南極冰蓋融化，或觸發(fā)連鎖反應(yīng)

The Antarctic ice sheet could suffer a chain reaction collapse as melting ice exposes land underneath, leaving less heat to be reflected away and causing temperatures to rise further and weather patterns to be changed, a study has warned.

一項(xiàng)研究警告說(shuō)，冰蓋融化、土地露出，導(dǎo)致更少地陽(yáng)光被反射走、更多的熱量被土地吸收，從而使溫度進(jìn)一步升高。

Researchers used climate modeling and data for the Middle Miocene period - which was 13 to 17 million years ago - when carbon dioxide levels and global temperatures were similar to those expected at the end of the 21st century.

研究人員使用了中新世中期(1300萬(wàn)至1700萬(wàn)年前)的氣候模型和數(shù)據(jù)，當(dāng)時(shí)二氧化碳水平和全球溫度與21世紀(jì)末的預(yù)期相似。

They found that the Antarctic ice sheet was more unstable in its past than initially thought.

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)南極冰原在過(guò)去比最初想象的更不穩(wěn)定。

If the ice sheet becomes unstable, it becomes harder for it to reform and could eventually collapse, especially if the climate continues to warm.

如果冰蓋變得不穩(wěn)定，則可能最終塌陷，尤其是在氣候持續(xù)變暖的情況下。

The research, published in Nature Geoscience on Thursday, suggests that if global temperatures continue to rise, the ice sheet could give way to the land underneath it.

周四發(fā)表在《自然地球科學(xué)》上的這項(xiàng)研究表明，如果全球氣溫繼續(xù)上升，冰蓋可能會(huì)融化，陸地露出地面。

This would lead to higher temperatures and greater amounts of rain in the region, further accelerating the ice loss.

這會(huì)導(dǎo)致該地區(qū)氣溫升高，降雨量增加，進(jìn)一步加速冰的流失。

'When an ice sheet melts, the newly exposed ground beneath is less reflective, and local temperatures become warmer,' the study's lead author, University of Exeter professor Dr. Catherine Bradshaw, said in a statement.

該研究的主要作者、埃克塞特大學(xué)教授凱瑟琳·布拉德肖博士在一份聲明中說(shuō)，冰蓋融化后，下面新暴露的地面反射性減弱，當(dāng)?shù)販囟纫矔?huì)升高。

'This can dramatically change weather patterns,' Bradshaw continued.

布拉德肖繼續(xù)說(shuō)，這會(huì)極大地改變氣候模式。