2023年经济学人 人类世开始的标志(2)

 

    There are markers besides climate change, too.

    除了气候变化之外，还有其他标志。

    Microplastics in oceans and rivers are laying down sedimentary layers of chemicals never seen before in nature.

    海洋和河流中的微塑料正在沉积为化学物质层，这在自然界中从未被发现过。

    Nitrogen fertilisers have altered the balance of chemical isotopes² in peat bogs³.

    氮肥改变了泥炭沼泽中化学同位素的平衡。

    The world is in the midst of a mass extinction⁴.

    世界正处于大灭绝之中。

    At the same time shipping⁵ and air travel have scattered⁶ much of the remaining flora⁷ and fauna⁸ far from where they evolved.

    与此同时，航运和航空旅行使许多现存的动植物远离了它们进化的地方。

    Both the extinction and the redistribution will be visible when what is alive today joins the fossil record of the past.

    当今天活着的生物与过去的化石记录结合在一起时，灭绝和重新分布都将同时可见。

    The iugs’s rules say that geological transitions must be marked not just by a particular event, but by a specific alteration⁹ in a specific geological feature.

    国际地质勘探局的规则指出，地质变迁不仅要以某一特定事件为标志，还要以某一特定地质特征的特定变化为标志。

    (For instance, the start of the Edicarian period, 635m years ago, is defined by a visible change in a band of exposed rocks in southern Australia.)(例如，6.35亿年前伊迪卡利亚时期的开始，是由澳大利亚南部裸露岩石带的明显变化确定的。)The awg’s announcement marked the end of a years-long search for a suitable marker for the Anthropocene.

    人类世工作组的宣布标志着长达数年的寻找人类世合适标志工作的结束。

    Scientists examined sites from the estuaries¹⁰ of San Francisco to the sediment¹ beneath Vienna’s main square, before settling on Crawford Lake.

    科学家们考察了从旧金山河口到维也纳主要广场下的沉积物，最后选定了克劳福德湖。

    The lake has several advantages.

    这个湖有几个优点。

    Every summer, as the surface waters warm, flakes¹¹ of calcium¹² carbonate precipitate¹³ out and drift to the bottom.

    每年夏天，随着表层海水变暖，碳酸钙薄片沉淀出来，沉向海底。

    There they form regular white bands amid the sediments¹⁴, much like age rings in trees.

    它们在沉积物中形成规则的白色带，很像树木的年轮。

    The sediments themselves lie deep enough that they remain undisturbed by the wind and waves above.

    沉积物本身埋藏得足够深，不受上面风浪的干扰。

    They therefore contain records, in date order, of everything from CO2 concentrations to particles of plutonium from the explosions of nuclear weapons, the first of which happened in 1945.

    因此，它们按日期顺序包含了从二氧化碳浓度到核武器爆炸产生的钚颗粒的所有记录，第一次核武器爆炸发生在1945年。

    Indeed, the awg has proposed that the subsequent spike¹⁵ in plutonium—an element which was vanishingly rare before the atomic age—should serve as the “primary marker” for the beginning of the Anthropocene.

    事实上，人类世工作组已经提出，钚(一种在原子时代之前非常罕见的元素)随后的峰值应该作为人类世开始的“主要标志”。

    Not everyone is convinced, for plutonium is unstable¹⁶.

    并不是所有人都相信这一点，因为钚是不稳定的。

    The isotopes that the awg have in mind have half-lives of 6,500 and 24,000 years, meaning almost all the plutonium will be gone within 200,000 years.

    人类世工作组所考虑的同位素的半衰期分别为6500年和24000年，这意味着几乎所有的钚都将在20万年内消失。

    Dissidents suggest that fly ash from fossil-fuel combustion¹⁷ would make a better alternative.

    唱反调者认为化石燃料燃烧产生的粉煤灰是更好的替代品。

    Like plutonium, it is not something that the planet has seen before.

    就像钚一样，这是地球上以前从未见过的东西。

    And unlike plutonium, it will, if left undisturbed, hang around in the rocks for many millions of years to come.

    与钚不同的是，如果不受干扰，它将在未来数百万年里在岩石中徘徊。

1 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

2 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》

3 bogs   

n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• Whenever It'shows its true nature, real life bogs to a standstill. 无论何时，只要它显示出它的本来面目，真正的生活就陷入停滞。 来自名作英译部分
• At Jitra we went wading through bogs. 在日得拉我们步行着从泥水塘里穿过去。 来自辞典例句

4 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 alteration   

n.变更，改变；蚀变

参考例句：

• The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。
• He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。

10 estuaries   

（江河入海的）河口，河口湾( estuary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We also recognize the diversity and complexity of controlling in fluences in estuaries. 我们也认识到在河湾内控制影响的多样性和复杂性。
• Estuaries also contribute to economy through tourism and fishing. 河口还为人类提供了休闲和教育的场所。

11 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

12 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

13 precipitate   

adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物

参考例句：

• I don't think we should make precipitate decisions.我认为我们不应该贸然作出决定。
• The king was too precipitate in declaring war.国王在宣战一事上过于轻率。

14 sediments   

沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 )； 沉积物

参考例句：

• When deposited, 70-80% of the volume of muddy sediments may be water. 泥质沉积物沉积后，体积的70-80％是水。
• Oligocene erosion had truncated the sediments draped over the dome. 覆盖于穹丘上的沉积岩为渐新世侵蚀所截削。

15 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

16 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

17 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。