VOA科学技术2024--Weather Experts: 'We Cannot Control Hurricanes'

A series of powerful hurricanes have affected¹ millions of people in the United States in recent weeks.

Some people are wondering if scientists could control extreme weather events. However, experts say hurricanes are far too powerful for humans to control.

Climate change is leading to increasingly powerful storms. This has led to greater attention on the possibilities of geoengineering.

Geoengineering involves futuristic ideas for reversing or lessening² climate change. But many scientists have serious concerns about unwanted results.

Hurricanes are an example of the uncontrollable, disordered power of Earth's weather. Experts say there is no clear evidence from research to show humans might be able to control such strong storms.

Kristen Corbosiero is a professor of atmospheric³ and environmental sciences at the University at Albany. Corbosiero is a weather expert, or meteorologist. She said: "If meteorologists could stop hurricanes, we would stop hurricanes. If we could control the weather, we would not want the kind of death and destruction that's happened."

Weather experts' opinions on controlling hurricanes

National Hurricane Center tropical analysis chief Chris Landsea said that a fully⁴ developed hurricane releases heat energy that is the equal to a 10-megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes. That is more than all the energy used at a given time by human beings.

Chris Field is director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment in California. He said scientists are learning of the many ways that climate change is making hurricanes more powerful and destructive. Warmer oceans add energy and more water to the warming atmosphere. That water becomes strong rainfall.

Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbac said the amount of energy a hurricane generates is much more than humans have the power to control. But people have still made attempts to control the storms.

Historical efforts to control hurricanes

Jim Fleming is a professor at Colby College in Maine. He has studied historical efforts to control the weather. He said humans do not even come close to having the practical technology to successfully control the weather.

Fleming described one attempt in 1947. The General Electric company partnered with the U.S. military to drop dry ice from Air Force planes into the path of a hurricane to try to weaken it. It did not work.

Some attempts or ideas could even make the storms worse or cause greater harm. One especially dangerous idea was to use a nuclear bomb, which would cause radiation and not be strong enough to change the storm, Kristen Corbosiero said.

Bringing cooling icebergs⁶ or adding chemicals to cause rain also are ideas that do not work, scientists say.

Engineering the climate

Modern geoengineers would operate differently. Today's geoengineers are thinking about how to reverse the damage humans have already caused.

Scientists in the field say one of the most promising⁷ ideas they see based on computer models is solar geoengineering. The method would involve lifting small particles into the upper atmosphere to return some of the sunlight back into space, cooling the planet a little. Still, supporters of the idea know that it comes with risks.

Two years ago, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) announced it was forming an ethics⁸ agreement for climate intervention⁹. The AGU is the largest society of scientists who study climate issues.

Words in This Story

geoengineering - n. large-scale manipulation of a specific process central to controlling Earth's climate for the purpose of obtaining a specific benefit

reverse - v. to change (something) to an opposite state or condition

analysis - n. a careful study of something to learn about its parts, what they do, and how they are related to each othe

iceberg⁵ - n. a very large piece of ice floating in the ocean

solar - n. of or relating to the sun

ethics - n. n area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 lessening   

减轻，减少，变小

参考例句：

• So however much he earned, she spent it, her demands growing and lessening with his income. 祥子挣多少，她花多少，她的要求随着他的钱涨落。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The talks have resulted in a lessening of suspicion. 谈话消减了彼此的怀疑。

3 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

6 icebergs   

n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The drift of the icebergs in the sea endangers the ships. 海上冰山的漂流危及船只的安全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The icebergs towered above them. 冰山高耸于他们上方。 来自辞典例句

7 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

8 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

9 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。