60秒科学:Earth Experiencing "Climates" Change?

Climate change is the great environmental challenge facing the world today. But maybe we should start calling it “climates change”. Because scientists who’ve looked to glaciers¹ to study the history of climate on Earth have found that the Northern and Southern hemispheres have not been moving in sync.

As you might imagine, glaciers are sensitive to changes in temperature. So scientists interested in the evolution of earth’s climate use these icy formations to gauge² local conditions from the past. A research team used a newfangled method for measuring rare isotopes³ to accurately⁴ date glaciers in New Zealand. They then compared these numbers to historic records from the Northern Hemisphere. And they found no correlation⁵ in the growth of glaciers above and below the equator over the past 7,000 years. While the vast majority of glaciers are now in retreat, a few down under have been growing and shrinking like a bunch of yo-yo dieters.

The discovery, published in the May 1 issue of Science, suggests that the Earth’s climate doesn’t act as a single entity⁶, but can vary from region to region. Which would make certain glaciers, whether or not they wither⁷, better long-term weather bellwethers⁸.

—Karen Hopkin

 

1 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

2 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

3 isotopes   

n.同位素；同位素( isotope的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the many isotopes of carbon 碳的诸多同位素
• Tritium is one of the mildest radioactive isotopes. 氚是最和缓的放射性同位素之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

5 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

6 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

7 wither   

vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡

参考例句：

• She grows as a flower does-she will wither without sun.她象鲜花一样成长--没有太阳就会凋谢。
• In autumn the leaves wither and fall off the trees.秋天，树叶枯萎并从树上落下来。

8 bellwethers   

n.系铃的公羊( bellwether的名词复数 )；前导；领导者；群众的首领

参考例句：

• Two bellwethers- -Apple and Yahoo- -announced their third-quarter earnings after close of trading Tuesday afternoon. 两只领头羊-苹果和雅虎-宣布其第三季度盈馀后，周二下午收盘。 来自互联网