由於氣候變化導致海水溫度升高，澳大利亞大堡礁在五年內發生第三次大規模白化現象。大堡礁四分之一的區域出現了嚴重白化。氣候變化仍是珊瑚礁面臨的最大挑戰。
A man snorkels in an area called the "Coral Gardens" near Lady Elliot Island, on the Great Barrier Reef, northeast of Bundaberg town in Queensland, Australia, June 11, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]
The government’s top Great Barrier Reef scientist says a third mass bleaching event in five years is a clear signal the marine wonder is 「calling for urgent help」 on climate change.
澳大利亞政府大堡礁研究的權威科學家表示，五年內大堡礁發生第三次大規模白化現象，這是大堡礁這一海洋奇蹟「呼籲緊急援助」應對氣候變化的明確信號。
bleach [blit]：v.漂白，曬白
One quarter of the Great Barrier Reef suffered severe bleaching this summer in the most widespread outbreak ever witnessed, according to analysis of aerial surveys of more than 1,000 individual reefs released on Tuesday.
根據本周二（4月7日）發布的一項對1000多個獨立珊瑚礁的航空調查分析，今年夏天，在有史以來暴發最廣泛的白化現象中，大堡礁四分之一的區域出現了嚴重白化。
Dr David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, told Guardian Australia: 「My greatest fear is that people will lose hope for the reef. Without hope there’s no action.
大堡礁海洋公園管理局首席科學家大衛·瓦肯菲爾德博士告訴《衛報》澳大利亞版說：「我最擔心的是人們會對大堡礁失去希望。沒有希望就沒有行動。」
「People need to see these [bleaching] events. They are clear signals the Great Barrier Reef is calling for urgent help and for us to do everything we can.」
「人們需要看到這些（白化）現象。這是大堡礁正在呼籲我們緊急幫助、竭盡所能的明確信號」。
Great Barrier Reef's bleaching[Photo/China News Service]
Prof Terry Hughes, director of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, surveyed 1,036 reefs from a plane over nine days in late March. The marine park authority also had an observer on the flights.
3月下旬，詹姆斯庫克大學卓越珊瑚礁研究中心主任特裡·休斯教授在9天的時間裡，從飛機上對1036個珊瑚礁進行了調查。海岸公園管理局也派出了一名觀察員。
Hughes has released maps showing severe levels of bleaching occurred in 2020 in all three sections of the reef – northern, central and southern – the first time this has happened since mass bleaching was first seen in 1998.
休斯發布的地圖顯示，在2020年，大堡礁北部、中部和南部三個部分都出現了嚴重的白化現象，這是自1998年首次發現大規模白化現象以來首次出現這種情況。
Some 25% of the reefs were severely bleached – meaning that more than 60% of the corals on each reef had bleached.
大約25%的珊瑚礁嚴重白化，這意味著每個珊瑚礁上超過60%的珊瑚已經白化。
Great Barrier Reef's bleaching[Photo/China News Service]
Hughes said previous observations had shown that bleaching at that extent leads to 「high levels of mortality」 of corals.
休斯說，先前的觀察顯示，這種程度的白化會導致珊瑚的「高死亡率」。
The Great Barrier Reef has experienced five mass bleaching events – 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2020 – all caused by rising ocean temperatures driven by global heating.
1998年、2002年、2016年、2017年和2020年，大堡礁共經歷了五次大規模的白化，都是由全球變暖導致的海洋溫度上升造成的。
Hughes said there probably would not be the same level of coral death in the north and central regions in 2020 as in previous years, but this was partly because previous bleaching outbreaks had killed off the less heat-tolerant species.
休斯說，今年，大堡礁北部和中部地區的珊瑚死亡水平可能達不到往年的水平，但部分原因是之前的白化暴發已經導致耐熱性較差的珊瑚死亡。
The 2020 bleaching was second only to 2016 for severity, Hughes said.
休斯表示，2020年的白化嚴重程度僅次於2016年。
Great Barrier Reef's bleaching[Photo/China News Service]
Corals can recover from mild bleaching, but scientists say those corals are more susceptible to disease. Severe bleaching can kill corals.
珊瑚可以從輕微的白化中恢復，但科學家表示，這些珊瑚更容易生病。嚴重的白化甚至會殺死珊瑚。
「It’s not too late to turn this around with rapid action on emissions,」 he said.
休斯說：「現在快速採取行動來扭轉這種局面還為時不晚」。
Australia's Great Barrier Reef[Photo/IC]
In February the reef was subjected to its hottest sea surface temperatures since records began in 1900.
今年2月，大堡礁遭遇了自1900年有記錄以來最高的海平面溫度。
Some scientists fear that rising levels of heat being taken up by the ocean have pushed tropical reefs to a tipping point at which many locations bleach almost annually.
一些科學家擔心，海洋吸收的熱量不斷上升，將熱帶珊瑚礁推向了一個臨界點，許多地方幾乎每年都在白化。
tipping point：n.臨界點；引爆點
Great Barrier Reef's bleaching[Photo/China News Service]
Wachenfeld said the reef’s sheer size – it comprises about 3,000 individual reefs – made it resilient, 「but climate change brings a new scale of impact unlike anything we have seen before」.
瓦肯菲爾德說，大堡礁龐大的體積使其復原能力很強，「但氣候變化帶來的影響是前所未有的」。大堡礁由大約3000個獨立的珊瑚礁組成。
「No one climate event will kill the Great Barrier Reef, but each successive event creates more damage. Its resilience is not limitless and we need the strongest possible action on climate change.」
「單一的氣候事件不會『殺死』大堡礁，但持續的氣候變化會對其造成更多的破壞。大堡礁的恢復能力不是無限的，我們需要對氣候變化採取最強有力的行動。」
The globe has already warmed by about 1C above pre-industrial levels, caused primarily by rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.
全球氣溫已經比工業化前升高了約1攝氏度，這主要是由於燃燒化石燃料導致大氣中溫室氣體含量上升所致。
Measures to improve the resilience of the reef include improving water quality, controlling outbreaks of coral-eating starfish, and research and development to improve the heat tolerance of corals.
改善珊瑚礁復原力的措施包括改善水質、控制食珊瑚海星的爆發，以及研究如何改善珊瑚的耐熱性。
「None of that is a substitute for strong action on emissions,」 Wachenfeld said. 「Dealing with the climate problem is the underpinning for everything else to work.」
瓦肯菲爾德說：「所有這些都不能替代對排放採取強有力的行動。解決氣候問題是其他一切措施有效的基礎」。
underpinning[ndpn]：n.基礎，支撐
Queensland’s minister for environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Leeanne Enoch, said climate change, pollution from run-off and other threats 「are testing the reef’s ability to recover from major disturbances like mass bleaching events, severe tropical cyclones and crown-of-thorns starfish.」
昆士蘭州環境與大堡礁部長莉安·伊諾克表示，氣候變化、徑流汙染和其他威脅「正在考驗大堡礁從大規模白化、嚴重的熱帶氣旋和棘冠海星等重大幹擾中恢復的能力」。
「The missing piece continues to be leadership and action from the federal government on climate change,」 she said.
她說：「澳大利亞聯邦政府在氣候變化問題上的領導和行動仍然不足。」
英文來源：衛報
翻譯&編輯：yaning
來源：中國日報網