U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse
U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse
美国将拆除用于监测面临崩溃风险的大西洋洋流系统
A mooring used in the Ocean Observatories Initiative is recovered off the coast of Alaska. Rebecca Travis / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 在阿拉斯加海岸附近，一个用于“海洋观测倡议”（Ocean Observatories Initiative）的系泊设备正在被回收。（图片来源：Rebecca Travis / 伍兹霍尔海洋研究所）
The Trump administration is moving to dismantle an ocean observation system consisting of more than 900 instruments in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Data supplied by the system has been used to study key Atlantic currents that increasingly appear in danger of collapse as the climate warms. 特朗普政府正计划拆除一个由 900 多台仪器组成的海洋观测系统，这些仪器分布在太平洋和大西洋中。该系统提供的数据一直被用于研究关键的大西洋洋流，随着气候变暖，这些洋流面临崩溃的风险日益增加。
Just days after President Trump fired the independent board overseeing the National Science Foundation, the NSF announced the “removal of all in-water infrastructure” belonging to the Ocean Observatories Initiative at sites along the coasts of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and North Carolina, and in the waters between Greenland and Iceland. Officials say the instruments will be recovered over the next 15 months. 在特朗普总统解雇了负责监督美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的独立委员会几天后，NSF 宣布将“移除所有水下基础设施”，这些设施属于“海洋观测倡议”，分布在俄勒冈州、华盛顿州、阿拉斯加州和北卡罗来纳州的沿海地区，以及格陵兰岛和冰岛之间的海域。官员们表示，这些仪器将在未来 15 个月内被回收。
The system, which began operating in 2016, was designed to run for at least 25 years. After just a decade in operation, the loss of monitoring instruments will leave scientists without critical data on the state of oceans and marine life. That includes data on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, a system of ocean currents that delivers warmth to northern Europe and shapes climate globally. 该系统于 2016 年开始运行，原计划至少运行 25 年。在仅运行十年后，监测仪器的流失将使科学家们失去关于海洋状况和海洋生物的关键数据。这其中包括大西洋经向翻转环流（AMOC）的数据，这是一个为北欧输送温暖并塑造全球气候的洋流系统。
Scientists are increasingly concerned the AMOC may be nearing a “tipping point,” after which it shuts down. Without sustained ocean observations, “we are effectively choosing to navigate an increasingly volatile ocean with diminishing visibility,” said Helen Findlay, of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the U.K. Growing uncertainty around the future of the AMOC, she said, “is precisely why long-term, consistent monitoring is more vital than ever.” 科学家们越来越担心 AMOC 可能正接近一个“临界点”，一旦越过该点，它可能会停止运行。英国普利茅斯海洋实验室的海伦·芬德利（Helen Findlay）表示，如果没有持续的海洋观测，“我们实际上是在选择在能见度不断降低的情况下，去航行于一个日益动荡的海洋。”她指出，围绕 AMOC 未来的不确定性增加，“这正是长期、持续的监测比以往任何时候都更加重要的原因。”
Democrats in Congress have said they will “fight” plans to dismantle the system, The New York Times reports. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, one of the more outspoken members of Congress on the subject of climate change, said on X, “Fossil fuel is heating our oceans by the zettajoule, so Trump’s corrupt fossil fuel stooges want to turn off the monitors.” 据《纽约时报》报道，国会民主党人表示，他们将“抗击”拆除该系统的计划。国会中在气候变化问题上最直言不讳的成员之一、参议员谢尔顿·怀特豪斯（Sheldon Whitehouse）在 X 上表示：“化石燃料正在以泽焦耳（zettajoule）为单位加热我们的海洋，所以特朗普那些腐败的化石燃料走狗想要关掉监测器。”