氣象偵探們是如何審查未來的世界紀(jì)錄的

氣象偵探們是如何審查未來的世界紀(jì)錄的

A 130 degree temperature was recorded Sunday in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Now a committee of scientists is working to verify this temperature, which might turn out to be one of the hottest ever recorded.

周日，加州死亡谷國家公園記錄到130度(華氏度)的溫度。現(xiàn)在，一個(gè)科學(xué)家委員會(huì)正在努力驗(yàn)證這一溫度，這可能是有記錄以來的最熱溫度之一。

When a weather station in Death Valley, Calif., registered an astonishing 130 degrees Fahrenheit this week, it got meteorologists' attention.

當(dāng)加州死亡谷的一個(gè)氣象站本周達(dá)到驚人的130華氏度時(shí)，它引起了氣象學(xué)家的注意。

After all, there's a possibility that this is the highest such temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth — if it's for real.

畢竟，這有可能是地球上有可靠記錄的最高溫度(如果這是真的的話)。

One person who received the news with keen interest was Randy Cerveny, a geographer at Arizona State University. He plays a key role in verifying extreme weather measurements, under the auspices of the United Nations agency that standardizes weather measurements around the globe.

亞利桑那州立大學(xué)的地理學(xué)家蘭迪·瑟維尼對這個(gè)消息非常感興趣。在聯(lián)合國標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化氣象測量機(jī)構(gòu)的支持下，他在核實(shí)極端天氣測量數(shù)據(jù)方面發(fā)揮了關(guān)鍵作用。

Since 2007, Cerveny has been in charge of organizing ad hoc committees to independently verify superlative weather measurements — such as the highest ocean wave or the strongest wind gust.

自2007年以來，瑟維尼一直負(fù)責(zé)組織專門委員會(huì)，獨(dú)立核實(shí)最高的天氣測量結(jié)果，比如最高的海浪或最強(qiáng)的陣風(fēng)。

"I heard several news reports referring to it as the worst hurricane that's ever been seen. And that's not true," says Cerveny, who notes that a far deadlier one hit Galveston, Texas, in 1900, and an apocalyptic storm ravaged what is now Bangladesh in 1970.

“我聽到幾則新聞報(bào)道稱這是有史以來最嚴(yán)重的颶風(fēng)，但事實(shí)并非如此。”瑟維尼說，他指出1900年更致命的颶風(fēng)襲擊了德克薩斯州的加爾維斯頓，1970年的災(zāi)難性的風(fēng)暴摧毀了現(xiàn)在的孟加拉國。

It occurred to him that there was no system at the time to verify claims about world records for weather.

他突然想到，當(dāng)時(shí)還沒有一個(gè)系統(tǒng)來驗(yàn)證有關(guān)天氣的世界紀(jì)錄。

He knew that some countries have committees to scrutinize extreme weather within their own borders—the U. S., for example, has the National Climate Extremes Committee. But there was nothing like that for the entire planet.

他知道有些國家有專門委員會(huì)來審查本國境內(nèi)的極端天氣——例如，美國就有國家極端氣候委員會(huì)。但在整個(gè)地球上都沒有這樣的東西。

"I suggested that we set one up, and the World Meteorological Organization said, 'That sounds like a great idea, would you be willing to do it?'" he says, laughing.

“我建議我們建立一個(gè)，世界氣象組織說，‘這聽起來是個(gè)好主意，你愿意做嗎?’”他笑著說。

Now, when a new contender for a record appears, he gathers the top experts in any given subject.

現(xiàn)在，當(dāng)一個(gè)新的紀(jì)錄競爭者出現(xiàn)時(shí)，他會(huì)召集任何特定學(xué)科的頂級(jí)專家。

"If we're looking at temperature, I'm going to get some of the best scientists that have looked at temperature across the world. If we're looking at hurricanes, I'll get hurricane experts. If I'm looking at tornadoes, I'll get tornado experts," he says.

“如果我們研究溫度，我將邀請研究過世界各地溫度的一些最好的科學(xué)家。如果我們研究颶風(fēng)，我會(huì)請颶風(fēng)專家。如果我在觀察龍卷風(fēng)，我會(huì)請龍卷風(fēng)專家，”他說。

These folks then spend months going over every detail, from the instrument to the terrain to the overall weather in that area and its surroundings. "So it's a very detailed, very elaborate investigation," says Cerveny.

這些人然后花幾個(gè)月的時(shí)間研究每一個(gè)細(xì)節(jié)，從儀器到地形到該地區(qū)及其周圍的整體天氣情況。“所以這是一項(xiàng)非常詳細(xì)、非常詳盡的調(diào)查，”瑟維尼說。

Already, the new 130 degrees measurement in Death Valley has started to be scrutinized, by meteorologists from the local weather office to the National Climate Extremes Committee, all the way up to the World Meteorological Organization.

從當(dāng)?shù)貧庀筠k公室到國家極端氣候委員會(huì)，一直到世界氣象組織，氣象學(xué)家們已經(jīng)開始仔細(xì)研究死亡谷新的130度測量值。

"We're in the process right now of getting ahold of the actual raw information, the raw data itself," says Cerveny. "My committee will then go over it with a fine-tooth comb and look for any problems or any concerns that they might have."

瑟維尼說:“我們現(xiàn)在正在獲取實(shí)際的原始信息，原始數(shù)據(jù)本身。”“然后，我的委員會(huì)會(huì)仔細(xì)檢查這份報(bào)告，看看是否有任何問題或擔(dān)憂。”

"I'm hoping that we would have a decision by sometime this winter," he adds.

“我希望我們能在今年冬天的某個(gè)時(shí)候做出決定，”他補(bǔ)充道。