VOA慢速英语2016--北极温度与海平面同上升

Sea Levels and Arctic Temperatures Rise 北极温度与海平面同上升

Scientists found sea levels are rising faster today than anytime over the past 3,000 years.

Another group of scientists found that January temperatures in the Arctic hit a record high.

The sea level researchers gathered information going back 28 centuries. Their findings were released Monday by the Proceedings¹ of the National Academy of Sciences.

Robert Kopp, from Rutgers University in New Jersey², is the paper’s lead author. He said the 20th century rise was “extraordinary” when compared to the past 3,000 years. 

And, Kopp said, “the rise over the last two decades has been even faster.”

When temperatures rise, so do sea levels. That is because snow and ice melt, or break off from glaciers⁴. They flow into the sea. The increased water makes the sea levels rise.

The best estimates show that temperatures around the Earth have risen more than a half-degree Celsius⁵ since 1880. Scientists say that most of that rise is because of emissions⁶, or gases, released into the air by machines that humans have built.

And it is not going to get better. The water is going to rise, said Stefan Rahmstorf.  He is a professor of ocean physics at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and the study’s co-author.

"I think we can definitely be confident that sea level rise is going to continue to accelerate if there's further warming," he told The New York Times. He said "inevitably⁷ there will be" more warming, which means it will continue to rise.

One question is how much will the sea levels rise? And for how long? The researchers said the Earth’s sea level could rise more than a meter by the year 2100.

Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁸ administration reported that temperatures at the North Pole hit record highs in January.

This news comes after 2015 has been the hottest year ever recorded.

On average, the North was almost 4 degrees Celsius higher in January than average temperatures between the years 1951 and 1980. This news comes after researchers reported a record low amount of sea ice up North. The National Snow and Ice Data Center said the amount of January sea ice is 644,000 square kilometers below average.

Scientists point to “The Blob,” or an unusually warm area of water in the northern Pacific Ocean. It is millions of kilometers wide and keeps temperatures about three degrees warmer than usual in that area.

Words in This Story

glacier³ –n. a very large area of ice that moves slowly down a slope or valley or spread out over land

emissions –n. the producing and sending out of something, usually gas or radiation.

accelerate –v. to speed up

inevitability⁹ –n. cannot be avoided or evaded¹⁰

global –adj. involving the entire world

1 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

4 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

5 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。

6 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。

7 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

8 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。

9 inevitability   

n.必然性

参考例句：

• Evolutionism is normally associated with a belief in the inevitability of progress. 进化主义通常和一种相信进步不可避免的看法相联系。
• It is the tide of the times, an inevitability of history. 这是时代的潮流，历史的必然。

10 evaded   

逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
• The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。