VOA新闻杂志2023--南佛罗里达州附近海水温度刷新全球新高

Scientists: Hot Seawater in South Florida Reaches New High

Scientists say that a body of water at the southern end of Florida reached a new high temperature of over 38 degrees Celsius¹ early this week.

Weather scientists, called meteorologists, say they measured the high seawater temperatures in Manatee² Bay on both Sunday and Monday. They believe the water temperature may be the world's highest ever recorded. A floating device that sends information to the U.S. weather agency, NOAA, recorded the temperature.

A 2020 study showed that Kuwait Bay reached 37.6 degrees Celsius. That was thought to be the highest-ever water temperature.

Jeff Masters is a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections, a weather news service. "This is a hot tub," he said. A hot tub is a heated water pool many people use for treating sore muscles. Jacuzzi, a company that makes hot tubs, recommends a water temperature of about 38 degrees Celsius.

Masters and Brian McNoldy, a meteorologist at the University of Miami, both said the temperatures might not be an official record because the water is close to land and contains sea grass.

However, McNoldy said, "it's amazing."

The high temperatures could put sea life, such as coral, in danger.

Andrew Ibarra is a researcher for NOAA. He took a small boat out to the area called Cheeca Rocks to look at coral and said, "I found that the entire reef was bleached³ out."

Bleaching⁴ is when coral loses its color. It is a sign that the sea creatures are in danger of dying.

Ian Enochs studies coral for NOAA. He said coral bleaching was almost never seen before the 1980s. Now, he said, "We've reached the point where it's become routine."

Enochs added that the amount of bleaching he sees this early in the year makes him "nervous."

The high water temperature in Florida goes along with all-time high sea surface temperatures in April, May and June. NOAA also said water temperatures in the North Atlantic, near the Canadian province of Newfoundland are five to six degrees Celsius warmer than usual.

Words in This Story

coral –n. very small organisms that live together and form a system along the seabed that supports other marine⁵ life

amazing –adj. very impressive, worthy⁶ of admiration⁷ or notice

entire –adj. all of something

routine –adj. usual or normal

province –n. a governmental region in some nations, similar to a state

1 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

2 manatee   

n.海牛

参考例句：

• We watched dolphin,manatee,sea lion and whale shows.我们看了海豚、海牛、海狮和鲸的表演。
• One of the most extraordinary river creatures is Amazonian manatee.其中河里最特别的生物之一要数亚马孙海牛。

3 bleached   

漂白的，晒白的，颜色变浅的

参考例句：

• His hair was bleached by the sun . 他的头发被太阳晒得发白。
• The sun has bleached her yellow skirt. 阳光把她的黄裙子晒得褪色了。

4 bleaching   

漂白法，漂白

参考例句：

• Moderately weathered rock showed more intense bleaching and fissuring in the feldspars. 中等风化岩石则是指长石有更为强烈的变白现象和裂纹现象。
• Bleaching effects are very strong and show on air photos. 退色效应非常强烈，并且反映在航空象片上。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

7 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。