West Antarctica Is Missing Way Too Much Ice
West Antarctica Is Missing Way Too Much Ice
西南极洲海冰流失严重
Antarctica’s west coast is missing an area of winter sea ice the size of France, sparking concerns for threatened penguins, other marine life, and global sea levels. 南极洲西海岸缺失了面积相当于法国大小的冬季海冰，这引发了人们对受威胁企鹅、其他海洋生物以及全球海平面上升的担忧。
One expert said the loss of ice in the Bellingshausen Sea was “depressing” and the failure of ice to form could have intensified a heatwave over the continent’s peninsular last week that saw daytime temperatures peak at 15.4 degrees Celsius, which is more than 20 degrees Celsius above average. 一位专家表示，别林斯高晋海（Bellingshausen Sea）的海冰流失令人“沮丧”，而海冰未能形成可能加剧了上周南极半岛上空的热浪，导致白天气温飙升至 15.4 摄氏度，比平均气温高出 20 多摄氏度。
It’s winter in Antarctica, when sea ice expands rapidly around the continent peaking in September. 目前南极洲正处于冬季，此时海冰通常会围绕大陆迅速扩张，并在 9 月达到峰值。
But satellite observations showed the Bellingshausen Sea—on the west side of the Antarctic peninsular and which by June would usually be covered by ice—was almost completely ice free. 但卫星观测显示，位于南极半岛西侧、通常在 6 月份就应被冰层覆盖的别林斯高晋海，目前几乎完全没有海冰。
Scientists said the region was missing about 650,000 square kilometers (250,000 square miles) of sea ice, compared with the average between 1991 and 2020. That is an area about the size of France and almost tenfold the size of Tasmania. 科学家指出，与 1991 年至 2020 年的平均水平相比，该地区缺失了约 65 万平方公里（约 25 万平方英里）的海冰。这相当于法国的面积，几乎是塔斯马尼亚岛面积的十倍。
“I’m concerned. It’s depressing,” said Dr Will Hobbs, an Antarctic sea ice expert at the University of Tasmania with the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership. “我很担心，这令人沮丧，”塔斯马尼亚大学澳大利亚南极项目伙伴关系（Australian Antarctic Program Partnership）的南极海冰专家威尔·霍布斯（Dr. Will Hobbs）博士说。
“It is remarkable that we are in June, and there is no sea ice there.” “现在已经是 6 月了，那里竟然没有海冰，这太不寻常了。”
He said this was the third time in four years that sea ice had been very low in the region. “I don’t think we will see sea ice there any more. It’s done,” he said. 他表示，这是该地区四年内第三次出现海冰极低的情况。“我认为我们不会再在那里看到海冰了。它已经完了，”他说。
He said the loss of sea ice was likely linked to changes in the ocean and scientists were trying to understand if global heating was a factor. 他认为海冰的流失可能与海洋变化有关，科学家们正在努力研究全球变暖是否是其中的一个因素。
He said the region was important for krill—a critical part of the food web for species in the region. Krill would usually be hiding from predators under the ice in winter, where they graze on algae. 他指出，该地区对磷虾至关重要，而磷虾是当地物种食物网的关键组成部分。冬季，磷虾通常会躲在冰层下以避开捕食者，并在那里以藻类为食。
On June 10 there was about 11.4 m square kilometers of sea ice around the entire continent compared to a long-term average for that date of 12.6 m square km. 6 月 10 日，整个南极大陆周围的海冰面积约为 1140 万平方公里，而该日期长期的平均水平为 1260 万平方公里。
Dr. Phil Reid, who monitors Antarctic conditions at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, said the Bellingshausen Sea had seen “incredible coastal exposure” in winter and summer in recent years. 在澳大利亚气象局监测南极状况的菲尔·里德（Dr. Phil Reid）博士表示，近年来别林斯高晋海在冬夏两季都出现了“惊人的海岸裸露”。
He said just to the area’s west were the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers—the continent’s major contributors to ice loss and sea level rise. 他说，该区域以西就是松岛冰川（Pine Island）和思韦茨冰川（Thwaites），它们是南极大陆冰层流失和海平面上升的主要来源。
Floating ice shelves in front of the glaciers could break up faster if protective sea ice is absent for longer periods, he said, and this could then speed up the loss of ice from the glaciers, pushing up global sea levels in the future. 他指出，如果保护性的海冰长期缺失，冰川前方的浮动冰架可能会更快崩解，这进而会加速冰川冰层的流失，从而在未来推高全球海平面。
The Bellingshausen Sea’s coastline was the site of tragedy in late 2022 when thousands of emperor penguin chicks died during a “catastrophic breeding failure” in four colonies. 2022 年底，别林斯高晋海海岸曾发生过一场悲剧，当时四个栖息地的数千只帝企鹅幼崽在一次“灾难性的繁殖失败”中死亡。
That event contributed to UN advisers pushing the species up two categories to “endangered” on its international threatened species list earlier this year. 这一事件促使联合国顾问在今年早些时候将该物种在国际受威胁物种名单上的级别提升了两级，列为“濒危”。
Dr. Peter Fretwell, a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey who has been documenting the penguin’s decline, said the current loss of sea ice in the region was “a serious problem for penguins, especially emperors.” 一直记录企鹅数量减少的英国南极调查局（British Antarctic Survey）科学家彼得·弗雷特韦尔（Dr. Peter Fretwell）博士表示，该地区目前的海冰流失对企鹅，尤其是帝企鹅来说，是一个“严重的问题”。
“Sea ice is forming too late and breaking up too early. It leads to reduced breeding success and longer trips to molting grounds.” “海冰形成太晚，消融太早。这导致繁殖成功率下降，前往换羽地的路程也变得更长。”
Adelie penguin numbers were also falling and crabeater seals were being forced to migrate in summer to find stable ice, he said. 他说，阿德利企鹅的数量也在下降，食蟹海豹则被迫在夏季迁徙以寻找稳定的冰层。
This month the Antarctic peninsular witnessed an extreme temperature spike over several days. Hobbs said while “nobody has done the numbers” it was reasonable to suggest the heat wave was “made worse by the lack of sea ice.” 本月，南极半岛经历了为期数天的极端气温飙升。霍布斯表示，虽然“还没有人进行具体计算”，但可以合理推测，海冰的缺失加剧了这次热浪。
Sea ice would usually help to cool any warmer airflow entering the region from the north, he said. 他说，海冰通常有助于冷却从北方进入该地区的任何暖气流。
Officials at Argentina’s national weather service, Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, said the country’s Esperanza base at the peninsular’s northeastern tip had experienced an “extreme temperature event” that peaked on June 5 and 6. 阿根廷国家气象局（Servicio Meteorológico Nacional）的官员表示，位于半岛东北端的埃斯佩兰萨（Esperanza）基地在 6 月 5 日和 6 日经历了“极端气温事件”，气温达到峰值。
Maximum temperatures of 15.4 degrees Celsius and 13.4 degrees Celsius, respectively, were recorded at a period when average daily maximums were minus 6.2 degrees Celsius. The previous June temperature record at the base of 13.3 degrees Celsius was set on June 12, 1998. 在日均最高气温为零下 6.2 摄氏度的时期，该基地分别记录到了 15.4 摄氏度和 13.4 摄氏度的最高气温。此前该基地 6 月份的最高气温纪录是 1998 年 6 月 12 日创下的 13.3 摄氏度。