美国国家公共电台 NPR--Encore: Scientists hope a volcano's song could contain clues to its future eruptions

Encore: Scientists hope a volcano's song could contain clues to its future eruptions²

Transcript³

A volcano's song could contain clues to its future eruptions, scientists hope

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Scientists have recorded a song made by a volcano. NPR's Geoff Brumfiel says it could help predict future eruptions.

GEOFF BRUMFIEL, BYLINE⁴: There's a big volcano in Hawaii called Kilauea.

LEIF KARLSTROM: In 2008, there started an eruptive episode where there was an active lava⁵ lake at the summit.

BRUMFIEL: That's Leif Karlstrom, a professor of volcanology at the University of Oregon. As the volcano's crater⁶ filled with lava, rocks from the wall began falling into it.

KARLSTROM: These are big rock falls - like, bus-sized.

BRUMFIEL: These giant boulders⁸ would plunge⁹ into the lava lake several times a week for the next 10 years. And scientists were listening to the splashes they made as they fell.

(SOUNDBITE OF BOULDER⁷ SPLASHING)

BRUMFIEL: This audio recording¹⁰ is what your ears would have heard. But researchers also used seismographs placed around the crater to record low-frequency vibrations¹¹. And when Karlstrom and graduate student Josh Crozier sped up those recordings¹², it made music.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAVA VIBRATING)

KARLSTROM: What you're listening to here, you know, might sound like an old field recording of a marimba.

BRUMFIEL: Now, that's pretty cool. But what's even cooler is that the song actually reveals something important about the makeup¹³ of the molten rock deep inside the volcano. Karlstrom says the notes of the song depend on how many bubbles of gas are in the liquid rock.

KARLSTROM: The speed of sound of a bubbly mixture is actually very significantly different.

BRUMFIEL: You could hear this for yourself in your kitchen with a spoon and a couple of glasses.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAN OPENING)

BRUMFIEL: All right, so I've filled these two glasses to exactly the same level. They have the same amount of water in them, but one of them is still.

(SOUNDBITE OF GLASS RESONATING)

BRUMFIEL: And the other one is sparkling.

(SOUNDBITE OF GLASS PLINKING)

BRUMFIEL: So the amount of bubbles in the drink changes the way it sounds. The sounds at Kilauea matter to volcano scientists because they care a lot about bubbles.

KARLSTROM: Bubbles are the primary driver of volcanic¹⁴ eruptions generally, actually.

BRUMFIEL: He hopes the volcano's song could be used as a bubble detector¹⁵ to help predict when an eruption¹ has the potential to turn even more violent.

KARLSTROM: There's quite a bit of effort right now in the volcanology community to develop techniques that might allow us to peer into the plumbing¹⁶ system while the event is occurring or before it happens so that we can forecast hazards, for example.

BRUMFIEL: Karlstom's work appears in the journal Science Advances. He says this trick may not work all the time. Not every volcano makes music. But Kilauea's song is worth a listen. Geoff Brumfiel, NPR News.

1 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

2 eruptions   

n.喷发，爆发( eruption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year. 今年火山爆发了好几次。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Over 200 people have been killed by volcanic eruptions. 火山喷发已导致200多人丧生。 来自辞典例句

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

6 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

7 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

8 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

11 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

13 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

14 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

15 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

16 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》