I was like ten. But besides Kevin Costner with gills, what would that kind of world actually look like?

我那時應該才10歲 更何況有鰓的凱文科斯納 那是甚麼樣的世界呢?

What happens when all the ice melts?

當所有的冰都融化後會發生甚麼事呢?

Hi everyone Julia here for Dnews

嗨 大家好 我是D新聞的茱莉亞

Lots of headlines warn about melting ice. It’s like a doomsday fanatics fantasy. I

很多的頭條新聞都警告過融冰的問題 這就像是末日狂熱者的幻想

mean, did you see Day After Tomorrow? But calm down Hollywood, how bad will it be if

我是說 你看過"明天過後"嗎? 冷靜一點好萊塢

the ice melts?

冰融化後能有多糟呢?

Well, most of it’s not good. Weather might look a little different around the world.

好吧 大部分的情況不會好到哪裡去 世界各地的天氣可能會有些不同

As more of the sun’s energy gets absorbed into the oceans,

當大部分的太陽能都被海洋吸收時

it could change the way air moves around in the atmosphere in the arctic

這可能會改變北極圈大氣層中空氣流動的方式

and could even change the position of the jet stream.

甚至可能改變高速氣流的位置

One study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters found that if the Arctic

一篇在"環境研究通訊"發表的研究發現 如果北極海的冰融化

sea ice melts, England will probably get a little rainier. And a study published in the journal Nature

英國會變得更常下雨 還有一篇刊登在"自然期刊"的研究

suggests that the Northern jet stream will shift southward, bringing cold polar air,

表示北方的高速氣流會往南移動 帶著冷冷的極地空氣

making winters colder and snowier in North America.

使北美洲的冬天變得更冷、下更多的雪

We could lose wildlife too. And as the ice melts at a rate of more than 86,000 square

我們也可能會失去野生動植物 當冰以一年超過86,000平方公里的速度融化時

kilometers per year, wildlife is losing critical habitat. Lots of arctic species like whales,

野生動植物也正在失去重要的棲息地 很多北極的物種像是鯨魚、

walrus and seals depend on the ice for protection and hunting. Some are already changing their

海象和海豹仰賴著冰來防護和狩獵 有些動物已經在改變他們的

feeding and migration patterns.

覓食和遷徙的模式

Okay, I know what you really want to hear about. How will all this melting sink our

好啦 我知道你真正想聽到的是甚麼 這些融化的冰會怎麼樣淹沒我們的

cities?

城市?

When talking about ice melting, it’s important to make a distinction. Ice caps, like the

當說到融冰 做出區別是很重要的 冰帽 像是

Arctic ice cap already sits on top of the water, so if even it melts, while still sucking,

北極的冰帽本來就坐落在水面上 雖然也是被大海吸收

wouldn’t contribute to sea level rise.

但不會造成海平面上升

But if you’re worried about a future water world, you should be worried about ice sheets melting.

但是如果你擔心的是未來水世界 那你就應該要煩惱冰層融化

Ice sheets sit on top of land and form when snow that falls during the winter

冰層坐落在陸地上 當冬天落下的雪沒有融化時就會形成

doesn’t melt, and with enough time and enough snow, these layers stack up and form a big

當時間夠久、雪也夠多時 它們就會疊起來然後形成一層又大

thick sheet. The two main ice sheets are the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets, which

又厚的冰 2個最主要的冰層位在格陵蘭和南極大陸

together contain more than 99 percent of the freshwater on Earth.

加起來超過地球上百分之99的淡水

In the Antarctic, a large ice shelf that’s existed for 12,000 years is on the brink of

在南極，一塊存在約12,000年的冰架已經在崩塌的邊緣

collapse. Another study published in the journal Science found that over the past 20 years,

另外一個發表在"科學人雜誌"的研究發現在過去的20年

Antarctica's floating ice shelves shrank 18%. And this melting is speeding up.

在南極漂浮的冰架減少了百分之18 而融化的過程正在加速

New research from Princeton University shows that it’s melting faster than we thought.

現在普林斯頓大學的研究顯示融化的速度比我們想像的還快

Researchers found that in Antarctica, ice melting increased by 6 billion tons per year

研究員發現在南極，融冰每年增加了60億噸

each year during the 11-year period the researchers examined.

在研究員觀察的這11年間

Scientists believe that if these ice sheets melt, sea levels will rise, devastating coastal

科學家相信如果冰層融化了，海平面會上升，徹底破壞

cities around the globe. According to a study published in the journal Climate Dynamics,

全球靠海的城市 根據一份"氣候動力學"雜誌的研究

if all the ice in the Greenland Ice Sheet melts, global sea level would rise by about

如果格陵蘭的冰層融化，全球海平面會上升大約

24 feet.

24英尺

If all of Antarctica melts, sea levels would rise by 200 feet! The entire Eastern Seaboard

如果整個南極大陸融化 海平面會上升約200英尺!整個美國東岸沿海

of the US would be underwater, and Florida would vanish.

都會被淹沒，而佛羅里達則會消失

That’s a worst case, extreme scenario. But we should still be concerned about this trend.

那是最糟、最極端的情況 但是我們應該要持續關注

These icy regions heat up faster than the rest of the world. To get a sense of how the

這些冰覆蓋區比世界其他地方加熱的還快 要了解何以造成全球暖化

Earth is warming, it’s important to keep an eye on the icy parts of the world. If the

注意地球上這些含冰區域的動態是很重要的

ice is melting…like a canary in a coalmine, it could signal a global warming trend.

如果冰在融化... 就像礦坑中的金絲雀(對有毒氣體非常敏感，用以警示礦工)，它可能是全球暖化趨勢的訊號

And speaking of, a recent study published in the journal Nature Climate Change found

說到這個，一篇最近發表在"自然氣候變遷"雜誌的研究發現

that it’s a positive feedback loop. As the ice melts, climate change will get worse.

這是一個正回饋循環 當冰融化時，氣候變遷會變得更糟

The ice acts as a giant reflector. Bouncing sunlight back into space. But as the ice melts,

冰的作用就像是一個巨大的反射體 將太陽光反射回太空中 但是當冰融化後

more of the sun’s energy will be absorbed rather than reflecting, heating up the Earth

更多的太陽能會被吸收而不是被反射 將地球加熱得

more, which in turn will melt more ice.. It’s a vicious cycle.

更高溫，接著就會融化更多的冰 這是一個惡性循環

And one country in particular is hoping that the world acts on this problem soon. Check

有一個國家特別地希望世界可以快點針對這個問題做些甚麼

out this video from our sister channel Seeker, on how the Maldives is dealing with

去看看這個我們姊妹頻道"探索者"的影片，關於馬爾地夫現在是如何對付

rising sea levels.

上升中的海平面