Over the last three decades, the rate of global ice loss has been increasing exponentially. In 1994, the planet was losing 800 billion tonnes every year. By 2017, the rate was 1,300 billion tonnes – a 63 percent increase in just 23 years.
在過去的三十年裡，全球冰的流失速度呈指數增長。1994年，地球每年損失8000億噸。到2017年，這一數字達到了1.3萬億噸，僅在23年內就增長了63%。
These findings, reported in the journal The Cryosphere, suggest that the total loss of ice over the survey period was about 28 trillion tonnes. To picture that, it's the equivalent of a block of ice 100 meters thick (330 feet) the size of the UK, or Michigan. The steep rise in ice loss comes mainly from Greenland and Antarctica.
這些發表在《冰凍圈》雜誌上的發現表明，在調查期間，冰的總流失量約為28萬億噸。想像一下，它相當於一塊100米(330英尺)厚的冰，有英國或密西根那麼大。冰川流失急劇增加主要來自格陵蘭島和南極洲。
「Although every region we studied lost ice, losses from the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have accelerated the most,」 lead author Dr Thomas Slater from the University of Leeds said in a statement.
來自利茲大學的首席作者託馬斯·斯萊特博士在一份聲明中表示:「儘管我們研究的每個地區都有冰川消失，但南極和格陵蘭冰蓋的融化速度最快。」
「The ice sheets are now following the worst-case climate warming scenarios set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Sea-level rise on this scale will have very serious impacts on coastal communities this century.」
「現在的冰原正在遵循政府間氣候變化專門委員會(IPCC)提出的最壞的氣候變暖設想。海平面上升到這種程度，本世紀將對沿海社區產生非常嚴重的影響。」
The data collected suggests that half of all losses were from ice on land. This includes a staggering 6.1 trillion tonnes lost from mountain glaciers, 3.8 trillion tonnes from the Greenland ice sheet, and 2.5 trillion tonnes from the Antarctic ice sheet. The polar regions have also experienced dramatic sea ice loss.
收集到的數據表明，一半的損失來自陸地上的冰。這其中包括令人震驚的6.1萬億公噸高山冰川，3.8萬億公噸格陵蘭冰原，2.5萬億公噸南極冰原。極地地區也經歷了巨大的海冰融化。
The biggest losses seen in the survey were from Arctic sea ice, which saw losses of 7.6 trillion tonnes in the 23-year period, and Antarctic ice shelves estimated to have lost 6.5 trillion tonnes. This major reduction has grave consequences for the entire planet and the threat of sea-level rise.
在調查中，損失最大的是北極海冰，在23年的時間裡損失了7.6萬億噸，南極冰架估計損失了6.5萬億噸。這一重大減少對整個地球和海平面上升的威脅造成了嚴重後果。
「Sea ice loss doesn't contribute directly to sea level rise but it does have an indirect influence. One of the key roles of Arctic sea ice is to reflect solar radiation back into space which helps keep the Arctic cool,」 co-author Dr Isobel Lawrence added.
「海冰減少不會直接導致海平面上升，但它確實有間接影響。北極海冰的一個關鍵作用是將太陽輻射反射回太空，幫助北極保持涼爽，」合著者伊澤貝爾·勞倫斯博士補充道。
「As the sea ice shrinks, more solar energy is being absorbed by the oceans and atmosphere, causing the Arctic to warm faster than anywhere else on the planet. Not only is this speeding up sea ice melt, it's also exacerbating the melting of glaciers and ice sheets which causes sea levels to rise.」
「隨著海冰的縮小，更多的太陽能被海洋和大氣吸收，導致北極比地球上任何地方都變暖得更快。這不僅加速了海冰融化，還加劇了冰川和冰原的融化，導致海平面上升。」
The ice melt over the last few decades led to an increase of 35 millimeters of sea-level rise. This might seem like a small amount but for every centimeter of increase, there are a million people at risk of losing their houses. An increase in sea level also makes storm surges more likely to occur.
過去幾十年的冰川融化導致海平面上升了35毫米。這似乎是一個很小的數字，但是每增加一釐米，就有一百萬人面臨失去他們的房子的風險。海平面上升也使風暴潮更容易發生。
It's not just coastal communities at risk. Glaciers provide freshwater to communities globally. Ice loss will also put these communities at risk.
不僅僅是沿海社區面臨風險。冰川為全球社區提供淡水。冰的流失也將使這些社區處於危險之中。