气温升高而导致海洋冰层的减少

Thorsten Markus: We should not underestimate the importance of sea ice to the global climate system.
托尔斯滕．马库斯：我们不能低估海冰在全球气候系统中的重要地位。

You are listening to Thorsten Markus of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He has been using a NASA satellite – called ICESat – to track the thickness of sea ice around Earth’s poles. He said the thick, multi-year ice is getting thinner.

您正在收听对托尔斯滕．马库斯的采访。他来自NASA戈达德航天飞行中心，已使用NASA的ICESath号卫星追踪地球两极海冰的厚度。他说厚厚的多年冰层正在逐渐变薄。

Thorsten Markus: We are able, for the first time really, to measure the sea ice thickness at large scales. Results from ICESat have shown that just since 2003, when ICESat was launched, the sea ice thickness has decreased by over two feet. The thick, multi-year ice has decreased by over 40 percent during that time.

托尔斯滕．马库斯：这真是我们首次大范围的测量海冰的厚度。ICESat卫星的测试结果显示自2003年该卫星发射以来，海冰已融化不止两英尺。在这段时间内，多年冰厚度衰减40%多。

He said sea ice plays a key role in Earth’s climate system.

他说海冰在全球气候系统中发挥着关键作用。

Thorsten Markus: Sea ice is white and it reflects most of the sunlight back into space, in drastic contrast to the dark ocean. Therefore, changes in the sea ice cover have a significant effect on the global energy balance.

托尔斯滕．马库斯：海冰是白色的，能将太阳光反射回太空，与海洋深处强烈对比。因此，海冰覆盖状态的变化能给全球能量平衡带来巨大影响。

In other words, less sea ice could cause more warming. The satellite Markus uses – ICESat – was retired in early 2010 after 7 years collecting data in Earth orbit. ICESat-II will launch in 2015. Until then, Dr. Markus will use what’s called Ice Bridge – aircraft in flight over the polar regions – to measure and track changes.

换言之，海冰的减少会到来气温的持续升高。马库斯所用的ICESat号卫星在沿地球轨道飞行，收集了7年的数据，已于2010年初退役。ICESat-II将在2015年发射，到时候，马库斯博士会用所谓的冰桥——在极地上空飞行的航空器——去测量和跟踪冰层的变化。