Episode Details

A new study says that no matter how much the world cuts back on carbon emissions, a large and important part of Antarctica is expected to disappear. 

一项新的研究表明，无论世界减少多少碳排放，南极洲的大部分重要地区都将消失。 

Researchers used computer models to predict the future melting of protective ice around Antarctica’s Amundsen Sea in western Antarctica. They said the “unavoidable” melting will take hundreds of years. It will slowly add nearly 1.8 meters to sea levels. And it will be enough to reshape where and how people live in the future. 

研究人员利用计算机模型预测了南极洲西部阿蒙森海周围保护性冰的未来融化情况。他们表示，“不可避免”的融化将需要数百年的时间。海平面将缓慢上升近1.8米。这足以重塑人们未来的居住地点和生活方式。 

The study was published recently in Nature Climate Change. It found that even if future warming was limited to just a few tenths of a degree more, it would have “limited power to prevent ocean warming that could lead to the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.” 

该研究最近发表在《自然·气候变化》杂志上。研究发现，即使未来的变暖幅度仅限于零点几度，“防止海洋变暖导致西南极冰盖崩塌的能力也有限”。 

Many scientists say the goal of just a few tenths of a degree of warming is unlikely to be met. 

许多科学家表示，将气温升高零点几度的目标不太可能实现。

“Our main question here was: How much control do we still have over ice shelf melting? How much melting can still be prevented by reducing emissions?” said study lead writer Kaitlin Naughten. She is an expert on oceans at the British Antarctic Survey. 

“我们的主要问题是：我们对冰架融化还有多少控制力？通过减少排放还可以防止多少融化？” 研究主要作者凯特琳·诺顿说。她是英国南极调查局的海洋专家。 

She said their research suggests that Earth is set on the path to a quick increase in the rate of ocean warming and ice shelf melting over the rest of the century. 

她说，他们的研究表明，在本世纪剩余时间内，地球将走上海洋变暖和冰架融化速度迅速加快的道路。 

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