VOA慢速英语2017 科学家研究减少大气中的二氧化碳

 

Scientists have traveled to the mountains of Oman to find a way to remove carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere.

科学家们前往阿曼山寻找去除大气中的二氧化碳气体的方法。

The geologists² hope to find an effective and low-cost way to capture the gas which is blamed for worldwide climate change.

地质学家希望找到一种有效且低成本的方式来收集造成全球气候变化的气体。

The Middle Eastern country of Oman is one of the few places in the world where the Earth's mantle³ is easy to reach. This part of the Arabian Peninsula is where an unusual rock formation pulls carbon out of the air.

中东的阿曼国是世界上少有能很容易到达地球地幔的国家。阿拉伯半岛的这个地方是一个不寻常的岩层，它能吸收空气中的碳。

Geologists are taking rock samples from the al-Hajjar Mountains. They want to discover how a natural process changed carbon dioxide into minerals such as limestone⁴ and marble millions of years ago.

地质学家从al-Hajjar山采集了岩石样本。他们想知道将二氧化碳变成如数百万年前的石灰石和大理石这样的矿物质的自然过程是怎么进行的。

Peter Kelemen is a geochemist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory⁵. He has been exploring Oman's hills for almost 30 years.

彼得·凯勒门是哥伦比亚大学拉蒙特多赫蒂地球天文台的地球化学家。他在阿曼山探索了近30年。

"You can walk down these beautiful canyons⁶ and basically descend⁷ 20 kilometers into the earth's interior," he said.

他说：“你可以走到这些美丽的峡谷上，这里的地下20公里基本上就到地球的内部。”

This area in Oman has the largest exposed parts of the Earth's mantle, a part of the Earth that is usually far below the surface. It was brought to the surface by the forces of plate tectonics millions of years ago.

阿曼地区的这个地区是地幔暴露最多的地方，地幔是地球通常远低于地表的部分。数百万年前，它被板块构造的力量带到了地表上。

The mantle contains rocks called peridotite. The rocks react with carbon in the air and water to form marble and limestone.

地幔含有称为橄榄岩的岩石。岩石与空气中的碳和水反应形成大理石和石灰石。

Kelemen explained that magnesium⁸ atoms combined with carbon dioxide to form limestone, quartz⁹ and magnesium carbonate. He said one of the mountains nearby holds “about a billion tons of CO2,” or carbon dioxide.

凯勒门解释说，镁原子与二氧化碳结合形成石灰石、石英和碳酸镁。他说，附近的一个山脉有“约十亿吨的二氧化碳”。

In Oman's mountain caves, rain and ground water form pools. The rain and water pull carbon from the exposed mantle to make mineral formations called stalactites and stalagmites. The surface of these natural pools of water develops a layer of white carbonate—a kind of mineral that contains carbon.

在阿曼的山洞里，雨水和地下水形成了水池。雨水和水从暴露的地幔中吸取碳，使矿物形成钟乳石和石笋。这些天然水库的表面形成一层白碳酸盐，那是一种含有碳的矿物质。

Keleman said if you take off this thin white film, it will grow back in a day. He says that is very fast for a geological process.

凯勒曼说，如果你拿走这层薄薄的物质，一天后它还会再长出来。他说，地质过程是非常快的。

Kelemen and a team of 40 scientists have formed the Oman Drilling Project to study how the process works. They want to find out how the rocks managed to capture so much carbon over time. They want to know if the process could be used to clean carbon from the earth's atmosphere.

凯勒曼和一个由40名科学家组成的团队创建了阿曼钻井项目，研究该过程的进行。他们想知道岩石如何随着时间的推移吸收如此多的碳。他们想知道是否可以利用这个过程来吸收地球大气中的碳。

Keleman's team recently spent four months in Oman collecting many rock samples. They hope to use these samples to develop a geological history of the process that turns carbon dioxide into carbonate.

最近凯勒曼的团队在阿曼待了四个月，收集了许多岩石样本。他们希望通过这些样品发现将二氧化碳转化为碳酸盐过程的地质历史。

The team plans to send 13 tons of samples from four different areas to a research ship off the coast of Japan. Kelemen and other geologists will study the rocks there.

该团队计划将13吨的样本岩石从四个不同的地区运送到日本沿海地区的研究船。凯勒曼等地质学家将在那里研究岩石。

They want to find out how the rocks captured so much carbon over 90 million years. And they want to know if there is a way to make that process happen faster.

他们想知道在九千万年以前这些岩石如何吸收如此多的碳。他们想知道是否有办法让这个过程进行得更快。

Kelemen thinks a drilling operation be used to move carbon-rich water into the new seabed on underwater mountains. The submerged rock would chemically take in carbon from the water. The water could then move back to the surface to absorb more carbon from the atmosphere. Then the process would repeat itself.

凯勒曼认为，钻井作业使富含碳水的水转移到海底山脉的新海底。被淹没的岩石将吸收水中的碳。然后，水可以返回到表面从大气吸收更多的碳。随后这个过程将重演。

Fighting carbon dioxide

与二氧化碳的战斗

The scientists hope their research will provide a way of dealing¹⁰ with carbon dioxide and other carbon-based greenhouse gases linked to climate change.

科学家希望他们的研究能找出一种处理与气候变化相关的二氧化碳和其他碳化合物的温室气体的方法。

Climate change is a global change in weather patterns. Scientists say it is caused by an increase in levels of carbon dioxide and other gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. The use of fossil fuels is considered a major source of carbon dioxide.

气候变化是全球的气候变化。科学家们说，这是由二氧化碳和其他在大气中吸收热量气体的增加引起的。化石燃料的使用被认为是二氧化碳的主要来源。

Until now, most efforts to combat climate change have centered on reducing emissions¹¹ from cars and power plants. But researchers are testing ways to remove or recycle carbon already in the seas and sky.

到目前为止，应对气候变化的大多数努力都集中在减少汽车和发电厂的排放。但研究人员正尝试去除或回收海洋和天空中的碳的方法。

In Iceland, they inject carbon into volcanic¹² rock at the Hellisheidi geothermal plant. In China, carbon is filtered and reused at the Sinopec fertilizer plant.

在冰岛，他们在Hellisheidi地热厂的火山岩中注入碳。在中国，中国石化化肥厂对碳进行过滤和再利用。

"Any one technique is not guaranteed to succeed," said Stuart Haszeldine. He is a geology professor at the University of Edinburgh. He also serves on a U.N. climate group that studies how to reduce atmospheric¹³ carbon.

“任何一种技术都不能保证成功，”斯图尔特·哈斯扎林说。他是爱丁堡大学的地质学教授。他还在联合国气候组织工作，研究如何减少大气中的碳含量。

Keleman said the Oman Drilling Project would need more years of testing. He hopes the energy industry will take an interest and help the project. So far, it has only received support from science organizations including the U.S. space agency NASA.

凯勒曼说，阿曼钻井项目还需要几年的测试。他希望能源行业能够对这个项目感兴趣并给予帮助。到目前为止，它只得到了包括美国太空总署在内的科学组织的支持。

Words in This Story

geologist¹ –n. a science that studies rocks, layers of soil, etc., in order to learn about the history of the Earth and its life?

mantle –n. the middle layer of the Earth that is between the top crust and the inner core?

plate tectonics –n. a theory explaining the structure of the earth's crust and many associated phenomena¹⁴ as resulting from the interaction of rigid¹⁵ plates that move slowly over the underlying¹⁶ mantle.?

layer – n. an amount of something that is spread over an area?

fossil fuel –n. a fuel (such as coal, oil, or natural gas) that is formed in the earth from dead plants or animals?

greenhouse gas –n. a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared¹⁷ radiation, e.g., carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons.

patterns - n. a repeated form or design especially that is used to decorate something?

1 geologist   

n.地质学家

参考例句：

• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley.在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。
• He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家，被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。

2 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。

3 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

4 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

5 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

6 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

7 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

8 magnesium   

n.镁

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The water contains high amounts of magnesium.这水含有大量的镁。

9 quartz   

n.石英

参考例句：

• There is a great deal quartz in those mountains.那些山里蕴藏着大量石英。
• The quartz watch keeps good time.石英表走时准。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

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 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

13 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

14 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

15 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

16 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

17 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。