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Nature, The Hidden Perils of Permafrost | Deep Look

The Hidden Perils of Permafrost | Deep Look

It may not look like it, but underneath all this Arctic snow is a potential climate change catastrophe.

This is permafrost... soil that stays frozen all year round.

And you can see, inside, how it's packed with minerals, decaying plants and ice.

Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and other institutions are pulling permafrost cores like this one out of the ground in Barrow, Alaska.

Permafrost covers nearly a quarter of the land mass in the Northern Hemisphere and all those dead plants amount to a huge amount of carbon trapped in the soil.

It's almost 200 times what we, humans, pump into the atmosphere each year.

So what happens to all that carbon if a warming climate causes the permafrost to thaw?

Scientists are throwing every conceivable piece of scientific hardware at one small patch of permafrost, to study it in incredible detail.

They want to know exactly what's buried inside, how much ice, what kinds of materials and bacteria, and how will it all react as global temperatures continue to rise.

They're repurposing a CT scanner, an instrument normally used to diagnose disease in people.

We're traveling down the length of the corе, starting with the part closest to the surface.

This is called the active layer.

It thaws every spring and then freezes again in the fall.

Now we're moving into the actual permafrost.

This soil may have been frozen for ten thousand years or longer.

So what if that starts to change?

When permafrost thaws, the bacteria inside spring to life [and] they start eating the dead plants.

And as they eat, they release greenhouse gases — like carbon dioxide and methane — that trap heat in the atmosphere.

And what worries scientists is that, as the climate warms, more and more of the permafrost will thaw.

Carbon that's been locked in the soil for millennia may be released in a very short amount of time trapping more heat in the atmosphere.

This could be a catastrophic feedback loop.

But it could be more complicated than that…

What if the extra carbon dioxide makes more plants grow at the surface, and the extra plants actually absorb some of that carbon released when the permafrost thaws?

This sounds like a subtle distinction, but it could have a huge impact on the fate of our planet.

The goal of this research is to know what we're headed for.

Some of the answers may lie in this chunk of icy earth.

The Hidden Perils of Permafrost | Deep Look ||危険||永久凍土|| Die verborgenen Gefahren des Permafrosts | Deep Look Los peligros ocultos del permafrost | Mirada profunda Les dangers cachés du pergélisol - Regard approfondi I pericoli nascosti del permafrost | Sguardo profondo 永久凍土の隠された危険性｜ディープ・ルック 영구 동토층의 숨겨진 위험 | 심층 살펴보기 Paslėpti amžinojo įšalo pavojai | Gilus žvilgsnis Ukryte niebezpieczeństwa wiecznej zmarzliny | Głębokie spojrzenie Os perigos ocultos do permafrost | Deep Look Скрытые опасности вечной мерзлоты | Глубокий взгляд Permafrost'un Gizli Tehlikeleri | Derinlemesine Bakış Приховані небезпеки вічної мерзлоти | Глибокий погляд 永久冻土的隐患 |深看永久冻土的隐患 |深看永冻土的隐患 | 深度观察

It may not look like it, but underneath all this Arctic snow is a potential climate change catastrophe. |||||||||||||||気候||大惨事見かけはそうではないかもしれませんが、この北極の雪の下には、気候変動の大惨事の可能性があります。 Pode não parecer, mas por baixo de toda esta neve do Ártico está uma potencial catástrofe das alterações climáticas. 它可能看起来不像，但在所有这些北极雪的下面是一场潜在的气候变化灾难。

This is permafrost... soil that stays frozen all year round. これは永久凍土です…一年中凍ったままの土壌です。这是永冻土……全年都处于冰冻状态的土壤。

And you can see, inside, how it's packed with minerals, decaying plants and ice. ||||||||||腐敗した||| そして内部には、鉱物や腐敗した植物、氷が詰まっているのがわかります。你可以看到，在里面，它是如何充满矿物质、腐烂的植物和冰的。

Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and other institutions are pulling permafrost cores like this one out of the ground in Barrow, Alaska. ||||||||機関||引き抜いている||コア|||||||||| 劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室和其他机构的研究人员正在阿拉斯加巴罗的地下挖出像这样的永久冻土核。

Permafrost covers nearly a quarter of the land mass in the Northern Hemisphere and all those dead plants amount to a huge amount of carbon trapped in the soil. O permafrost cobre quase um quarto da massa terrestre do Hemisfério Norte e todas essas plantas mortas representam uma enorme quantidade de carbono retido no solo. 永久冻土覆盖了北半球近四分之一的土地，所有这些死去的植物相当于土壤中捕获的大量碳。

It's almost 200 times what we, humans, pump into the atmosphere each year. |||||||||大気|| 这几乎是我们人类每年排放到大气中的 200 倍。

So what happens to all that carbon if a warming climate causes the permafrost to thaw? 那么，如果气候变暖导致永久冻土融化，那么所有的碳会发生什么变化呢？

Scientists are throwing every conceivable piece of scientific hardware at one small patch of permafrost, to study it in incredible detail. ||||||||機器|||||||||||| 科学家们正在将所有可以想到的科学硬件投入一小块永冻土中，以对它进行难以置信的详细研究。

They want to know exactly what's buried inside, how much ice, what kinds of materials and bacteria, and how will it all react as global temperatures continue to rise. 他们想知道里面到底埋着什么，有多少冰，有哪些材料和细菌，以及随着全球气温持续上升，它们将如何反应。

They're repurposing a CT scanner, an instrument normally used to diagnose disease in people. 他们正在重新利用 CT 扫描仪，这是一种通常用于诊断人类疾病的仪器。

We're traveling down the length of the corе, starting with the part closest to the surface. 我们沿着核心的长度前进，从最靠近地表的部分开始。

This is called the active layer. 这称为活动层。

It thaws every spring and then freezes again in the fall. 它每年春天解冻，然后在秋天再次结冰。

Now we're moving into the actual permafrost. 现在我们正在进入真正的永久冻土层。

This soil may have been frozen for ten thousand years or longer. Este solo pode ter estado congelado durante dez mil anos ou mais. 这片土壤可能已经被冻结了一万年或更长时间。

So what if that starts to change? 那么，如果这种情况开始改变呢？

When permafrost thaws, the bacteria inside spring to life \[and\] they start eating the dead plants. 当永久冻土解冻时，里面的细菌会复活，并且开始吃掉枯死的植物。

And as they eat, they release greenhouse gases — like carbon dioxide and methane — that trap heat in the atmosphere. ||||||温室||||||メタン|||||| 当它们进食时，它们会释放温室气体——如二氧化碳和甲烷——将热量困在大气中。

And what worries scientists is that, as the climate warms, more and more of the permafrost will thaw. ||懸念される|||||||温暖化する|||||||| 令科学家担忧的是，随着气候变暖，越来越多的永久冻土层会融化。

Carbon that's been locked in the soil for millennia may be released in a very short amount of time trapping more heat in the atmosphere. ||||||||千年|||||||||||||||| 被锁在土壤中数千年的碳可能会在很短的时间内释放出来，从而在大气中捕获更多的热量。

This could be a catastrophic feedback loop. Isto pode ser um ciclo de retroação catastrófico. 这可能是一个灾难性的反馈循环。

But it could be more complicated than that… 但它可能比这更复杂......

What if the extra carbon dioxide makes more plants grow at the surface, and the extra plants actually absorb some of that carbon released when the permafrost thaws? 如果额外的二氧化碳让更多的植物在地表生长，而额外的植物实际上吸收了永久冻土解冻时释放的部分碳，会怎样？

This sounds like a subtle distinction, but it could have a huge impact on the fate of our planet. 这听起来像是一个微妙的区别，但它可能对我们星球的命运产生巨大影响。

The goal of this research is to know what we're headed for. The goal of this research is to know what we're headed for. 这项研究的目的是了解我们的目标。

Some of the answers may lie in this chunk of icy earth. ||||||||塊||| Algumas das respostas podem estar neste pedaço de terra gelada. 一些答案可能就在这块冰冷的地球上。