南極臭氧空洞是三十年來最小的

南極臭氧空洞是三十年來最小的

The ominous hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic is shrinking — but scientists warn not to celebrate just yet.

南極上空臭氧層的不祥空洞正在縮小，但科學(xué)家警告說，目前還不要慶祝。

Once as large as the United States, the gap is now a quarter of the size it was just 12 months ago, a team of British experts found.

一個英國專家小組發(fā)現(xiàn)，南極臭氧洞曾經(jīng)和美國一樣大，現(xiàn)在，是12個月前的四分之一。

The ozone layer is important because it acts as a shield that protects us from the Sun’s harmful radiation.

臭氧層很重要，因為它起到保護我們免受太陽有害輻射的作用。

It’s made up of oxygen atoms and scientists have been tracking a giant hole in it over the South Pole since the 1970s.

臭氧層由氧原子組成，自20世紀70年代以來，科學(xué)家們一直在南極上空追蹤它的一個巨大洞。

Researchers at the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) looked at how the ozone hole is progressing using an array of weather satellites.

歐盟哥白尼大氣監(jiān)測局(cams)的研究人員，利用一系列氣象衛(wèi)星觀察了臭氧空洞的進展情況。

It now covers an area spanning 1.9 million square miles, down from 7.7 million square miles in September 2018, reports the BBC.

據(jù)英國廣播公司(BBC)報道，該地區(qū)面積從2018年9月的770萬平方英里下降到現(xiàn)在的190萬平方英里。

That means the hole is the smallest it’s been in three decades, though scientists warn not to pop the champagne just yet.

這意味著這個洞是三十年來最小的，盡管科學(xué)家們警告說現(xiàn)在還不能開香檳慶祝。

Back in 2017, the hole covered 3.9 million square miles — around the size of the United States — so it’s pretty variable from year to year.

早在2017年，這個洞覆蓋了390萬平方英里——大約相當于美國的面積——所以每年的變化都很大。

This variability means the shrinking of the hole doesn’t necessarily equate to a slowing down of climate change, said Richard Engelen, deputy head of CAMS.

CAMS副主任理查德·恩格斯(Richard Engelen)表示，這種可變性意味著黑洞的縮小并不一定意味著氣候變化的減緩。

“Right now I think we should view this as an interesting anomaly,” Richard told the BBC.

理查德對英國廣播公司說：“現(xiàn)在我認為我們應(yīng)該把這看作一個有趣的反?，F(xiàn)象。”

“We need to find out more about what caused it.”

“我們需要找出更多的原因。”

Ozone is constantly being made and destroyed in the stratosphere, about 18 miles above the Earth’s surface.

臭氧在離地球表面約18英里的平流層中不斷生成和破壞。

Under normal conditions, the protective layer exists in perfect equilibrium.

在正常條件下，保護層處于完全平衡狀態(tài)。

However, pollution pumped into the air by human activities like the use of aerosol spray cans upsets this balance and causes the ozone to deplete.

然而，人類活動造成的污染，如使用氣溶膠噴霧罐，破壞了這種平衡，導(dǎo)致臭氧消耗。

The Montreal Protocol signed by governments in 1987 sought to repair some of the damage by banning some of humanity’s most harmful chemicals.

1987年各國政府簽署的《蒙特利爾議定書》，試圖通過禁止一些人類最有害的化學(xué)物質(zhì)來修復(fù)一些損害。

Thinning of the Ozone typically begins just after the Antarctic winter each year.

臭氧層的變薄通常在每年南極冬季剛過之后就開始了。

Losses started earlier than usual in 2019, but a sudden warming of the stratosphere slowed the process down.

2019年的損失開始得比往常早，但平流層突然變暖減緩了這一過程。

Richard said the process is unlikely linked to climate change.

理查德說，這個過程不太可能與氣候變化有關(guān)。

“It’s not really related to the Montreal Protocol where we’ve tried to reduce chlorine and bromine in the atmosphere because they’re still there,” he said.

他說：“這與我們試圖減少大氣中氯和溴含量的《蒙特利爾議定書》其實沒有關(guān)系，因為它們?nèi)匀淮嬖凇?rdquo;

“It’s much more related to a dynamical event. People will obviously ask questions related to climate change, but we simply can’t answer that at this point.”

“這更像是一個動態(tài)事件。很明顯，人們會問一些與氣候變化有關(guān)的問題，但目前我們無法回答這個問題。”

A full recovery of the ozone to pre-1970 levels isn’t expected until around 2060.

預(yù)計到2060年左右，臭氧層才會完全恢復(fù)到1970年以前的水平。