VOA常速英语2015--浮游生物的粪便帮助科学家预测气候变化

Plankton¹ Poop May Help Scientists Predict Climate Changes 浮游生物的粪便帮助科学家预测气候变化

Scientists trying to predict future changes in our climate are using every possible source of data to make their calculations. Lately, they have learned that one of the most sensitive instruments could be floating right in front of them - tiny clumps³ of organic matter that drift in the ocean.

科学家试图利用各种可能利用的数据来源来进行计算，预测地球气候的未来变化。最近，科研人员了解到，最敏感的仪器之一可能就飘浮在他们面前，那就是在海洋随波逐流的有机物质的细小碎块。

As if materializing from a different dimension, the submersible device called PELAGRA (PElagic LAGRAngian sediment⁴ trap) slips below the surface and sinks into a research pool at the National Oceanography Centre, in Southampton, England.

这部潜在水下的设备仿佛来自另一个空间维度，它叫做PELAGRA （“水层拉格朗日”沉积物搜集器）。它滑入水下，沉入英格兰南安普顿的国家海洋中心的一座研究池内。

Soon, two such devices will be deployed⁵ to the South Atlantic to collect samples of so-called ‘marine⁶ snow.’

很快，两部这样的设备将部署到南大西洋，搜集被称为“海洋雪”（Marine Snow）的样本。

“Marine snow is composed of dead phytoplankton which sort of clump² together to form flakes⁷ and then they're heavy enough to sink down into the deep ocean. It can also be formed of little animals which eat the little plants and then they poop out that carbon, and then their fecal pellets are very heavy and they sink down to the bottom of the ocean, also carrying lots of carbon with them," said biogeochemist Stephanie Henson.

国家海洋中心的生物地球化学专家史蒂芬妮·汉森说：“海洋雪由死亡的浮游植物组成，它们聚到一起，形成雪花状，积累到一定重量之后，就会沉到深海。它还可以由小动物组成，这些小动物吃小植物，然后把那种碳物质拉出来，它们的小粪粒很重，沉到海底，也含有很多碳。”

Although invisible to the naked eye, phytoplankton are so abundant that they are responsible for half of all the carbon absorbing photosynthetic⁸ activity on earth.

虽然肉眼看不见，但浮游植物大量存在，在所有吸收碳的地球光合活动中，有一半来自它们。

Understanding that process could help scientists create more advanced computer models of global environmental changes.

了解这一程序可能帮助科学家建立更先进的计算机模型，推算全球环境变化。

The challenge was to build a submersible device that could float between 50 and 500 meters deep. That's where scientists say all this carbon is being absorbed, and beginning its journey to the bottom of the sea.

难题是建造一个潜入水下的仪器，可以在50米到500米之间的水中漂浮。科学家说，所有的碳都是在这层深度被吸收的，然后，向海底进发。

“The way that we do that is by putting them in tanks of water... and adding weights until they're just sinking; at which point we know they have the same density⁹ as the water that they're sitting in," said Project Leader Richard Sanders.

项目带头人理查德·桑德斯说：“我们的方式是把它们放置在水箱中，然后增加重量，直到他们进入悬浮状态；在那一刻，我们就知道它们的密度和周围水的密度是一样的。”

PELAGRA will suck ocean water with marine snow into containers and periodically bring them to the surface for detailed¹⁰ study.

PELAGRA将把含有海洋雪的海水吸入容器，并定期把它们带出水面，以供仔细研究。

Scientists hope that PELAGRA devices will help them answer another interesting question - why is marine snow more abundant in some parts of the ocean than in others.

科研人员希望，PELAGRA将帮助他们回答另一个有趣的问题：为什么某些海域的海洋雪比另一些海域要多？

1 plankton   

n.浮游生物

参考例句：

• Plankton is at the bottom of the marine food chain.浮游生物处于海洋食物链的最底层。
• The plankton in the sea feeds many kinds of animals. 海的浮游生物成为很多种动物的食物。

2 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

3 clumps   

n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声

参考例句：

• These plants quickly form dense clumps. 这些植物很快形成了浓密的树丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bulbs were over. All that remained of them were clumps of brown leaves. 这些鳞茎死了，剩下的只是一丛丛的黃叶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 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。

7 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。

8 photosynthetic   

adj.光合的，促进光合作用的

参考例句：

• In some plants photosynthetic products are stored in the form polyfructosans. 在有些植物中，光合作用产物是以多聚果糖的形式储藏。
• Chlorotic or necrotic lesions were evidence of decreased photosynthetic tissues. 缺绿的或坏死的侵蚀斑便是减少了光合组织的证据。

9 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

10 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。