評(píng)論
打印
The Arctic Ocean is of huge military importance,
北冰洋有重要的軍事意義
as it's the shortest route between North America and Russia.
因?yàn)檫@里是北美和俄羅斯之間最短的通道
Since the late 1950s,
自上世紀(jì)五十年代末起
British, US and Russian submarines
英國(guó) 美國(guó)和俄羅斯的潛艇
have been patrolling the Arctic Ocean.
就在北冰洋巡邏
But as well as looking out for enemy activity,
他們?cè)谔讲閿耻姷膭?dòng)向的同時(shí)
they've also been measuring the thickness of the ice,
也在測(cè)量冰面的厚度
critical when looking for a place to surface.
因?yàn)檫@關(guān)系到他們?cè)诤翁幐〕鏊?/div>
When scientists got permission
當(dāng)科學(xué)家獲得準(zhǔn)許
to look at the submarine crew's records,
查看潛艇船員的記錄時(shí)
they discovered that the ice has been thinning fast.
他們發(fā)現(xiàn)冰面在急速變薄
In fact, it's nearly halved in thickness since 1980.
事實(shí)上 從1980年起已減少近一半
Across most of the Arctic Ocean,
北冰洋大部分的冰面
there are now just a couple of metres of ice.
現(xiàn)在只有幾米厚了
It's so thin that it could
冰面實(shí)在太薄
melt away almost entirely in the summertime,
到了盛夏時(shí)節(jié)很可能會(huì)全部融化
and that includes the ice at the North Pole.
北極的冰也難以幸免
If current trends continue, then there will be
如果持續(xù)下去 在未來(lái)幾十年里
open ocean here by summer's end,
到了夏末
some time within the next few decades.
這里就完全變成海洋
So, the days of the Arctic Ocean being covered
北冰洋被冰層覆蓋的歲月
by a continuous sheet of ice seem to have passed.
似乎已一去不返
Whether or not that's a good or bad thing, of course,
當(dāng)然 這究竟是好是壞
depends on your point of view.
每個(gè)人的觀點(diǎn)不同
