2022年10月28日 VOA慢速英语： NASA 仪器检测来自太空的大量甲烷排放

 
A NASA space instrument designed to study dust in the atmosphere and its effects on climate change is also detecting worldwide emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
美国宇航局的一种空间仪器旨在研究大气中的尘埃及其对气候变化的影响，同时也在检测全球范围内的甲烷排放量，这是一种强大的温室气体。
 
The device is called an imaging spectrometer. It has identified more than 50 methane "super-emitters" in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Southwestern United States, the space agency said recently. The newly measured methane hotspots include large oil and gas centers and waste dumps.
该设备称为成像光谱仪。航天局最近表示，它已经在中亚、中东和美国西南部发现了 50 多个甲烷“超级排放源”。新测量的甲烷热点包括大型石油和天然气中心和废物堆放场。
 
The spectrometer was put in place on the International Space Station in July. NASA built the instrument mainly to identify the kinds of dust blown into the atmosphere from Earth's deserts and other dry areas.
该光谱仪于 7 月安装在国际空间站上。美国宇航局制造该仪器主要是为了识别从地球沙漠和其他干燥地区吹入大气的尘埃种类。
 
That study, NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Investigation, or EMIT, will help scientists know if airborne dust in different parts of the world is likely to trap or deflect heat from the sun. This helps them know if the dust has a warming or cooling effect on the planet.
这项研究，即美国宇航局的地球表面矿物尘埃调查 (EMIT)，将帮助科学家了解世界不同地区的空气尘埃是否可能捕获或偏转来自太阳的热量。这有助于他们了解尘埃是否对地球产生了变暖或变冷的影响。
 
It turns out that methane absorbs infrared light in a special way that EMIT's spectrometer can easily detect, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles said.
洛杉矶附近的美国宇航局喷气推进实验室 (JPL) 的科学家说，事实证明，甲烷以一种特殊的方式吸收红外光，而 EMIT 的光谱仪可以很容易地检测到这种方式。
 
From the space station, EMIT can study large areas many kilometers wide while also centering on small areas the size of a football field.
从空间站，EMIT 可以研究数公里宽的大区域，同时也可以以足球场大小的小区域为中心。
 
"Some of the plumes EMIT detected are among the largest ever seen - unlike anything that has ever been observed from space," said Andrew Thorpe, a JPL research technologist leading the methane studies.
领导甲烷研究的喷气推进实验室研究技术专家安德鲁·索普说：“EMIT 检测到的一些羽流是有史以来最大的——这与从太空观察到的任何东西都不同。”
 
New images of methane super-emitters shown by JPL included a group of 12 plumes from oil and gas structures in Turkmenistan. Some plumes were more than 32 kilometers wide.
JPL 展示的甲烷超级发射器的新图像包括一组来自土库曼斯坦石油和天然气结构的 12 根羽流。一些羽状物的宽度超过 32 公里。
 
Scientists estimate the Turkmenistan plumes all together emit methane at a rate of 50,400 kilograms per hour. This is close to the top emission rate from the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas field accident near Los Angeles. That event was one of the largest accidental methane releases in U.S. history.
科学家们估计，土库曼斯坦的烟羽以每小时 50,400 公斤的速度排放甲烷。这接近 2015 年洛杉矶附近的阿利索峡谷气田事故的最高排放率。该事件是美国历史上最大的甲烷意外释放事件之一。
 
Two other large emitters were an oilfield in New Mexico, and a waste-processing center in Iran, emitting nearly 29,000 kilograms of methane per hour combined. JPL officials said neither were previously known to scientists.
另外两个大型排放源是新墨西哥州的一个油田和伊朗的一个废物处理中心，每小时总排放近 29,000 公斤甲烷。JPL 官员说，科学家们以前都不知道这两者。
 
EMIT, one of 25 Earth science instruments in orbit, might be able to find hundreds of methane super-emitters before its year-long mission ends, NASA said.
美国宇航局表示，EMIT 是在轨的 25 个地球科学仪器之一，它可能能够在其为期一年的任务结束之前找到数百个甲烷超级发射器。