Episode Details

An ocean researcher at the University of California, San Diego says waves are getting bigger and stronger since 1970. There are also more “big wave events” than ever before. A big wave is about four meters tall or more. Peter Bromirski at the university’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography looked at seismic records going back to 1931 in his research. Seismic information is often used to measure the power of earthquakes. But Bromirski said large waves create enough energy to be measured by seismographs, also.

加州大学圣地亚哥分校的一位海洋研究人员表示，自 1970 年以来，波浪变得越来越大、越来越强。“大波浪事件”也比以往任何时候都多。大波浪大约有四米高或更高。该大学斯克里普斯海洋学研究所的彼得·布罗米尔斯基 (Peter Bromirski) 在他的研究中研究了可追溯到 1931 年的地震记录。地震信息通常用于测量地震的强度。但布罗米尔斯基表示，大波浪也能产生足够的能量，可供地震仪测量。

When large waves reach the shore, they bounce back and run into new waves. The crash sends energy through the ocean floor where it can be measured by seismographs. Those measurements permitted Bromirski to judge the strength and size of waves over a period of 90 years. Bromirski said he “stumbled upon” the seismographic information. Before the discovery, he said, “it was almost impossible” to compare waves from the past with those from the present.

当大浪到达海岸时，它们会反弹并形成新的波浪。碰撞将能量传送到海底，可以通过地震仪进行测量。这些测量使布罗米尔斯基能够判断 90 年来波浪的强度和大小。布罗米尔斯基说，他“偶然发现”了地震信息。他说，在发现之前，“几乎不可能”将过去的波浪与现在的波浪进行比较。

It took a lot of work to put the data together. Much of the information was on paper. Bromirski and his team of student researchers had to put the information into a computer so they could examine the data. The slow process took years. They found that the height of most waves in the winter along the California coast have grown by about 30 centimeters since 1970. Starting that year, waves of over 4 meters happened more often, as well. Between 1996 and 2016, the large waves happened twice as often as they did from 1949 to 1969. Bromirski and his team published their research recently in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.

将数据整合在一起需要花费大量的工作。许多信息都是纸质的。布罗米尔斯基和他的学生研究团队必须将信息输入计算机，以便他们可以检查数据。这个缓慢的过程需要数年时间。他们发现，自 1970 年以来，加州海岸冬季的大多数波浪高度增加了约 30 厘米。从那一年开始，超过 4 米的波浪也更频繁地发生。 1996 年至 2016 年间，巨浪发生的频率是 1949 年至 1969 年的两倍。布罗米尔斯基和他的团队最近在《地球物理研究杂志：海洋》上发表了他们的研究成果。

1970 is the year scientists believe the warming of the planet began to speed up. Bromirski says the new data shows that climate change is making ocean waves taller and stronger. That means they are more likely to damage the coast, roads and structures, such as piers and houses. Bromirski said his research may be a warning that bigger and stronger waves are ahead. With more warming, sea levels will rise and waves will get stronger, causing flooding and more damage to land. The California coast has already been damaged by big waves in recent years.