Name: 為什麼你能點燃這些冰凍湖泊的火種 (Why You Can Light These Frozen Lakes On Fire)
Uploaded: 2021-01-04T18:15:46.000Z
Duration: 3 min 31 s

If you stab this frozen lake in the right place

如果你在正確的地方刺穿了這個冰凍的湖泊。

關係子句

it's actually what's bubbling up from the lake floor.

and they're filled with highly flammable methane gas.

他們充滿了高度易燃的甲烷氣體。

During the summer the gas bubbles to the surface

夏天的時候，氣體會浮出水面。

But in the winter the bubbles get trapped under the ice.

但到了冬天，氣泡就會被困在冰下。

So when you stab the frozen surface, it releases pockets

所以當你刺入冰凍的表面時，它就會釋放出口袋來

It may look like a fun party trick but there's more to this

這看起來像是一個有趣的聚會把戲，但還有更多的東西。

And these methane filled lakes are popping up everywhere

而這些充滿甲烷的湖泊到處都在冒出來

僅2017年就有200個，新增熱卡斯特湖泊。

They're actually remnants from the last Ice Age.

它們實際上是上一個冰河時代的遺蹟。

We call these frozen underground layers today, permafrost.

我們今天把這些冰凍的地下層稱為永凍層。

But it's not permafrost that's the problem,

it's rising global temperatures which is causing

the permafrost to thaw for the first time

自20世紀80年代以來，阿拉斯加的永凍土。

has warmed by one and a half degrees Celsius.

Almost twice as much compared to how much it warmed

比起暖和的程度，幾乎多了一倍

And when permafrost thaws, it weakens the ground above it

而當凍土解凍時，會使上面的地面變弱。

which can destroy roads, damage building foundations,

會破壞道路、破壞建築物地基。

In the process, it releases a buffet of long dead plants

在這個過程中，它釋放出大量早已死亡的植物的自助餐。

And that's where the real trouble starts.

Tiny microbes called mathanogens eat the dead matter

微小的微生物被稱為 "mathanogens"，它們會吃掉死物。

And the more lakes that form means more ancient food

形成的湖泊越多，就意味著更多的古代食物。

Overall, thermokarst lakes are estimated to emit

總的來說，熱巖湖泊的排放量估計為1.5億噸。

Increasing annual methane emissions by up to 63%.

每年增加多達63%的甲烷排放量；

And what if all of Earth's permafrost thawed?

如果地球上所有的永久凍土都解凍了呢？

Researchers estimate it will release at least 100 teragrams

研究人員估計，它將至少釋放100個太極拳。

of methane into the atmosphere, potentially warming

沼氣進入大氣層，有可能使大氣變暖。

the planet enough to cause sea levels to rise

For comparison, sea levels have risen just 7.6 millimeters

相比之下，海平面只上升了7.6毫米。

Contributing to 1.8 billion dollars in annual damage

But right now little is being done to slow the formation

但現在幾乎沒有採取任何措施來延緩形成

And if you burn the methane as it bubbles to the surface,

而如果你在甲烷冒出水面的時候燃燒它。

it can reduce the greenhouse effect but only slightly.

它可以減少溫室效應，但只是輕微的。

Since lighting it on fire turns it into carbon dioxide

and water vapor, two other potent greenhouse gasses.

和水蒸氣，另外兩種強效溫室氣體。

In the end, it's up to us to reduce our own emissions.

最後，還是要靠我們自己來減少排放。

Because lighting lakes on fire isn't going to be enough.

字幕列表影片播放

為什麼你能點燃這些冰凍湖泊的火種 (Why You Can Light These Frozen Lakes On Fire)

ultimately

process

slightly

matter