yuǎn)。
When Antarctic sea ice was steadily rising, scientists pointed to shifts in wind and pressure patterns, ocean circulation changes or natural but regular climate changes like El Nino and its southern cousins. Now, some of those explanations may not quite fit, making what happens next still a mystery, Parkinson said.
當(dāng)南極海冰穩(wěn)步上升時(shí)，科學(xué)家們指出了風(fēng)和壓力模式的變化、海洋環(huán)流的變化或自然但有規(guī)律的氣候變化，如厄爾尼諾現(xiàn)象及其南方的同類(lèi)現(xiàn)象。帕金森說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在，有些解釋可能不太合適，使得接下來(lái)要發(fā)生什么仍然是個(gè)謎。
剪輯：BM︱翻譯：Ray︱校對(duì)：Sally
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