北极海冰融化会引发加州森林野火吗? (下)

So Wang and colleagues took those known statistical relationships one step further.

因此，王海龙和他的同事们将这些已知的统计关系的研究更进了一步。

The team applied them to a state of the art climate model with wildfire prediction capabilities.

该团队将其应用于具有预测野火能力的最先进的气候模型中。

In that way, we were able to identify the response of the climate system, including the fire weather over the western U.S. and other responses to the Arctic sea ice.

通过这种方式，我们能够确定气候系统的反应，包括美国西部的野火天气和北极海冰的反应。

What they found is “a tale of two vortices.”

他们发现的是“两个漩涡的故事”。

So when the summer sea ice is much reduced, ocean can absorb and store more heat from sunlight.

因此，当夏季海冰大大减少时，海洋可以吸收和储存更多来自阳光的热量。

Less sea ice cover over the Arctic will allow more heat also to be released from the ocean to the atmosphere in the following autumn and early winter.

北极上空较少的海冰覆盖将允许更多的热量在接下来的秋天和初冬从海洋释放到大气中。

Otherwise, the sea ice can insulate the heat from the ocean to the air.

否则，海冰可以将海洋的热量隔绝到空气中。

So, more heat is released to the atmosphere as the sea ice declines.

随着海冰的减少，更多的热量被释放到大气中。

The anomalous heat in the Arctic can form rising air from the surface, and that can strengthen the low pressure system, which is one of the the spinning vortex.

北极的异常高温可以形成从地表上升的空气，从而加强低气压系统，这是旋转的涡旋之一。

It’s counter-clockwise. This forms a low pressure system.

涡旋呈逆时针方向。这就形成了一个低压系统。

And Wang says when it moves south, it pushes the polar jet stream off its normal course and forms a second vortex.

王海龙说，当涡旋向南移动时，它会将极地气流推离正常航线，形成第二个涡旋。

So this shift also facilitate[s] the formation of a high pressure system over the western U.S.

因此，这种变化也促进了美国西部高压系统的形成。

This high-pressure system is a clockwise spinning vortex.

这个高压系统是一个顺时针旋转的涡流。

This drives dry and hot hot air to descend to the ground—from the upper air to the ground.

这就驱使干热空气从高空降到地面。

Normally it comes with clear skies and no precipitation.

通常情况下，这种现象伴随着晴朗的天空，没有降水。

So those are all favorable weather conditions for wildfire hazards.

因此，这些都是野火险情形成的有利天气条件。

The findings are published in Nature Communications.

这一发现发表在《自然通讯》杂志上。

And Wang says wildfire might not be the only result of declining sea ice.

王海龙表示，野火可能不是海冰减少的唯一结果。

The Arctic changes could also be connected to extreme cold weather.

北极的变化也可能与极端寒冷的天气有关。

Like the infamous 2021 Texas ice and snow storm that knocked out power to millions and caused billions of dollars in damage.

比如著名的2021年德克萨斯州冰雪风暴，导致数百万人断电，造成数十亿美元的损失。

Wang says looking for more “teleconnections’ is where his research will go next.

王海龙表示，寻找更多的“远关联”是他下一步的研究方向。

So moving forward, we would like to explore more connections of Arctic changes to extreme weather, climate change over other regions of the entire globe.

接下来，我们想探索更多北极变化与全球其他地区极端天气、气候变化的联系。

If wildfires and sea ice could be this climatically entwined, surely there are other climate surprises just waiting to be unraveled.

如果野火和海冰可以在气候上这么紧密关联，那么肯定还有其他气候惊喜等着我们去解开。

For 60 Second Science, I’m Emily Schwing.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是艾米丽·施文。