took samples from deep beneath the island's ice sheet.

從該島的冰層下深處採集樣本。

This frozen time capsule was forgotten for decades, until it was accidentally unearthed from a storage freezer.

這個冰凍的時間膠囊被遺忘了幾十年，直到它被意外地從一個儲存的冰櫃中發掘出來。

Now, researchers are using these samples to gain insights into Greenland's climate history

現在，研究人員正在利用這些樣本來深入瞭解格陵蘭島的氣候歷史

and to get a clearer picture of its future as Earth's climate warms.

並在地球氣候變暖時更清楚地瞭解其未來。

"We finally picked this plateau. A smooth, white plane of ice for as far as you can see."

"我們最終選擇了這個高原。在你能看到的範圍內，有一個光滑的白色冰面。"

Back in 1959, the U.S. army created Project Iceworm to hide hundreds of nuclear missiles

早在1959年，美國軍隊創建了 "冰蟲計劃"，以隱藏數百枚核導彈。

under the ice of northwestern Greenland. Their cover story?

格陵蘭島西北部的冰下。他們的封面故事？

Project Iceworm was just a polar science station named 'Camp Century!'

冰蟲計劃只是一個名為'世紀營'的極地科學站!

The base had twenty-one tunnels, a movie theater, hot showers, a chapel, chemistry labs,

該基地有21條隧道，一個電影院，熱水淋浴，一個小教堂，化學實驗室。

enough room for 200 residents, and the world's first portable nuclear reactor.

足夠容納200名居民的空間，以及世界上第一個便攜式核反應堆。

Project Iceworm, and Camp Century, were eventually abandoned due to a heady mix of political disagreement and unstable ice conditions.

由於政治分歧和不穩定的冰情，"冰蟲計劃 "和 "世紀營地 "最終被放棄。

But since Camp Century was, after all, a polar science station,

但由於世紀營畢竟是一個極地科學站。

researchers had already done some important work before the whole operation shut down.

在整個行動關閉之前，研究人員已經做了一些重要的工作。

Although they may not have realized it at the time.

儘管他們當時可能沒有意識到這一點。

In 1966, the team dug nearly 1400 meters down into the ice sheet.

1966年，該小組在冰原上挖了近1400米深。

When they finally hit dirt, they took a few cookie jars worth of samples before stopping.

當他們終於碰到泥土時，他們拿了幾個餅乾罐子的樣品才停下來。

Those samples were labeled, preserved in a freezer, and subsequently forgotten.

這些樣本被貼上標籤，保存在冰櫃中，隨後被遺忘。

Fast forward half a century later, when after their accidental rediscovery,

快進半個世紀後，當他們意外地被重新發現後。

scientists began investigating them for the first time.

科學家們第一次開始調查它們。

And what they found was stunning.

而他們的發現是驚人的。

Not only did the samples contain sand and rock, but they also contained the fossilized remains of plant material!

這些樣本不僅含有沙子和岩石，而且還含有植物材料的化石遺蹟！這些化石被稱為 "植物化石"。

Let me emphasize that again, these are perfectly preserved plants!

讓我再次強調，這些是完美保存的植物!

Unlike bones or teeth, soft plant tissues are usually destroyed before they become fossilized.

與骨骼或牙齒不同，軟性植物組織通常在成為化石之前就已被破壞。

You need really specific conditions and a little bit of luck, to preserve them.

你需要真正具體的條件和一點點運氣，才能保存它們。

Past studies have suggested that Greenland was free of ice more than a million years ago.

過去的研究表明，格陵蘭島在100多萬年前就沒有冰了。

But these Camp Century samples contained perfectly preserved fossilized plants, which throws that entire timeline into question.

但是這些營地世紀的樣本包含了保存完好的植物化石，這使整個時間線受到質疑。

Ice sheets tend to destroy what's in their path, and since plant tissue is especially delicate,

冰層往往會破壞其路徑上的東西，而由於植物組織特別脆弱。

this means Greenland may have been ice-free much more recently than we previously thought.

這意味著格陵蘭島的無冰期可能比我們以前想象的要長得多。

To help figure out this timeline, the team first looked at an oxygen isotope within the pores of the sediment.

為了幫助弄清這條時間線，研究小組首先查看了沉積物孔隙內的一種氧同位素。

After running tests on the isotope, they hypothesized that precipitation must have fallen at much lower elevations than the ice sheet's current height

在對同位素進行測試後，他們假設，降水一定是在比冰原目前的高度低得多的地方落下的。

which means the ice sheet that we know today wasn't there at the time.

這意味著我們今天知道的冰層當時並不存在。

Next, the scientists looked at the radioactive isotopes of aluminum and beryllium.

接下來，科學家們研究了鋁和鈹的放射性同位素。

These two isotopes form in minerals that are on Earth's surface, left exposed to the Sun's cosmic rays.

這兩種同位素在地球表面的礦物中形成，這些礦物暴露在太陽的宇宙射線下。

While the aluminum isotope forms seven times faster than beryllium, it decays twice as fast once cut off from Earth's surface

雖然鋁同位素的形成速度是鈹的七倍，但一旦與地球表面隔絕，它的衰減速度是鈹的兩倍。

in this case, by the ice.

在這種情況下，由冰。

By comparing the degradation rate of these two isotopes, the team was able to figure out

通過比較這兩種同位素的降解率，研究小組能夠弄清楚

how long all of that plant material in the ice core samples was on Earth's surface

冰芯樣本中的所有植物材料在地球表面的時間有多長？

and how long it had been buried for.

以及它被埋藏了多長時間。

And their findings have some pretty scary implications.

而他們的發現有一些相當可怕的影響。

They estimate that the soil and plant remains could be from over a million years ago, or as recent as 400,000 years ago.

他們估計，這些土壤和植物遺蹟可能是100多萬年前的，或最近的40萬年前的。

This may spell trouble. A Greenland that's melted off in recent geological history is a sensitive Greenland.

這可能預示著麻煩。在最近的地質歷史中融化掉的格陵蘭是一個敏感的格陵蘭。

That said, by knowing the history of Greenland's ice sheet, we can better predict the consequences of our intensifying climate crisis.

也就是說，通過了解格陵蘭島冰層的歷史，我們可以更好地預測我們不斷加劇的氣候危機的後果。

Greenland's ice sheet is about three times the size of Texas, and if it all melts, the seas would rise by as much as seven meters.

格陵蘭島的冰層大約是德克薩斯州的三倍，如果它全部融化，海面將上升7米之多。

That's as tall as a two story building, enough to flood coastal cities all around the world,

那有兩層樓那麼高，足以淹沒全世界的沿海城市。

from New York to London to Dhaka.

從紐約到倫敦到達卡。

And according to NASA observations, Greenland has been steadily losing ice for the past 30 years.

而根據美國宇航局的觀察，格陵蘭島在過去30年裡一直在穩步地失去冰。

If this trend continues, we will be on course for the “worst-case” scenario of sea level rise.

如果這種趨勢繼續下去，我們將走向海平面上升的 "最壞 "情況。

The best part of these studies is that they can help us understand what Earth's climate may be like in the future,

這些研究最好的部分是，它們可以幫助我們瞭解地球的氣候在未來可能是什麼樣子。

which can then help us make decisions about how to prepare and act.

然後可以幫助我們做出關於如何準備和行動的決定。

Who would have thought that a Cold War military base would lead to an international collaboration to fight a common enemy: the climate crisis?

誰會想到，一個冷戰時期的軍事基地會導致國際合作，以對抗一個共同的敵人：氣候危機？

To learn more about the mysterious Camp Century, check out this Focal Point episode here.

要了解更多關於神祕的世紀營的資訊，請看這裡的《焦點》節目。

Make sure to subscribe to Seeker and thanks for watching. I'll see you next time.

請務必訂閱Seeker，並感謝您的觀看。下一次見。