海洋高温记录被打破，对地球产生严峻影响

Image source, Getty Images 盖蒂图片社

By Georgina Rannard, Mark Poynting, Jana Tauschinski, Becky Dale
作者：乔治娜·兰纳德、马克·坡印廷、贾娜·陶辛斯基、贝基·戴尔

BBC climate reporter & data team
BBC 气候记者和数据团队

The oceans have hit their hottest ever recorded temperature as they soak up warmth from climate change, with dire implications for our planet's health.
由于海洋吸收了气候变化带来的热量，因此达到了有记录以来最热的温度，这对我们星球的健康产生了可怕的影响。

The average daily global sea surface temperature beat a 2016 record this week, according to the EU's climate change service Copernicus.
根据欧盟气候变化服务机构哥白尼的数据，全球每日平均海面温度本周打破了 2016 年的纪录。

It reached 20.96C. That's far above the average for this time of year.
达到20.96℃。这远远高于一年中这个时候的平均水平。

Oceans are a vital climate regulator. They soak up heat, produce half Earth's oxygen and drive weather patterns.
海洋是重要的气候调节器。它们吸收热量，产生地球一半的氧气并影响天气模式。

Warmer waters have less ability to absorb carbon dioxide, meaning more of that planet-warming gas will stay in the atmosphere. And it can also accelerate the melting of glaciers that flow into the ocean, leading to more sea level rise.
温暖的海水吸收二氧化碳的能力较差，这意味着更多的导致地球变暖的气体将留在大气中。它还会加速流入海洋的冰川融化，导致海平面进一步上升。

Hotter oceans and heatwaves disturb marine species like fish and whales as they move in search of cooler waters, upsetting the food chain. Experts warn that fish stocks could be affected.
更热的海洋和热浪会扰乱鱼类和鲸鱼等海洋物种，因为它们会寻找更凉爽的水域，从而扰乱食物链。专家警告说，鱼类资源可能会受到影响。

Some predatory animals including sharks can become aggressive as they get confused in hotter temperatures.
包括鲨鱼在内的一些掠食性动物在高温下会变得混乱，从而变得具有攻击性。

"The water feels like a bath when you jump in," says Dr Kathryn Lesneski, who is monitoring a marine heatwave in the Gulf of Mexico for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "There is widespread coral bleaching at shallow reefs in Florida and many corals have already died."
“当你跳进去时，感觉就像在洗澡，”为国家海洋和大气管理局监测墨西哥湾海洋热浪的凯瑟琳·莱斯内斯基博士说。 “佛罗里达州浅海珊瑚礁普遍出现珊瑚白化现象，许多珊瑚已经死亡。”

"We are putting oceans under more stress than we have done at any point in history," says Dr Matt Frost, from the Plymouth Marine Lab in the UK, referring to the fact pollution and overfishing also change the oceans.
英国普利茅斯海洋实验室的马特·弗罗斯特博士说：“我们给海洋带来的压力比历史上任何时候都大。”他指的是污染和过度捕捞也会改变海洋这一事实。

Scientists are worried about the timing of this broken record.
科学家们对打破这一记录的时间感到担忧。

Dr Samantha Burgess, from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, says March should be when the oceans globally are warmest, not August.
哥白尼气候变化服务中心的萨曼莎·伯吉斯博士表示，三月应该是全球海洋最温暖的时候，而不是八月。

"The fact that we've seen the record now makes me nervous about how much warmer the ocean may get between now and next March," she says.
“我们现在看到了这一记录，这一事实让我担心从现在到明年三月之间海洋可能会变暖多少，”她说。

"It is sobering to see this change happening so quickly," says Prof Mike Burrows, who is monitoring impacts on Scottish sea shores with the Scottish Association for Marine Science.
“看到这种变化发生得如此之快，令人警醒，”与苏格兰海洋科学协会一起监测苏格兰海岸影响的迈克·伯罗斯教授说。

Scientists are investigating why the oceans are so hot right now but say that climate change is making the seas warmer as they absorb most of the heating from greenhouse gas emissions.
科学家们正在调查为什么海洋现在如此炎热，但他们表示，气候变化正在使海洋变暖，因为海洋吸收了温室气体排放的大部分热量。

"The more we burn fossil fuels, the more excess heat will be taken out by the oceans, which means the longer it will take to stabilize them and get them back to where they were," explains Dr Burgess.
伯吉斯博士解释说：“我们燃烧化石燃料越多，海洋带走的多余热量就越多，这意味着稳定它们并使其恢复原状所需的时间就越长。”

The new average temperature record beats one set in 2016 when the naturally occurring climate fluctuation El Niño was in full swing and at its most powerful.
新的平均气温记录打破了 2016 年创下的纪录，当时自然发生的气候波动厄尔尼诺现象正处于最猛烈阶段。

El Niño happens when warm water rises to the surface off the west coast of South America, pushing up global temperatures.
当暖水上升到南美洲西海岸的表面时，就会发生厄尔尼诺现象，从而推高全球气温。

Another El Niño has now started but scientists say it is still weak - meaning ocean temperatures are expected to rise further above average in the coming months.
另一次厄尔尼诺现象现已开始，但科学家表示，其强度仍然较弱，这意味着未来几个月海洋温度预计将进一步高于平均水平。

The broken temperature record follows a series of marine heatwaves this year including in the UK, the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico.
今年打破气温纪录之前，英国、北大西洋、地中海和墨西哥湾等地出现了一系列海洋热浪。

"The marine heatwaves that we're seeing are happening in unusual locations where we haven't expected them," says Prof Burgess.
伯吉斯教授说：“我们所看到的海洋热浪发生在我们没有预料到的不寻常地点。”

In June, temperatures in UK waters were 3C to 5C higher than average, according to the Met Office and the European Space Agency.
根据英国气象局和欧洲航天局的数据，6 月份英国水域的气温比平均水平高出 3 到 5 摄氏度。

In Florida, sea surface temperatures hit 38.44C last week - comparable to a hot tub.
佛罗里达州的海面温度上周达到 38.44 摄氏度，相当于热水浴缸的温度。

Normally temperatures should be between 23C and 31C, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
根据美国国家海洋和大气管理局 (NOAA) 的数据，通常温度应在 23 摄氏度至 31 摄氏度之间。

Marine heatwaves doubled in frequency between 1982 and 2016, and have become more intense and longer since the 1980s, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
根据政府间气候变化专门委员会 (IPCC) 的数据，1982 年至 2016 年间，海洋热浪的频率增加了一倍，并且自 20 世纪 80 年代以来变得更加强烈和持续时间更长。

While air temperatures have seen some dramatic increases in recent years, the oceans take longer to heat up, even though they have absorbed 90% of the Earth's warming from greenhouse gas emissions.
尽管近年来气温急剧上升，但海洋需要更长的时间才能升温，尽管海洋吸收了温室气体排放造成的地球变暖的 90%。

But there are signs now that ocean temperatures may be catching up. One theory is a lot of the heat has been stored in ocean depths, which is now coming to the surface, possibly linked to El Niño, says Dr Karina von Schuckmann at Mercator Ocean International.
但现在有迹象表明海洋温度可能正在迎头赶上。墨卡托海洋国际公司的卡琳娜·冯·舒克曼博士表示，一种理论认为，大量热量储存在海洋深处，现在正在浮出水面，这可能与厄尔尼诺现象有关。

While scientists have known that the sea surface would continue to warm up because of greenhouse gas emissions, they are still investigating exactly why temperatures have surged so far above previous years.
尽管科学家们已经知道，由于温室气体排放，海面会继续变暖，但他们仍在调查到底为什么气温比前几年飙升得如此之多。