第1879期:Huge canyon under the Antarctica?

For more than five decades scientists have been trying to draw an accurate map of what lies under the Antarctic ice sheet, which is more than 2.5 miles thick in places. Only a couple of regions remain unexplored, what the experts refer to as the 'Poles of Ignorance'.

五十多年来，科学家们一直试图绘制南极冰盖下的准确地图，该冰盖的某些地方厚度超过 2.5 英里。 只有几个地区仍未被探索，专家们将其称为“无知之极”。

One of these is a vast expanse in the east of the continent known as Princess Elizabeth Land. It's now the target of intense study and satellites have detected subtle shapes in the ice surface that suggest there could be a network of canyons hiding down below. If correct, the system would be more than 600 miles long and over 0.5 mile deep. There may be a buried lake as well.

其中之一是位于非洲大陆东部的一片广阔的土地，被称为伊丽莎白公主土地。 它现在成为了深入研究的目标，卫星已经检测到冰面的微妙形状，这表明下面可能隐藏着一个峡谷网络。 如果正确的话，该系统将超过 600 英里长，超过 0.5 英里深。 可能还有一个埋藏湖。

Stewart Jamieson from Durham University led the research: "Knowing what lies beneath the ice sheet is important because we know that the shape of the landscape determines how the ice flows and responds over time. And so we'll be better able to predict how the ice sheet will respond to climate change in the future."

达勒姆大学的斯图尔特·贾米森领导了这项研究：“了解冰盖下面的东西很重要，因为我们知道地貌的形状决定了冰随着时间的推移如何流动和响应。这样我们就能够更好地预测冰盖如何变化。” 冰盖将在未来应对气候变化。”

Airplanes are currently flying over Princess Elizabeth Land with sensors that can accurately survey the shape of the rock bed. They should confirm the presence of the canyon system.

目前，飞机正在伊丽莎白公主土地上空飞行，其传感器可以准确测量岩床的形状。 他们应该确认峡谷系统的存在。

词汇表

accurate 精确的，准确的
unexplored 未勘探的，未探索的
expanse 广阔的区域
satellites 卫星
subtle 不明显的，不易察觉的
determines 决定，形成，影响
sensors 传感器