“南極洲融化”顯示出暖期創(chuàng)紀錄的影響

“南極洲融化”顯示出暖期創(chuàng)紀錄的影響

Where there was a white ice cap, there are now brown blotches of land; melted snow and ice have created ponds of water. Those are the effects of the recent record high temperatures in Antarctica, according to NASA, which on Friday released stunning before-and-after satellite images of the northern Antarctic Peninsula.

以前是白色的冰帽，現(xiàn)在變成了陸地上褐色的斑點;融化的冰雪形成了水塘。據美國國家航空航天局(NASA)稱，這些都是最近南極洲創(chuàng)紀錄的高溫造成的影響。NASA周五發(fā)布了南極半島北部令人震撼的前后衛(wèi)星圖像。

The photos center on Eagle Island, part of the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula that stretches toward South America. Satellites took the images just nine days apart, on Feb. 4 and Feb. 13. But dramatic changes took place in that time span. Two days after the first photo was taken, the area hit 18.3 degrees Celsius (64.9 degrees Fahrenheit) — matching that day's temperature in Los Angeles, NASA notes.

這些照片集中在鷹島上，這是南極半島北端的一部分，一直延伸到南美洲。衛(wèi)星拍攝圖像的時間間隔只有9天，分別是2月4日和2月13日。但在這段時間里發(fā)生了戲巨大的變化。NASA指出，第一張照片拍攝兩天后，該區(qū)域達到了18.3攝氏度(64.9華氏度)-與當天洛杉磯的溫度相當。

"The warm spell caused widespread melting on nearby glaciers," the space agency says. "Such persistent warmth was not typical in Antarctica until the 21st century, but it has become more common in recent years."

“溫暖的天氣導致附近冰川大范圍融化，”航天局說。“這種持續(xù)的溫暖直到21世紀才在南極出現(xiàn)，但近年來已經變得更加普遍。”

On Eagle Island, the biggest loss of ice and snow came on Feb. 6. when an inch of snowpack melted, according to NASA's climate models. By Feb. 11. the island had lost 4 inches of snow.

根據美國國家航空航天局(NASA)的氣候模型，2月6日，鷹島的冰雪損失最大，積雪融化了一英寸。到2月11日，島上的積雪已經減少了4英寸。

"I haven't seen melt ponds develop this quickly in Antarctica," Mauri Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College in Massachusetts, said in NASA's news release about the phenomenon.

“我還沒見過南極的融冰池發(fā)展得這么快，”馬薩諸塞州尼科爾斯學院的冰冰學家毛里·佩爾托在NASA關于這一現(xiàn)象的新聞發(fā)布會上說。

The nearly 65-degree temperature was reported by Argentina's research station at Esperanza Base. Experts at the World Meteorological Organization are still verifying the record. The agency calls the Antarctic Peninsula one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth, with average temperatures rising almost 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past half century.

阿根廷位于埃斯佩蘭薩基地的研究站報告了近65攝氏度的氣溫。世界氣象組織的專家仍在核實這一記錄。該機構稱南極半島是地球上變暖最快的地區(qū)之一，在過去的半個世紀里，平均氣溫上升了近3攝氏度(5.4華氏度)。

"These warm events are occurring more frequently" in that part of the peninsula, says Alexandra Isern, head of Antarctic sciences at the National Science Foundation.

國家科學基金會南極科學負責人亞歷山德拉·伊桑說，在南極半島的這一地區(qū)，“這些溫暖的事件發(fā)生得越來越頻繁”。

"You see those sort of things in Greenland and in the Arctic more often than you see them in the Antarctic," Isern says.

“你在格陵蘭島和北極看到這類東西的次數(shù)要比在南極看到的多，”伊桑說。

Because the recent warmup lasted for more than a week, she says, researchers are left with a troubling question: "Are we starting to see these warm events also lasting longer than they did before?"

她說，由于最近的暖化持續(xù)了一個多星期，研究人員面臨一個令人不安的問題:“我們是否開始看到這些暖化事件比以前持續(xù)得更久了?”

The answer to that, Isern says, could have far-ranging impacts for the area, including the possibility that new invasive species could gain a foothold in Antarctica if its climate becomes more forgiving.

伊桑說，這個問題的答案可能會對該地區(qū)產生深遠的影響，包括如果氣候變得更加適宜，新的入侵物種可能會在南極洲立足。

Isern agrees with NASA's assessment that a number of weather conditions combined to create the unusually high temperatures in the Antarctic's northern point.

伊桑同意NASA的評估即一系列的天氣條件共同導致了南極北端的異常高溫。

"Typically, the peninsula is shielded from warm air masses by the Southern Hemisphere westerlies, a band of strong winds that circle the continent," NASA says. "However, the westerlies were in a weakened state, which allowed the extra-tropical warm air to cross the Southern Ocean and reach the ice sheet. Sea surface temperatures in the area were also higher than average by about 2-3°C."

NASA表示:“通常情況下，南半球西風帶(環(huán)繞南極大陸的一圈強風)會使南極半島免受暖氣團的影響。”“然而，西風帶的風力較弱，這使得熱帶以外的暖空氣得以穿過南冰洋到達冰原。該地區(qū)的海面溫度也比平均溫度高2-3℃。”

The task now, Isern says, is to determine whether those factors created an anomaly or whether they hint at a new pattern.

伊桑說，現(xiàn)在的任務是確定這些因素是造成了異常，還是暗示了一種新的模式。

"This is a weather event," she says of the recent warm spell. She believes scientists will now try to figure out whether the warm weather event in Antarctica's northern peninsula is on its way to becoming a climate event.

“這是一個天氣事件，”她在談到最近的溫暖天氣時說。她認為，科學家們現(xiàn)在將試圖弄清楚，南極洲北部半島的溫暖天氣事件是否即將成為氣候事件。