南极臭氧空洞是三十年来最小的

南极臭氧空洞是三十年来最小的

The ominous hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic is shrinking — but scientists warn not to celebrate just yet.

南极上空臭氧层的不祥空洞正在缩小，但科学家警告说，目前还不要庆祝。

Once as large as the United States, the gap is now a quarter of the size it was just 12 months ago, a team of British experts found.

一个英国专家小组发现，南极臭氧洞曾经和美国一样大，现在，是12个月前的四分之一。

The ozone layer is important because it acts as a shield that protects us from the Sun’s harmful radiation.

臭氧层很重要，因为它起到保护我们免受太阳有害辐射的作用。

It’s made up of oxygen atoms and scientists have been tracking a giant hole in it over the South Pole since the 1970s.

臭氧层由氧原子组成，自20世纪70年代以来，科学家们一直在南极上空追踪它的一个巨大洞。

Researchers at the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) looked at how the ozone hole is progressing using an array of weather satellites.

欧盟哥白尼大气监测局(cams)的研究人员，利用一系列气象卫星观察了臭氧空洞的进展情况。

It now covers an area spanning 1.9 million square miles, down from 7.7 million square miles in September 2018, reports the BBC.

据英国广播公司(BBC)报道，该地区面积从2018年9月的770万平方英里下降到现在的190万平方英里。

That means the hole is the smallest it’s been in three decades, though scientists warn not to pop the champagne just yet.

这意味着这个洞是三十年来最小的，尽管科学家们警告说现在还不能开香槟庆祝。

Back in 2017, the hole covered 3.9 million square miles — around the size of the United States — so it’s pretty variable from year to year.

早在2017年，这个洞覆盖了390万平方英里——大约相当于美国的面积——所以每年的变化都很大。

This variability means the shrinking of the hole doesn’t necessarily equate to a slowing down of climate change, said Richard Engelen, deputy head of CAMS.

CAMS副主任理查德·恩格斯(Richard Engelen)表示，这种可变性意味着黑洞的缩小并不一定意味着气候变化的减缓。

“Right now I think we should view this as an interesting anomaly,” Richard told the BBC.

理查德对英国广播公司说：“现在我认为我们应该把这看作一个有趣的反常现象。”

“We need to find out more about what caused it.”

“我们需要找出更多的原因。”

Ozone is constantly being made and destroyed in the stratosphere, about 18 miles above the Earth’s surface.

臭氧在离地球表面约18英里的平流层中不断生成和破坏。

Under normal conditions, the protective layer exists in perfect equilibrium.

在正常条件下，保护层处于完全平衡状态。

However, pollution pumped into the air by human activities like the use of aerosol spray cans upsets this balance and causes the ozone to deplete.

然而，人类活动造成的污染，如使用气溶胶喷雾罐，破坏了这种平衡，导致臭氧消耗。

The Montreal Protocol signed by governments in 1987 sought to repair some of the damage by banning some of humanity’s most harmful chemicals.

1987年各国政府签署的《蒙特利尔议定书》，试图通过禁止一些人类最有害的化学物质来修复一些损害。

Thinning of the Ozone typically begins just after the Antarctic winter each year.

臭氧层的变薄通常在每年南极冬季刚过之后就开始了。

Losses started earlier than usual in 2019, but a sudden warming of the stratosphere slowed the process down.

2019年的损失开始得比往常早，但平流层突然变暖减缓了这一过程。

Richard said the process is unlikely linked to climate change.

理查德说，这个过程不太可能与气候变化有关。

“It’s not really related to the Montreal Protocol where we’ve tried to reduce chlorine and bromine in the atmosphere because they’re still there,” he said.

他说：“这与我们试图减少大气中氯和溴含量的《蒙特利尔议定书》其实没有关系，因为它们仍然存在。”

“It’s much more related to a dynamical event. People will obviously ask questions related to climate change, but we simply can’t answer that at this point.”

“这更像是一个动态事件。很明显，人们会问一些与气候变化有关的问题，但目前我们无法回答这个问题。”

A full recovery of the ozone to pre-1970 levels isn’t expected until around 2060.

预计到2060年左右，臭氧层才会完全恢复到1970年以前的水平。