第1742期:Warm Water Is Melting Weak Spots Huge Antarctica Glacier

In two recent studies, researchers say warm water is melting weak areas on Antarctica’s huge Thwaites Glacier. Two research papers describing melting recently appeared in the publication Nature. The research results came after an investigative effort involving a team of 13 American and British scientists. Teams spent about six weeks on the glacier in late 2019 and early 2020.

在最近的两项研究中，研究人员表示，温暖的海水正在融化南极洲巨大的思韦茨冰川上的薄弱区域。两篇描述熔化的研究论文最近发表在《自然》杂志上。研究结果是在由 13 名美国和英国科学家组成的团队进行调查后得出的。 2019 年底和 2020 年初，团队在冰川上度过了大约六周的时间。

The researchers used an underwater robot vehicle equipped with instruments and sensors to collect data. They were able to measure the glacier's grounding line, the place where glacial ice stops being supported by land and starts being supported by water. One of the papers was led by Cornell University-based scientist Britney Schmidt. She reported the warmer water was making its way into crevasses and other openings known as terraces, which caused sideways melt of 30 meters or more per year.

研究人员使用配备仪器和传感器的水下机器人车辆来收集数据。他们能够测量冰川的接地线，即冰川停止由陆地支撑并开始由水支撑的地方。其中一篇论文由康奈尔大学的科学家布兰妮·施密特 (Britney Schmidt) 领导。她报告说，温暖的水正在流入裂缝和其他被称为梯田的开口，每年造成 30 米或更多的侧向融化。

"Warm water is getting into the weakest parts of the glacier and making it worse," Schmidt told Reuters news agency. "That is the kind of thing we should all be very concerned about," she said about the latest findings. Schmidt’s paper said the collapse of the Thwaites Glacier “represents more than half a meter of global sea-level-rise.” It could also influence events leading to a three-meter rise in the sea levels over several hundred years. Schmidt also worked on the other paper's findings. That research showed about five meters per year of melt near the glacier's grounding line. This level was less than what the most aggressive thinning scientific potential models had predicted.

施密特对路透社说：“温水正在进入冰川最薄弱的部分，使情况变得更糟。” “这是我们都应该非常关心的事情，”她谈到最新的调查结果时说。施密特的论文称，思韦茨冰川的崩塌“代表全球海平面上升超过半米”。它还可能影响导致海平面在数百年内上升三米的事件。施密特还研究了另一篇论文的发现。该研究表明，冰川接地线附近每年融化约 5 米。这一水平低于最激进的稀疏科学潜力模型所预测的水平。

But Schmidt said the melting was still extremely concerning. "If we observe less melting...that doesn't change the fact that it's retreating," she added.In the past, scientists have depended on satellite images to show the behavior of the ice, making it difficult to get detailed results. The papers represent the first time a team has gone to the grounding line of a major glacier, providing a look into where "the action begins," Schmidt said.

但施密特表示，融化仍然非常令人担忧。她补充说：“如果我们观察到较少的融化......这不会改变它正在消退的事实。”过去，科学家们依赖卫星图像来显示冰的行为，因此很难获得详细的结果。施密特说，这些论文代表了一个团队第一次到达主要冰川的接地线，提供了“行动开始”的视角。

The findings should help with the development of climate change models, said Paul Cutler. He is the program director of Antarctic Sciences at the National Science Foundation. He examined the papers, but was not involved in the research. "These things can now be taken on board in the models that will predict the future behavior,” Cutler said. “And that was exactly the goal of this work," he added.

保罗卡特勒说，这些发现应该有助于气候变化模型的开发。他是美国国家科学基金会南极科学项目主任。他检查了论文，但没有参与研究。卡特勒说：“现在可以将这些东西纳入预测未来行为的模型中。”“这正是这项工作的目标，”他补充道。