科学美国人60秒 SSS “僵尸火”发生越来越频繁--引发气候变暖(1)

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I’m Emily Schwing.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是艾米丽·施林。

“A will-less and speechless human ... [believed] to have died and been supernaturally reanimated.”

“一个没有意志、不会说话的人…… (被认为)已经死了，然后又超自然地复活了。”

“A person markedly strange in appearance or behavior.”

一个外表或行为明显怪异的人。

“A mixed drink made of several kinds of rum, liqueur, and fruit juice.”

由几种朗姆酒、利口酒和果汁混合而成的饮料。

According to Merriam Webster, these are all ways to describe a zombie.

根据韦氏词典，这些都是描述僵尸的方式。

But maybe the definition should also include mention of wildfires—the kind that smolder¹ and creep along underground in the boreal forests of the Far North and sub-Arctic.

但是，也许这个定义还应该包含野火，即在远北和亚北极的北方森林中那种在地下阴燃和蔓延的野火。

We think they’re out and, you know, snow, and it’s cold all winter.

我们认为大火已经熄灭了，你知道，下雪，而且整个冬天都很冷。

And then in the spring, when they start smoking up again, it’s like they’re back from the dead.

到了春天，他们又开始冒烟了，就像死而复生一样。

This past spring, Randi Jandt and her colleagues published a paper in Nature about wildfires that overwinter in the boreal forest.

今年春天，兰迪·詹特和她的同事在《自然》杂志上发表了一篇关于北方森林“越冬”野火的论文。

Jandt is a former wildland firefighter.

詹特曾是一名荒野消防员。

She’s also a fire ecologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’s Alaska Fire Science Consortium.

她也是阿拉斯加费尔班克斯大学阿拉斯加火灾科学联盟的火灾生态学家。

If you would have asked me about that in the 1990s or in the 1980s, when I started working in Alaska and in the fire community, I would have said, “Gosh, that is just a really rare thing.”

如果你在20世纪90年代或80年代问我这个问题，那时候我开始在阿拉斯加和消防社区工作，我会说，“天哪，这真是一件非常罕见的事情。”

Jandt can recall one memorable² zombie fire, which reignited after overwintering in May, 1996.

詹特还记得1996年5月发生过一场令人难忘的“僵尸火”，它在“越冬”后重新燃起。

It stands out not only because of how much work it took to put out but also because in 1996 this kind of fire—one that overwinters—was very rare.

这次大火之所以引人注目，不仅是因为扑灭大火需要大量的工作，还因为在1996年，这种“越冬”火非常罕见。

But according to that study in Nature, zombie fires are becoming a more frequent phenomenon.

但根据《自然》杂志的这项研究，“僵尸火”正成为一种更加频繁的现象。

These can be stubborn³, deep-burning fires that require pumps and hoses—and, you know, a lot of effort to put out.

这些可能是难以熄灭的、燃烧得很深的大火，需要水泵和水管-而且，你知道，需要付出很大的努力才能扑灭。

One of our colleagues who had a full career smoke jumping in Alaska—46 years as a wildland firefighter—saw that article in Nature and related that it was an overwinter fire near Eagle, Alaska, called the Damien Fire.

我们的一位同事在阿拉斯加经历了完整的森林灭火生涯-当了46年的荒地消防员-他在《自然》杂志上看到了那篇文章，说那是阿拉斯加伊格尔附近的一场“越冬”大火，叫做“达米恩大火”。

That was the most work per acre of any fire he was ever on.

这是他所经历过的所有大火中每英亩工作最多的一次。

And that 46 years, I thought that was pretty remarkable⁴.

这46年，我认为是非常引人注目的。

Well, I'm Rod Dow, and I smoke jumped for a long time.

我是罗德·道，我当空降森林灭火员很长一段时间了。

I fought fire for 45 or 46 or 47 years, depending on what you count.

我与大火搏斗了45年、46年或47年，看你怎么算了。

And all of that was on the fire line.

这一切都发生在防火线上。

1 smolder   

v.无火焰地闷烧；n.焖烧，文火

参考例句：

• The smolder will soon be a flame.闷火很快变为烈焰。
• It can smolder undetected for hours,then suddenly explode in fiery destruction.也有可能好几小时内不被发觉，突然激烈的爆炸。

2 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

3 stubborn   

adj.难以移动，去除的，固执的，顽固的

参考例句：

• I can not cope with that boy;he is stubborn.我对付不了那个孩子，他很固执。
• When he's in his stubborn mood,he isn't easily talked round.他那股牛劲上来了，一时不容易说服。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。