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Researchers are sailing to a distant part of Antarctica so they can better understand how much and how fast seas could rise because of global warming.
研究人员正在乘船前往南极洲的一个遥远的地方，以便他们可以更好地了解由全球变暖导致的海平面的上升幅度和速度。
The area, which is where the Thwaites glacier is located, is sometimes called "the place in the world that's the hardest to get to."
这个地区就是斯韦茨冰川所在的地方，有时被称为“世界上最难到达的地方”。
Thirty-two scientists are starting a more than two-month trip aboard an American research ship.
32名科学家乘坐一艘美国科考船开始为期两个多月的旅程。
Their goal is to study the area where the large, but melting, Thwaites glacier faces the Amundsen Sea.
他们的目标是研究巨大但正在融化的斯韦茨冰川面向阿蒙森海的区域。
The glacier, which is about the size of the American state of Florida, has gotten the nickname the "doomsday glacier."
这座冰川的大小与美国佛罗里达州差不多，有“世界末日冰川”的称号。
The nickname comes from how much ice it has and how much seas could rise if it all melts--more than 65 centimeters over hundreds of years.
由于它的冰量以及如果它全部融化，海平面可能会上升多少——在数百年的时间里超过65厘米，它得此称号。
Because of its importance, the United States and the United Kingdom launched a $50 million mission to study Thwaites, the widest glacier in the world.
由于它的重要性，美国和英国启动了一项耗资5000万美元的任务，以研究世界上最宽的冰川——斯韦茨冰川。
Not near any of Antarctica's research stations, Thwaites is on Antarctica's western half, east of the Antarctic Peninsula.
斯韦茨冰川位于南极洲的西半部，南极半岛以东，不靠近任何一个南极洲科考站。
Anna Wahlin of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden is on the research trip.
瑞典哥德堡大学的安娜·瓦林参与这次科考之旅。
In a discussion while aboard the Research Vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer, Wahlin said "Thwaites is the main reason I would say that we have so large an uncertainty in the projections of future sea level rise."
在纳撒尼尔·B·帕尔默号科考船上的一次讨论中，瓦林说：“我认为，我们对未来海平面上升的预测存在如此大的不确定性的主要原因是斯韦茨冰川。”
She added, the area was "difficult to reach."
她还说，该地区“难以到达”。
Thwaites is putting about 50 billion tons of ice into the water a year.
斯韦茨冰川每年向水中放入大约500亿吨冰。
The British Antarctic Survey says the glacier is responsible for 4 percent of global sea rise.
英国南极调查局表示，斯韦茨冰川融化的水量占全球海平面上升的4%。
University of Colorado ice scientist Ted Scambos said from the McMurdo land station last month that the conditions driving Thwaites' ice loss are increasing.
科罗拉多大学冰川科学家泰德·斯坎博斯上个月在麦克默多陆地站表示，导致斯韦茨冰川融化的条件正在增加。
No one has stepped foot before on the key ice-water meeting point at Thwaites.
在此之前，还没有人踏上过斯韦茨冰川的关键冰水交汇点。
In 2019, Wahlin was on a team that explored the area using a robotic ship, but never went on it.
2019年，瓦林所在的团队使用机器人船探索了该地区，但从未上去过。
Wahlin's team will use two robot ships, her own large one called Ran which she used in 2019, and Boaty McBoatface, the drone that could go further under the area of Thwaites.
瓦林的团队将使用两艘机器人船，一艘是她自己的大船，名为Ran，她在2019年使用过；另一艘是Boaty McBoatface，它可以在斯韦茨冰川区域下面走得更远。
The scientists will be measuring water temperature, the sea floor and ice thickness.
科学家们将测量水温、海底和冰的厚度。
They will look at cracks in the ice and how the ice is structured.
他们将观察冰的裂缝以及冰的结构。
They will also study seals on islands off the glacier.
他们还将研究斯韦茨冰川附近岛屿上的海豹。
Thwaites "looks different from other ice shelves," Wahlin said.
瓦林说，斯韦茨冰川“看起来与其他冰架不同”。
"It almost looks like a jumble of icebergs that have been pressed together.
“它看起来几乎就像一堆被压在一起的冰山。
So, it's increasingly clear that this is not a solid piece of ice like the other ice shelves are."
因此，越来越清楚的是，这并不像其他冰架一样是一块坚固的冰。”
I'm John Russell.
约翰·罗素为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
