VOA慢速英语--奥地利科学家竞相研究正在消失的冰川

Scientists in Austria Race to Study Disappearing Glaciers²

In Austria, researchers are drilling into mountain glaciers in the Alps in search of data about the Earth’s climate thousands of years ago.

Glaciers are huge areas of ancient ice on mountains or in very cold places that scientists say capture atmospheric³ conditions from the past.

But the researchers now warn they must work quickly to collect as much information as possible before some melting glaciers disappear.

One scientist involved in the work, Andrea Fischer, told Reuters news agency that glaciers on the eastern edge of the Alps Mountains are especially sensitive to climate change. She said the glaciers have been shrinking, making the examination process urgent.

“We are now roughly at 1920. The rest has already been lost - everything from 1920 until now,” said Fischer, who heads the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research in Innsbruck. Her work is centered at the top of the Weisseespitze, at a height of more than 3,500 meters.

“In the next two years we will lose another 70 years (of ice and data),” Fischer added, describing the ice at the top of the glacier¹.

The research team has drilled to the bottom of the glacier to collect ice samples. They want to use the samples to learn more about local climate conditions in the past. Fischer believes the ice could be 3,000 to 5,000 years old. Her samples are going through laboratory tests to date them.

The lower layers are more dense⁴ than those at the top. That means one meter of ice in a sample could include thousands of years of data.

“The ice is only a few meters thick. In a few years, this summit will be completely ice-free,” Fischer said.

Scientists are able to gather some climate information from other materials, such as tree trunks, for example. Fischer said this information can be helpful in learning about air temperatures from the past. But studying glaciers is the best way to get data on rain and snowfall, she added.

Shrinking mountain glaciers across the world are one of the issues being discussed at a United Nations climate change conference starting Monday in New York.

Leaders from government, business and civil society are gathering⁵ for the Climate Action Summit. It is being led by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. In a statement before the conference, Guterres said U.N. scientists have predicted that any temperature rise above 1.5 degrees Celsius⁶ “will lead to major and irreversible damage to the ecosystems⁷ that support us.”

The U.N. chief warned that if the world’s climate stays on its current path, the world’s temperature could rise by at least 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the next century.

“The climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win,” Guterres said. He added that the conference is meant to go beyond just discussion. “We have had enough talk. This is not a climate negotiation⁸ summit. You don’t negotiate with nature. This is a climate action summit,” he said.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

drill – v. make holes in hard materials with a machine

sample – n. small amount of something

summit – n. the top of a mountain

irreversible – adj. something that cannot be changed back to the way it was before

1 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。

2 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）

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 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 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。

7 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

8 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。