2022年10月28日 VOA慢速英語： NASA 儀器檢測來自太空的大量甲烷排放

 
A NASA space instrument designed to study dust in the atmosphere and its effects on climate change is also detecting worldwide emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
美國宇航局的一種空間儀器旨在研究大氣中的塵埃及其對氣候變化的影響，同時也在檢測全球范圍內的甲烷排放量，這是一種強大的溫室氣體。
 
The device is called an imaging spectrometer. It has identified more than 50 methane "super-emitters" in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Southwestern United States, the space agency said recently. The newly measured methane hotspots include large oil and gas centers and waste dumps.
該設備稱為成像光譜儀。航天局最近表示，它已經(jīng)在中亞、中東和美國西南部發(fā)現(xiàn)了 50 多個甲烷“超級排放源”。新測量的甲烷熱點包括大型石油和天然氣中心和廢物堆放場。
 
The spectrometer was put in place on the International Space Station in July. NASA built the instrument mainly to identify the kinds of dust blown into the atmosphere from Earth's deserts and other dry areas.
該光譜儀于 7 月安裝在國際空間站上。美國宇航局制造該儀器主要是為了識別從地球沙漠和其他干燥地區(qū)吹入大氣的塵埃種類。
 
That study, NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Investigation, or EMIT, will help scientists know if airborne dust in different parts of the world is likely to trap or deflect heat from the sun. This helps them know if the dust has a warming or cooling effect on the planet.
這項研究，即美國宇航局的地球表面礦物塵埃調查 (EMIT)，將幫助科學家了解世界不同地區(qū)的空氣塵埃是否可能捕獲或偏轉來自太陽的熱量。這有助于他們了解塵埃是否對地球產(chǎn)生了變暖或變冷的影響。
 
It turns out that methane absorbs infrared light in a special way that EMIT's spectrometer can easily detect, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles said.
洛杉磯附近的美國宇航局噴氣推進實驗室 (JPL) 的科學家說，事實證明，甲烷以一種特殊的方式吸收紅外光，而 EMIT 的光譜儀可以很容易地檢測到這種方式。
 
From the space station, EMIT can study large areas many kilometers wide while also centering on small areas the size of a football field.
從空間站，EMIT 可以研究數(shù)公里寬的大區(qū)域，同時也可以以足球場大小的小區(qū)域為中心。
 
"Some of the plumes EMIT detected are among the largest ever seen - unlike anything that has ever been observed from space," said Andrew Thorpe, a JPL research technologist leading the methane studies.
領導甲烷研究的噴氣推進實驗室研究技術專家安德魯·索普說：“EMIT 檢測到的一些羽流是有史以來最大的——這與從太空觀察到的任何東西都不同。”
 
New images of methane super-emitters shown by JPL included a group of 12 plumes from oil and gas structures in Turkmenistan. Some plumes were more than 32 kilometers wide.
JPL 展示的甲烷超級發(fā)射器的新圖像包括一組來自土庫曼斯坦石油和天然氣結構的 12 根羽流。一些羽狀物的寬度超過 32 公里。
 
Scientists estimate the Turkmenistan plumes all together emit methane at a rate of 50,400 kilograms per hour. This is close to the top emission rate from the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas field accident near Los Angeles. That event was one of the largest accidental methane releases in U.S. history.
科學家們估計，土庫曼斯坦的煙羽以每小時 50,400 公斤的速度排放甲烷。這接近 2015 年洛杉磯附近的阿利索峽谷氣田事故的最高排放率。該事件是美國歷史上最大的甲烷意外釋放事件之一。
 
Two other large emitters were an oilfield in New Mexico, and a waste-processing center in Iran, emitting nearly 29,000 kilograms of methane per hour combined. JPL officials said neither were previously known to scientists.
另外兩個大型排放源是新墨西哥州的一個油田和伊朗的一個廢物處理中心，每小時總排放近 29,000 公斤甲烷。JPL 官員說，科學家們以前都不知道這兩者。
 
EMIT, one of 25 Earth science instruments in orbit, might be able to find hundreds of methane super-emitters before its year-long mission ends, NASA said.
美國宇航局表示，EMIT 是在軌的 25 個地球科學儀器之一，它可能能夠在其為期一年的任務結束之前找到數(shù)百個甲烷超級發(fā)射器。