用數(shù)以百萬計的玻璃珠來阻止北極融化

工程師有一個大膽的計劃，用數(shù)以百萬計的玻璃珠幫助阻止北極融化

The Arctic is melting at unprecedented rates: Greenland's ice is disappearing six times faster than it was four decades ago. In August, the ice sheet lost 60 billion tons in just five days of summer thaw.

北極正在以前所未有的速度融化：格陵蘭島的冰正在以比40年前快6倍的速度消失。今年8月，冰蓋僅在夏季解凍的5天內(nèi)就損失了600億噸。

Over the last four decades, we've lost 75 percent of the volume of Arctic ice. The current extent of the sea ice is the second-lowest it's been since scientists started keeping track in 1979.

在過去的四十年里，我們失去了75%的北極冰。目前的海冰范圍是自1979年科學家開始記錄以來的第二低。

In addition to raising sea levels, this melting significantly contributes to climate change because Arctic ice reflects sunlight into space (in part because sea ice is bright and white). So less ice means less heat leaving the planet, which in turn leads more ice to melt. It's a vicious cycle.

除了海平面上升，北極冰的融化還會對氣候變化產(chǎn)生重大影響，因為北極冰會將陽光反射到太空中(部分原因是北極冰是明亮的白色)。所以更少的冰意味著更少的熱量離開地球，這反過來導致更多的冰融化。這是一個惡性循環(huán)

A nonprofit called Ice911 offers a potential solution to this ominous feedback loop: The group has proposed blanketing key parts of the Arctic in millions of hollow, glass microspheres to form a protective layer that reflects sunlight and insulates melting ice.

一個名為Ice911的非營利組織為這種不祥的反饋循環(huán)提供了一種潛在的解決方案:該組織提議用數(shù)百萬個中空的玻璃微球覆蓋北極的關鍵部分，形成一層保護層，反射陽光，隔離融化的冰。

The tiny spheres Ice911 has developed look more like grains of sand than beads. They're manufactured from silica, a compound made of silicon and oxygen, because the material is abundant in the natural world and harmless to humans and animals.

ICE911的小球看起來更像是沙粒而不是珠子。它們是用硅制造的，硅和氧是一種化合物，因為這種材料在自然界中含量豐富，對人和動物無害。

The reflective beads stick to ice and water on contact, and their chemical composition ensures they don't attract oil-based pollutants. Simulations done by Ice911 suggest that using the technology to restore ice reflectivity could help lower temperatures by 1.5 degrees Celsius over a large part of the northern Arctic.

反光珠子與冰和水接觸時會粘在一起，它們的化學成分確保它們不會吸引油基污染物。ICE911所做的模擬表明，利用這項技術(shù)恢復冰的反射率，可以幫助北極北部大部分地區(qū)降低1.5攝氏度的溫度。

But so far, the technology is still in the field-test phase.

但到目前為止，這項技術(shù)還處于實地測試階段。