VOA标准英语2009年-Survey: Arctic Ice Thinner Than Thought, M

By Jennifer Glasse
London
15 October 2009
The results of a new Arctic survey shows that North Pole ice is melting faster than previously¹ projected and scientists at Cambridge University predict the Arctic ocean will be largely ice-free during the summer within the next ten years. The findings are expected to add to the debate at the Copenhagen climate conference in December.

 
Arctic explorer Pen Hadow displays a section of drill that will be used during the expedition to penetrate² through the ice, at a press conference in London, 22 Jan 2009
Earlier this year, British explorer Pen Hadow and his team trekked³ for three months across the frozen Arctic Ocean, taking measurements and recording⁴ observations about the ice.

"We'd been led to believe that we would encounter a good proportion, of this older, thicker, technically⁵ multi-year ice that's been around for a few years and just gets thicker and thicker," he said. "We actually found there wasn't any multi-year ice at all."

Satellite observation and submarine surveys over the past few years had shown less ice in the polar region, but the recent measurements show the loss is more pronounced than previously thought.

"We're looking at 80 percent roughly loss of ice cover on the Arctic Ocean in 10 years, and 100 percent loss in nearer 20 years," said Hadow.

Cambridge scientist Peter Wadhams, who's been measuring and monitoring the Arctic since 1971 says the decline is irreversible.

"The more you lose, the more open water is created, the more warming goes on in that open water during the summer, the less ice forms in the winter, the more melt there is the following summer," he said. "It becomes a breakdown⁶ process where everything ends up accelerating until it's all gone."
 
Martin Sommerkorn runs the Arctic program for the environmental charity the World Wildlife Fund.

 
NASA satellite data shows the maximum Arctic sea ice cover for 2008-09 as the fifth lowest in six years
"The Arctic sea ice holds a central position in the Earth's climate system and it's deteriorating⁷ faster than expected," he said. "Actually directly has to translate into more urgency to deal with the climate change problem and reduce emissions⁸."

Summerkorn says a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming needs to come out of the Copenhagen Climate change summit in December.

"We have to basically achieve there the commitment to deal with the problem now," he said. "That's the minimum. We have to do that equitably⁹ and we have to find a commitment that is quick." 

Wadhams echoes the need for urgency.

"The carbon that we've put into the atmosphere keeps having a warming effect for 100 years, so we have to cut back rapidly now, because it will take a long time, there's a flywheel effect, it will take a long time to work its way through into a response by the atmosphere. We can't switch off global warming by being good in the future, we have to start being good now," he said.

Wadhams says there is no easy techno-fix to climate change. He and other scientists say there are basically two options to replacing fossil fuels, generate energy with renewables, or embrace nuclear power.

1 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

2 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

3 trekked   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• They trekked for three days along the banks of the Zambezi. 他们沿着赞比西河河岸跋涉了三天。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Six-man teams trekked through the woods, respectively for 72 to 96 hours. 6人一组的小分队，经过长途跋涉，穿过了森林，分别用72小时到96小时不等。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

6 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

7 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

8 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

9 equitably   

公平地

参考例句：

• We should equitably assess historical figures. 我们应该公正地评价历史人物。
• Land was more equitably distributed. 土地得到更公平合理的分配。