时代周刊:散落在太平洋深处的黑矿石--解锁气候密码(1)

Scattered¹ three miles deep along the floor of the central Pacific are trillions of black, misshapen nuggets that may just be the solution to an impending² energy crisis.

在太平洋中部三英里深的海底散布着数以万亿计的奇形怪状的黑色矿石，它们或许能解决迫在眉睫的能源危机。

Similar in size and appearance to partially³ burned charcoal⁴ briquettes, the nuggets are called polymetallic nodules, and are an amalgamation⁵ of nickel, cobalt, manganese and other rare earth metals,

这些矿石在大小和外观上与未燃尽的木炭煤球相似，他们被称为多金属结核，是镍、钴、锰和其他稀土金属的混合物，

formed through a complex biochemical process in which sharks' teeth and fish bones are encased by minerals accreted⁶ out of ocean waters over millions of years.

经过复杂的生化过程而形成，在这个过程中，海水中积累的矿物质会将鲨鱼牙齿和鱼骨包裹数百万年。

Marine⁷ biologists say they are part of one of the least-understood environments on earth, holding, if not the secret to life on this planet, at least something equally fundamental to the health of its oceans.

海洋生物学家说，作为地球上最鲜为人知的环境的一部分，即便不能说它们是这个星球上生命的秘密，那至少也可以说它们对海洋的健康至关重要。

Gerard Barron, the Australian CEO of seabed- mining company the Metals Company, calls them something else: “a battery in a rock,” and “the easiest way to solve climate change.”

澳大利亚海底采矿公司-金属公司的首席执行官杰拉德巴伦称它们为“岩石中的电池”和“解决气候变化的最简单方法”。

The nodules, which are strewn across the 4.5 million-sq-km (1.7 millionsqmi.) swath of international ocean between Hawaii and Mexico known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ),

这些结核分布在位于夏威夷和墨西哥之间450万平方公里(170万平方英里)的国际海域中，被称为克拉里昂-克利珀顿区（CCZ），

contain significant amounts of the metals needed to make the batteries that power our laptops, phones and electric cars.

它们含有大量制造笔记本电脑、手机和电动汽车电池所需的金属。

Barron estimates that there is enough cobalt and nickel in those nuggets to power 4.8 billion electric vehicles—more than twice the number of vehicles on the road today, worldwide.

巴伦估计，这些矿石中的钴和镍足够为48亿辆电动汽车提供动力，是当今全球上路汽车数量的两倍多。

Mining them, he says, would be as simple as vacuuming golf balls off a putting green. But conservationists say doing so could unleash⁸ a cascade⁹ effect worse than the current trajectory¹⁰ of climate change.

他说，开采这些矿石就像从果岭上吸走高尔夫球一样简单。但环保人士表示，这样做可能会引发比当前气候变化轨迹更严重的级联效应。

Oceans are a vital carbon sink, absorbing up to a quarter of global carbon emissions¹¹ a year.

海洋是至关重要的碳汇场所，每年吸收全球四分之一的碳排放量。

The process of extracting the nodules is unlikely to disrupt that ability on its own, but the very nature of the world’s oceans—largely contiguous, with a system of currents that circumnavigate the globe—means that what happens in one area could have unforeseen impacts on the other side of the planet.

虽然提取结核的过程不太可能破坏海洋吸收二氧化碳的能力，但地球上的海洋其实是通过环绕全球的洋流系统连接在一起的，这就意味着一个海洋区域的变化可能会对地球另一端的海洋产生不可预见的影响。

“If this goes wrong, it could trigger a series of unintended consequences that messes with ocean stability, ultimately affecting life everywhere on earth,” says Pippa Howard, director of the biodiversity-conservation organization Fauna¹² and Flora¹³ International.

“如果开采矿石出现问题，可能会引发一系列意想不到的后果，扰乱海洋稳定，最终影响到地球上所有地方的生命，”生物多样性保护组织——国际动植物组织负责人皮帕·霍华德说。

The nodules are a core part of a biome roughly the size of the Amazon rain forest, she notes.

她指出，这些结核是一个大致相当于亚马逊雨林大小的生物群落的核心部分。

“They’ve got living ecosystems¹⁴ on them. Taking those nodules and then using them to make batteries is like making cement out of coral reefs.”

“它们已经形成了鲜活的生态系统。用这些结核做电池无异于用珊瑚礁做水泥。”

1 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

2 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

3 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

4 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

5 amalgamation   

n.合并，重组；；汞齐化

参考例句：

• We look towards the amalgamation of some of the neighborhood factories.我们指望合并一些里弄工厂。
• The proposed amalgamation of the two institutes has mow fallen through.这两个研究所打算合并的事现在已经落空了。

6 accreted   

v.共生( accrete的过去式和过去分词 )；合生；使依附；使连接

参考例句：

• The story accreted emotion. 这个故事使人精神亢奋。 来自互联网
• Imperial shrimp accreted with sea cucumber. 寄生在海参身上的帝王虾。 来自互联网

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

9 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

10 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

11 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

12 fauna   

n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系

参考例句：

• This National Park is an area with unique fauna and flora.该国家公园区域内具有独特的动物种群和植物种群。
• Fauna is a biological notion means all the animal life in a particular region or period. 动物群是一个生物学的概念，指的是一个特定时期或者地区的所有动物。

13 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

14 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句