美国国家公共电台 NPR--How ocean water vapor may be an answer to a climate change issue

How ocean water vapor¹ may be an answer to a climate change issue

Transcript²

Only 2.5% of the Earth's global water supply is fresh water and supplies are shrinking with the unrelenting advance of climate change. Researchers say ocean water vapor may provide relief.

DWANE BROWN, HOST:

Of all the water on Earth, only about 2 1/2 percent is fresh water, and it's also vanishing fast due to climate change.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

But researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say climate change is also creating fresh water in the form of ocean vapor.

PRAVEEN KUMAR: And if we could tap into that resource, we could supply fresh water without the need to desalinate³.

BROWN: Praveen Kumar is a professor who specializes in climate-driven changes in the water cycle. Kumar says existing methods to meet freshwater demands, like seeding clouds to make rain or removing salt from seawater, are inadequate⁴ and unsustainable.

FADEL: So as global temperatures keep rising, his research team set out to find a long-term solution.

KUMAR: Warmer air holds more moisture. We're also looking at warming of the ocean's surfaces. And as a result, evaporation⁵ will increase. So essentially⁶, more evaporation and more moisture in the air and, therefore, more water.

BROWN: Now, the study focused on 14 water-stressed cities around the world. The objective - to see whether it would be feasible to capture ocean vapor and turn it into fresh water.

KUMAR: What we envision for this work is a capture surface. So if you think about putting something, say, in the ocean west of Los Angeles, with about 9 to 10 such structures meeting the entire drinking needs of the Los Angeles population.

FADEL: The researchers say what they need next is some kind of apparatus⁷ to make this happen.

KUMAR: It is now feasible to approach it from an infrastructure⁸ and a large-scale investment perspective and solve the problem.

BROWN: Kumar says capturing moisture from over the oceans could provide a sustainable fresh water supply and solve one of the planet's great challenges.

1 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

2 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。

3 desalinate   

v.除去盐分，淡化海水

参考例句：

• The system can desalinate up to 600 liters of brackish water a day.这个系统一天可以将高于600公升的盐水去盐。
• Energy and the technology to desalinate water are both expensive.能源和海水淡化技术都是非常昂贵的。

4 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

5 evaporation   

n.蒸发，消失

参考例句：

• Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
• Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗，由此可以蒸发散热。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。