南冰洋喪失吸收二氧化碳的能力Antarctic Ocean Losing Ability to Absorb Carbon Dioxide

摘譯自2007年05月18日ENS英國，諾威奇報導；
台灣環境資訊協會：游珮綺編譯；蔡麗伶、莫聞審校

近來因人類活動而引起的氣候變遷已經逐漸減弱地球對抗全球暖化的自然防衛系統。一支國際研究小組發現，南冰洋吸收大氣中二氧化碳的能力不像以前那麼快速。

科學家們觀察到的首要證據顯示，南極海吸收主要的溫室氣體，也就是二氧化碳（CO2）的能力，從1981年開始每十年減少約15%，該項研究今天在「科學」期刊上發表。

東英格蘭大學同時也是英國南極勘查組的主筆奎理（Corinne Le Quere）博士指出，「第一次我們可以說氣候變遷已使負責吸收二氧化碳的南極海『碳槽』趨近飽和，而這是非常嚴重的。」

NORWICH, UK, May 18, 2007 (ENS)

Recent climate change brought on by human activities has weakened one the Earth's natural defenses against global warming. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is not being absorbed by the Southern Ocean as quickly as it once was, an international research team has found.

Scientists have observed the first evidence that the Southern Ocean’s ability to absorb the major greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, CO2, has weakened by about 15 percent per decade since 1981. The study was published today in the journal "Science."

This is the first time that we’ve been able to say that climate change itself is responsible for the saturation of the Southern Ocean sink. This is serious," said lead author Dr. Corinne Le Quere of the University of East Anglia and the British Antarctic Survey.

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