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DustinSchroeder_2017X-_我们如何去观察南极冰层几公里以下的部分_
I'm a radio glaciologist . 我是一个雷达冰川学家。
glaciologist:n.冰河学家;
That means that I use radar to study glaciers and ice sheets . 也就是说我用雷达 研究冰川和冰层。
radar:n.雷达; glaciers:n.[地理][水文]冰川(glacier的复数);[地理][水文]冰河; sheets:n.床单;被单;薄片,薄板;(sheet的复数)
And like most glaciologists right now, 就像现在大部分的冰川学家,
glaciologists:n.冰河学家;
I'm working on the problem of estimating how much the ice is going to contribute to sea level rise in the future. 我在研究预估 有多少冰将会在未来 引起海面上升的问题。
estimating:v.估价;估算;(estimate的现在分词) contribute to:有助于;捐献; sea level:海平面;
So today, I want to talk to you about why it's so hard to put good numbers on sea level rise, and why I believe that by changing the way we think about radar technology and earth-science education, we can get much better at it. 今天,我想和你们探讨 为什么为海平面上升做出 一个准确的预估是如此之难, 以及为什么我相信通过改变 我们思考雷达技术的方式 以及地球科学教育, 我们可以有更好的进展。
technology:n.技术;工艺;术语;
When most scientists talk about sea level rise, they show a plot like this. 当大部分的科学家 谈论起海平面上升的时候, 通常会展示一张这样的图。
plot:n.情节;阴谋;布局;小块土地;v.密谋;暗中策划;(在地图上)标出;绘制(图表);
This is produced using ice sheet and climate models. 这是基于冰层 和气候模型制作出来的。
ice sheet:n.冰原;冰盖;
On the right, you can see the range of sea level predicted by these models over the next 100 years. 在右边,你可以看到 用这些模型预测出的 未来一百年的 海平面高度范围。
predicted:v.预言;预告;预报;(predict的过去分词和过去式)
For context , this is current sea level, and this is the sea level above which more than 4 million people could be vulnerable to displacement . 我来解释一下,这是现今的海平面, 而这个地方的数值意味着 海平面上升到这个位置以上, 就有四百多万人口面临迁移。
context:n.环境;上下文;来龙去脉; vulnerable:adj.易受攻击的,易受…的攻击;易受伤害的;有弱点的; displacement:n.取代,位移;[船]排水量;
So in terms of planning, the uncertainty in this plot is already large. 那么,就计划来说, 这个版本的不确定性已经很大了。
uncertainty:n.不确定,不可靠;
However, beyond that, this plot comes with the asterisk and the caveat , "... unless the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapses ." 然而除此之外,这个版本 还附带着星号和警告, “。。。除非西南极的冰层坍塌。”
asterisk:n.星号;vt.注上星号;用星号标出; caveat:n.警告;告诫; Antarctic:adj.南极(地方)的;n.南极地区;网络释义:南极的;南极区;南极地带的; collapses:v.(突然)倒塌,坍塌;昏倒;坐下;(collapse的第三人称单数)
And in that case, we would be talking about dramatically higher numbers. 在那种情况下,我们将会讨论 异常高的数字。
dramatically:adv.戏剧地;引人注目地;adv.显著地,剧烈地;
They'd literally be off the chart. 它们可以超出这张表的范围以外了。
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地:
And the reason we should take that possibility seriously is that we know from the geologic history of the Earth that there were periods in its history when sea level rose much more quickly than today. 我们应该重视 那个可能性的原因 是我们知道从地球的 地理学历史角度来看, 在历史中有这么一段时期, 海平面上升得比现今快得多。
geologic:adj.地质的;地质学上的;
And right now, we cannot rule out the possibility of that happening in the future. 现在,我们不能够排除 那个可能性会在未来出现的情况。
rule out the possibility:排除这可能性;
So why can't we say with confidence whether or not a significant portion of a continent-scale ice sheet will or will not collapse? 那么为什么我们无法确认, 是否很大一部分大陆面积的冰层 将会,或者将不会坍塌？
confidence:n.信心;信任;秘密;adj.(美)诈骗的;骗得信任的; whether or not:是否…; significant:adj.重大的;有效的;有意义的;值得注意的;意味深长的;n.象征;有意义的事物; portion:n.部分;(食物的)一份;分担的责任;v.把…分成若干份(或部分);
Well, in order to do that, we need models that we know include all of the processes , conditions and physics that would be involved in a collapse like that. 要做到这一点,我们需要 能包括像那样的坍塌中会出现的 所有的过程,条件和 物理原理的模型。
processes:n.过程; v.处理(process的第三人称单数形式); involved:adj.有关的; v.涉及; (involve的过去式和过去分词)
And that's hard to know, because those processes and conditions are taking place beneath kilometers of ice, and satellites, like the one that produced this image, are blind to observe them. 那样的信息很难获取, 因为这些过程和条件发生在 冰面下几公里的地方, 卫星,比如说 制造这张图像的卫星 是看不到它们的。
beneath:prep.在…之下;adv.在下方; observe:v.观察;看到;庆祝;监视;
In fact, we have much more comprehensive observations of the surface of Mars than we do of what's beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. 实际上相比起对 南极冰层以下的观察, 我们对火星表面的观察 倒还深入得多。
comprehensive:adj.综合的;广泛的;有理解力的;n.综合学校;专业综合测验; observations:n.观察,观察值;观察结果;(observation的复数形式); Mars:n.火星
And this is even more challenging in that we need these observations at a gigantic scale in both space and time. 更富有挑战性的 是我们需要这些观察 在空间和时间上 都能达到一个庞大的规模。
gigantic:adj.巨大的,庞大的; scale:n.规模;比例;鳞;刻度;天平;数值范围;v.衡量;攀登;剥落;生水垢;
In terms of space, this is a continent . 就空间来说,这是一块大陆。
continent:n.大陆,洲,陆地;adj.自制的,克制的;
And in the same way that in North America , the Rocky Mountains, Everglades and Great Lakes regions are very distinct , so are the subsurface regions of Antarctica. 和北美大陆一样, 落基山脉,弗罗里达州大沼泽, 还有五大湖地区都很特殊, 南极表面区域也是一样。
North America:n.北美洲; Rocky:adj.岩石的;多岩石的;困难的;难以维持的; Everglades:n.沼泽地(everglade复数);大沼泽地; regions:n.地区;地域;行政区;左近;(region的复数) distinct:adj.明显的;独特的;清楚的;有区别的; subsurface:adj.地下的;表面下的;n.地表下岩石;
And in terms of time, we now know that ice sheets not only evolve over the timescale of millennia and centuries, but they're also changing over the scale of years and days. 就时间而言,我们现在知道 冰层不仅仅以千年和百年的 时间跨度进化, 它们也在数年和数天的 时间跨度层面发生改变。
evolve:v.(使)逐渐形成;进化;进化形成; timescale:时间量程;时标; millennia:n.千年期(millennium的复数);一千年;千年庆典;太平盛世;
So what we want is observations beneath kilometers of ice at the scale of a continent, and we want them all the time. 所以,我们想要的是在 一整个大陆范围内 对冰层下数公里的区域进行 持续的观察。
So how do we do this? 那么我们怎么做到呢？
Well, we're not totally blind to the subsurface. 首先,我们不是完全 对表层一无所知的。
I said in the beginning that I was a radio glaciologist, and the reason that that's a thing is that airborne ice-penetrating radar is the main tool we have to see inside of ice sheets. 在一开始的时候我就说了, 我是一个无线电冰川学家, 其背后的原因是 机载探冰雷达 是我们观察冰层内部时 所依赖的主要工具。
airborne:adj.[航]空运的;空气传播的;风媒的;
So most of the data used by my group is collected by airplanes like this World War II-era DC-3, that actually fought in the Battle of the Bulge . 所以我们团队使用的大部分 数据是用飞机收集的, 比如这种二战时期的DC-3, 它曾经参加过突出部之役。
airplanes:n.(美)[航]飞机(airplane的复数); Bulge:n.胀;膨胀;凸出部分;v.膨胀;凸起;
You can see the antennas underneath the wing. 你可以看到在机翼下有天线。
antennas:n.[电讯]天线,[动]触角(antenna的复数形式); underneath:prep.在…的下面;在…的支配下;n.下面;底部;adj.下面的;底层的;
These are used to transmit radar signals down into the ice. 这些天线被用来将雷达信号 传送到下面的冰层。
transmit:v.传送;发射;播送;传播;传染;
And the echos that come back contain information about what's happening inside and beneath the ice sheet. 传回的回声包含有关于 在冰层内部和下面状况的信息。
While this is happening, scientists and engineers are on the airplane for eight hours at a stretch , making sure that the radar's working. 在这个过程中, 科学家和工程师在飞机上 要连续呆上8个小时, 确保雷达运行正常。
stretch:v.伸展;延伸;伸出;舒展;n.伸展;弹性;舒展;一片;adj.有弹力的;
And I think this is actually a misconception about this type of fieldwork , where people imagine scientists peering out the window, contemplating the landscape , its geologic context and the fate of the ice sheets. 我认为关于这类领域的工作 存在一种误解, 人们想象着科学家俯视窗外, 琢磨着地理形状和结构 以及冰层的命运。
misconception:n.误解;错觉;错误想法; fieldwork:n.野外工作;现场工作;野战工事; peering:n.对等互连;对等操作;互传;同级化;v.凝视(peer的现在分词);同等,比得上; contemplating:v.考虑;思量;考虑接受;深思熟虑;沉思;(contemplate的现在分词) landscape:n.景观;乡村风景画;(文件的)横向打印格式;v.对…做景观美化;美化…的环境;
We actually had a guy from the BBC's "Frozen Planet" on one of these flights. 曾经有一个BBC“冰冻地球”节目组的 报道员参与了一次我们的这种飞行,
And he spent, like, hours videotaping us turn knobs . 他录制了数小时的视频, 全都是我们在操作各种按钮。
videotaping:n.进行录像;v.将…录在录像带上;录制(videotape的ing形式); knobs:n.把手(knob的复数);凸岩;
(Laughter) （观众笑声）
And I was actually watching the series years later with my wife, and a scene like this came up, and I commented on how beautiful it was. 数年之后我和我太太 一起观看这个系列报道, 当这样的情景出现的时候, 我忍不住惊叹它的壮美。
series:n.系列,连续;[电]串联;级数;丛书;
And she said, "Weren't you on that flight?" 然后我太太说,“你难道不是在 那个飞机上吗？”
(Laughter) （观众笑声）
I said, "Yeah, but I was looking at a computer screen." 我说,“是的,但是我一直在 盯着一个电脑屏幕。”
(Laughter) （观众笑声）
So when you think about this type of fieldwork, don't think about images like this. 所以当你想到这种类型的 实地考察的时候, 不要想着这样的景象。
images:n.印象;声誉;形象;画像;雕像;(image的第三人称单数和复数)
Think about images like this. 你的脑海中应该出现这样的画面。
(Laughter) （观众笑声）
This is a radargram, which is a vertical profile through the ice sheet, kind of like a slice of cake. 这是一个雷达测绘图, 展现了冰层的垂直信息, 就像是一块蛋糕的截面。
vertical:n.垂直线;垂直位置;adj.竖的;垂直的;直立的;纵向的; profile:n.轮廓;简介;形象;外形;v.扼要介绍;概述;写简介; slice:n.片; v.切成片; (很容易地)切开;
The bright layer on the top is the surface of the ice sheet, the bright layer on the bottom is the bedrock of the continent itself, and the layers in between are kind of like tree rings, in that they contain information about the history of the ice sheet. 顶部比较亮的那一层 是冰层的表面, 底部比较亮的那一层 是大陆的基岩, 中间像树的年轮一样 一层一层的, 里面包含着有关于冰层 历史的信息。
bedrock:n.[地质]基岩;根底;基本原理; layers:n.层;表层;层次;阶层;v.把…分层堆放;(layer的第三人称单数和复数)
And it's amazing that this works this well. 令人惊喜的是,这个方法十分有效。
The ground-penetrating radars that are used to investigate infrastructures of roads or detect land mines struggle to get through a few meters of earth. 那些被用在调查道路 基础设施或探测地雷的探地雷达 很难穿透至 地球以下的数米的位置。
radars:n.[雷达]雷达(radar的复数); investigate:v.调查;研究;审查; infrastructures:n.[建]基础设施;下部构造;基本建设(infrastructure的复数); detect:vt.察觉;发现;探测;
And here we're peering through three kilometers of ice. 这里我们可以投过冰层 观察三公里以下的信息。
And there are sophisticated , interesting, electromagnetic reasons for that, but let's say for now that ice is basically the perfect target for radar, and radar is basically the perfect tool to study ice sheets. 这里有着复杂的 有趣的电磁方面的原因, 但是就现在来说,冰层基本上 对于雷达而言是完美的观测目标, 而雷达基本上是 研究冰层的完美工具。
sophisticated:adj.复杂的;老练的;见多识广的;水平高的; electromagnetic:adj.电磁的; basically:adv.主要地,基本上;
These are the flight lines of most of the modern airborne radar-sounding profiles collected over Antarctica. 这些是在南极上空收集的 大部分现代机载雷达探测资料的 飞行线。
profiles:n.配置文件; v.扼要描述;
This is the result of heroic efforts over decades by teams from a variety of countries and international collaborations . 这是几十年来通过 由不同国家组成的团队 和国际合作实现的 英雄般努力的结果。
heroic:adj.英雄的;英勇的;记叙英雄及其事迹的;夸张的;n.史诗;英勇行为; variety:n.多样;种类;杂耍;变化,多样化; collaborations:n.协作(collaboration的复数);
And when you put those together, you get an image like this, which is what the continent of Antarctica would look like without all the ice on top. 当你把它们放在一起的时候, 就得到了像这样的图像, 那是南极大陆的真实图像, 在顶部没有冰层覆盖下的样貌。
And you can really see the diversity of the continent in an image like this. 你真的可以在像这样的图片中 看到大陆的多样性。
diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化:
The red features are volcanoes or mountains; the areas that are blue would be open ocean if the ice sheet was removed. 红色的特征代表着火山或是山川; 蓝色的区域是开放的海洋, 如果冰层被移掉的话。
volcanoes:n.火山爆发,火山;火山群(volcano复数);
This is that giant spatial scale. 这就是那种巨大的空间规模。
giant:n.巨人;伟人;巨兽;adj.巨大的;特大的 spatial:adj.空间的;存在于空间的;受空间条件限制的;
However, all of this that took decades to produce is just one snapshot of the subsurface. 然而,所有这些 花费了几十年时间打造的 仅仅是表层的一个快照。
snapshot:n.快照,快相;急射,速射;简单印象;vt.给…拍快照;vi.拍快照;
It does not give us any indication of how the ice sheet is changing in time. 它没有给我们任何关于冰层是如何 随着时间改变的暗示。
indication:n.显示;表明;标示;象征;
Now, we're working on that, because it turns out that the very first radar observations of Antarctica were collected using 35 millimeter optical film. 目前,我们正致力于 这个方向的研究,因为我们发现 所收集的第一个对南极的雷达观测 使用了35毫米的光学胶片。
millimeter:n.毫米; optical:adj.光学的;眼睛的,视觉的;
And there were thousands of reels of this film in the archives of the museum of the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge . 在剑桥大学史考特极地研究中心的 档案博物馆里还存留着 上千个这套胶片的卷轴。
reels:n.绕线轮,卷筒; v.眩晕,旋转,卷,绕(reel的第三人称单数形式); archives:n.档案;档案馆;v.把…存档;(archive的第三人称单数和复数) Polar:adj.极地的;南极(或北极)的;n.极线;极面; Institute:v.开始(调查);制定;创立;提起(诉讼);n.学会,协会;学院; Cambridge:n.剑桥(英国城市);坎布里奇(美国马萨诸塞州城市);
So last summer, I took a state-of-the-art film scanner that was developed for digitizing Hollywood films and remastering them, and two art historians, and we went over to England, put on some gloves and archived and digitized all of that film. 去年夏天,我使用了一个 很先进的用来电子化和 数位修复好莱坞电影的胶片扫描仪, 并和两位艺术历史学家一起, 去了英格兰,戴上手套, 数字化和备份了 那套胶片的所有信息。
state-of-the-art:adj.最先进的;已经发展的;达到最高水准的; scanner:n.[计]扫描仪;扫描器;光电子扫描装置; digitizing:v.[计]数字化(digitize的ing形式); remastering:n.数位修复;v.重新录制(唱片母带);(remastering是remaster的现在分词); archived:v.把…存档;把…归档;(archive的过去分词和过去式) digitized:adj.数字化的;v.使数字化(digitize的过去分词);
So that produced two million high-resolution images that my group is now working on analyzing and processing for comparing with contemporary conditions in the ice sheet. 我们得到了两百万个 高清的图像, 我的团队现在正在 分析和处理这些图像, 进而与冰层的现状进行比较。
high-resolution:n.高分辨率; analyzing:adj.分析的;v.分析(analyze的现在分词); processing:v.加工;处理;审核;数据处理;v.列队行进;缓缓前进;(process的现在分词) comparing:v.比较;对比;(compare的现在分词) contemporary:n.同时代的人;同时期的东西;adj.当代的;同时代的;属于同一时期的;
And, actually, that scanner -- I found out about it from an archivist at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 实际上,那个扫描仪—— 我是从一个 在美国电影艺术与科学学会 工作的档案师那里发现的。
archivist:n.案卷保管人;档案保管员; Academy:n.学院;研究院;学会;专科院校; Motion Picture:adj.电影的;
So I'd like to thank the Academy -- 所以,在这里我要感谢电影学会——
(Laughter) （观众笑声）
for making this possible. 让这成为了可能 （模仿奥斯卡获奖感言）。
(Laughter) （观众笑声）
And as amazing as it is that we can look at what was happening under the ice sheet 50 years ago, this is still just one more snapshot. 令人惊喜的是, 我们可以看到50年前 在冰层下所发生的一切, 虽然这仍然只是另一个快照。
It doesn't give us observations of the variation at the annual or seasonal scale, that we know matters. 它仍然没有给我们带来 年度或季度层面 在多样性上的观察结果, 而这些信息非常重要。
variation:n.变异;变体;变奏;变种; annual:n.年报;年鉴;年刊;adj.每年的;年度的;一年的; seasonal:adj.季节的;周期性的;依照季节的;
There's some progress here, too. 不过也有一些进展。
There are these recent ground-based radar systems that stay in one spot. 最近有一些地面雷达系统 可以停留在一点。
ground-based:adj.陆基的;以地面为基础的;
So you take these radars and put them on the ice sheet and you bury a cache of car batteries . 你将这些雷达放在冰层上, 然后埋下一堆车载电池。
bury:v.埋葬;隐藏; cache:n.电脑高速缓冲存储器;贮存物;隐藏处;vt.隐藏;窖藏;vi.躲藏; batteries:n.电池;炮组;炮列;[法]殴打;(batteries是battery的复数)
And you leave them out there for months or years at a time, and they send a pulse down into the ice sheet every so many minutes or hours. 让它们在那里 一次性待上数月甚至数年, 然后隔几分钟,或者几个小时 这样你就获得了一些 在时间上连续的观察——
pulse:n.脉冲;脉搏;脉率;强劲的音乐节拍;v.搏动;跳动;震动;洋溢着;
So this gives you continuous observation in time -- but at one spot. 这样你就获得了一些 在时间上连续的观察—— 但只是针对一个点。
continuous:adj.连续的,持续的;继续的;连绵不断的;
So if you compare that imaging to the 2-D pictures provided by the airplane, this is just one vertical line. 如果你将那张图片和 由飞机提供的2D图片相比较, 这只是一条垂直的线。
compare:v.比较;对比;n.比较; imaging:n.[物]成像;造像;v.反映;想像;作…的像;象征;(image的现在分词形式) provided:conj.假如; v.提供; (provide的过去分词和过去式)
And this is pretty much where we are as a field right now. 这就是我们现在在该 领域中所取得的进展。
We can choose between good spatial coverage with airborne radar sounding and good temporal coverage in one spot with ground-based sounding. 我们可以在好的空间覆盖 附加机载雷达探测, 和基于某一点的好的时间覆盖 附加地面雷达探测之间做出选择,
coverage:n.覆盖,覆盖范围; temporal:adj.暂时的;当时的;现世的;n.世间万物;暂存的事物;
But neither gives us what we really want: both at the same time . 但这两个方法都不能 给我们想要的结果: 两者在同时都没有。
at the same time:同时;另一方面;与此同时;
And if we're going to do that, we're going to need totally new ways of observing the ice sheet. 如果我们要实现目标, 就需要用全新的方法去观察冰层。
observing:adj.观察的;注意的;观察力敏锐的;v.观察;遵守(observe的现在分词);
And ideally , those should be extremely low-cost so that we can take lots of measurements from lots of sensors . 比较理想的情况下,这些方法 应该是非常低成本的, 让我们得以从很多的传感器上 获得大量的测量数据。
ideally:adv.理想地;观念上地; extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地; low-cost:adj.廉价的;价格便宜的; measurements:n.测量值,尺寸(measurement的复数); sensors:n.[自]传感器,感应器;感测器(sensor的复数);
Well, for existing radar systems, the biggest driver of cost is the power required to transmit the radar signal itself. 不过,对于现存的雷达系统来说, 最大的成本驱动 是能够让雷达系统自己 发送雷达信号所需要的动力。
So it’d be great if we were able to use existing radio systems or radio signals that are in the environment. 所以如果我们能够利用 现有的无线电系统, 或在环境中的无线电信号, 那就再好不过了。
And fortunately , the entire field of radio astronomy is built on the fact that there are bright radio signals in the sky. 幸运的是,整个 无线电天文领域都 建立在天空中有很强的 无线电信号这一事实基础之上,
fortunately:adv.幸运地; radio astronomy:n.射电天文学;电波天文学;
And a really bright one is our sun. 而最强烈最耀眼的那个 就是我们的太阳。
So, actually, one of the most exciting things my group is doing right now is trying to use the radio emissions from the sun as a type of radar signal. 实际上,我的团队正在做的 最令人激动的事情之一 就是试图使用来自太阳的 无线电发射送作为雷达信号的一种。
emissions:n.(光、热、气等的)发出,排放;排放物;散发物;(emission的复数)
This is one of our field tests at Big Sur. 这是我们在大苏尔地区进行的 实地测试中的一次。
That PVC pipe ziggurat is an antenna stand some undergrads in my lab built. 那个金字形神塔一样的PVC管道是由 我实验室的一些本科生搭建的天线架。
ziggurat:n.古代亚述及巴比伦之金字形神塔; undergrads:n.大学肄业生;adj.大学生的(等于undergraduate);
And the idea here is that we stay out at Big Sur, and we watch the sunset in radio frequencies , and we try and detect the reflection of the sun off the surface of the ocean. 我们的策略是,在大苏尔的户外 通过无线电频率观看日落, 并尝试着探测太阳在 海平面落下的反射。
sunset:adj.霞红色的; n.日落(时分); v.(使)定期届满废止; frequencies:n.频率;发生率;重复率;频繁;(frequency的复数) reflection:n.反映;沉思;映像;深思;
Now, I know you're thinking, "There are no glaciers at Big Sur." 现在,我知道你们在想 “大苏尔没有冰川啊！”
(Laughter) （观众笑声）
And that's true. 没错。
(Laughter) （观众笑声）
But it turns out that detecting the reflection of the sun off the surface of the ocean and detecting the reflection off the bottom of an ice sheet are extremely geophysically similar. 但我们后来发现探测太阳 在海洋平面落下时的反射, 与探测一块冰层底部的反射 在地理学上极度地相似。
detecting:n.检测;检定;v.发现;探知(detect的现在分词);adj.探测的;
And if this works, we should be able to apply the same measurement principle in Antarctica. 如果这个方法奏效的话, 我们应该能够在南极 运用同样的测量原理。
apply:v.申请;涂,敷;应用;适用;请求; principle:n.原理,原则;主义,道义;本质,本义;根源,源泉;
And this is not as far-fetched as it seems. 而且这个想法并不是 看起来的那样遥不可及。
far-fetched:adj.强词夺理的;太牵强了;
The seismic industry has gone through a similar technique-development exercise, where they were able to move from detonating dynamite as a source , to using ambient seismic noise in the environment. 地震行业经历了一个 相似的技术上的发展, 使他们能够从以引爆炸药 作为一种来源, 过渡到利用周围环境的地震噪音。
seismic:adj.地震的;因地震而引起的; detonating:v.(使)爆炸;引爆;起爆;(detonate的现在分词) dynamite:n.炸药;具有潜在危险的人(或物);vt.炸毁;adj.极好的; source:n.来源;水源;原始资料; ambient:adj.周围的;外界的;环绕的;n.周围环境;
And defense radars use TV signals and radio signals all the time, so they don't have to transmit a signal of radar and give away their position. 防御性雷达在一直以来都使用 电视信号以及无线电信号, 所以它们不用发送雷达信号 来标记它们的位置。
So what I'm saying is, this might really work. 我的意思是, 这也许真的是个好办法。
And if it does, we're going to need extremely low-cost sensors so we can deploy networks of hundreds or thousands of these on an ice sheet to do imaging. 如果事实如此,我们将会 需要极低成本的传感器, 然后可以在冰层上调配上百个 以致上千个这样的传感器 去做成像。
deploy:v.部署;利用;[军事]展开;(使)张开;
And that's where the technological stars have really aligned to help us. 那正是科技开始真正联合起来 帮助我们的开始。
technological:adj.技术[工程](上)的;因工艺技术高度发展而引起的; aligned:adj.对齐的;均衡的;v.结盟(align的过去式);使成一直线;
Those earlier radar systems I talked about were developed by experienced engineers over the course of years at national facilities with expensive specialized equipment. 这些我所提及的早期的雷达系统 是有经验的工程师利用国有设施 及昂贵的专业设备 经历了数年 才逐渐发展起来的。
facilities:n.设施;设备;特别装置;特色;场所;(facility的复数) specialized:adj.专业的; v.专门研究(或从事); (specialize的过去式和过去分词)
But the recent developments in software-defined radio, rapid fabrication and the maker movement, make it so that it's possible for a team of teenagers working in my lab over the course of a handful of months to build a prototype radar. 但最近在软件无线电的发展中, 快速制造和制造运动 使得那些在我的实验室 工作了数月的青少年 建立一个雷达原型 成为了可能。
fabrication:n.制造,建造;装配;伪造物; prototype:n.原型;雏形;最初形态;
OK, they're not any teenagers, they’re Stanford undergrads, but the point holds -- 好吧,他们并不是普通的青少年, 而是斯坦福的大学生, 但是我想说的是——
(Laughter) （观众笑声）
that these enabling technologies are letting us break down the barrier between engineers who build instruments and scientists that use them. 这些技术使我们能够冲破 建立仪器的工程师 和使用它们的科学家之间的障碍。
enabling:adj.授权的;v.使能够;授权给(enable的现在分词); technologies:n.技术;科技(technology的复数); barrier:n.屏障;障碍;障碍物;关口;v.用栅围住; instruments:n.器械;仪器;器具;手段(instrument的复数)
And by teaching engineering students to think like earth scientists and earth-science students who can think like engineers, my lab is building an environment in which we can build custom radar sensors for each problem at hand, 通过教授工程专业的学生 去像地球科学家一样思考, 以及可以像工程师一样思考的 地球科学系的学生, 我的实验室正在建立一个 可以为每一个现存的问题 定制雷达传感器的环境,
engineering:n.工程;工程学;v.密谋策划;设计制造;改变…的基因;(engineer的现在分词)
that are optimized for low cost and high performance for that problem. 这些传感器会针对不同的问题进行 低成本和高性能的优化。
optimized:adj.最佳化的;尽量充分利用; performance:n.性能;表现;业绩;表演;
And that's going to totally change the way we observe ice sheets. 那将完全改变 我们观察冰层的方式。
Look, the sea level problem and the role of the cryosphere in sea level rise is extremely important and will affect the entire world. 总之,海平面问题和冰雪圈 在海平面上升问题中 扮演着极其重要的角色, 而且会影响到整个世界。
cryosphere:n.冰冻圈;永冻圈;低温层;
But that is not why I work on it. 但还那不是我致力于 这项研究的原因。
I work on it for the opportunity to teach and mentor extremely brilliant students, because I deeply believe that teams of hypertalented, hyperdriven, hyperpassionate young people can solve most of the challenges facing the world, 我致力于教授和引导 极其聪慧的学生, 因为我深信由智慧过人, 充满能量和极其富有热情的 年轻人组成的团队 可以解决世界所面对的 大部分挑战,
mentor:n.指导者,良师益友;vt.指导;
and that providing the observations required to estimate sea level rise is just one of the many such problems they can and will solve. 而刚刚讲到的为预测 海平面上升所提供的观测技术, 只是他们可以解决的 许多问题中的一个。
estimate:v.估计;估算;估价;n.估价;(对大小、数量、成本等的)估计;估计的成本;
Thank you. 谢谢大家。
(Applause) （观众掌声）