China launches new survey on glaciers

时间：2007-05-23 07:12:33

（单词翻译:单击）

May 23 - China launched a comprehensive survey of its glaciers1 on Tuesday to discover the impact global warming has had on them over the past three decades.

 

The first survey in 1978, found that China had 46,298 glaciers covering a total area of 59,406 square kilometers.

 

Li Shiyin, the leading scientist in charge of the survey from Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), said the glaciers have undergone great changes over the past 30 years.

 

Although some research on glaciers has been conducted in recent years, scientists lack an overall picture of the health of glaciers, and cannot fully2 evaluate the impact of their shrinking on water resources in west China, Li said.

 

Some studies show that more than 82 percent of the glaciers in China have shrunk over the past three decades. Some are two percent smaller while the most seriously affected3 is 18 percent smaller.

 

A new analysis by the Cold and Arid4 Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute under CAS said that glaciers in China have shrunk by 3,248 square kilometers, or 5.5 percent, in the past 40 years. Their volume has declined by 389 cubic kilometers, about 7 percent of the total 40 years ago.

 

The shrinkage of glaciers has brought great changes to the water and climate, and caused many natural disasters in west China, said scientists.

 

They said the melting of glaciers would raise water levels of rivers, lakes and wetlands in the short term, but would lead to severe water shortages over the long term.

 
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1 glaciers e815ddf266946d55974cdc5579cbd89b     
冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
  • It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）
2 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
参考例句：
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
3 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的，假装的
参考例句：
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
4 arid JejyB     
adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的
参考例句：
  • These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
  • There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

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