海洋變暖導致颶風增加英語美文

Scientists have quantified for the first time the link between warming oceans and increased hurricane activity. The research at University College London shows that a 0.5°C increase in sea surface temperature – which is within the range expected over the next few years – would cause a 40 per cent increase in North Atlantic hurricanes.

The mathematical study, published in Nature yesterday, also finds that local sea surface warming was responsible for about 40 per cent of the increase in Atlantic hurricane activity (relative to the 1950-2000 average) between 1996 and 2005. During that period the sea surface warmed by 0.27°C. Other factors would have caused the remaining 60 per cent of storm activity.

Matt Huddleston, climate change specialist at the UK Met Office said: “This paper is important in that it suggests the link between tropical storms and the warm Atlantic surface waters is perhaps stronger than realised in recent decades, and this has huge implications for the impacts of potentially damaging hurricanes on infrastructure in the US and the financial markets globally.”

科學家日前首次對海洋變暖與颶風活動增加之間的關係進行了量化分析。倫敦大學學院(University College London)的研究顯示，海洋表面温度每升高0.5攝氏度(這一幅度處於未來幾年海洋變暖幅度的預期範圍之內)，將導致北大西洋的颶風數量增加40%。

這項研究昨日發表在《自然》(Nature)雜誌上。這一數學分析還發現，相對於1950年至2000年的平均水平，在1996年至2005年間，大西洋的颶風活動更加頻繁，其中大約40%的原因來自於當地海洋表面變暖。在此期間，海洋表面温度上升了0.27攝氏度。導致颶風活動增加的另外60%的原因來自其它因素。

英國氣象局(Met Office)的`氣候變遷問題專家馬特?赫德萊斯頓(Matt Huddleston)表示：“這份研究非常重要，它表明，熱帶風暴與温暖的大西洋表層之間的關係可能比我們過去幾十年所認為的更強;而且，這充分暗示了可能極具破壞力的颶風對美國基礎設施和全球金融市場的影響。”