导读:12月22日，我国首颗碳卫星在甘肃酒泉卫星发射中心成功发射。
China launched its first carbon dioxide monitoring satellite early Thursday, a move that experts said will contribute to global research on climate change and also enable the nation to play a bigger role in this field.
周四，中国发射了首颗二氧化碳监测卫星，专家们表示，此举将为气候变化的全球研究做出贡献，也使我国在这一领域发挥了更大的作用。
The satellite was launched on a Long March-2D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China’s Gansu Province, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
新华社报道，这颗卫星是在中国西北甘肃省酒泉卫星发射中心用长征二号运载火箭发射的。
The 620-kilogram satellite TanSat was sent into orbit 700 kilometers above the Earth and will monitor the concentration, distribution and flow of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, Yin Zengshan, chief designer of TanSat, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
620斤的卫星TanSat被送到距地球700千米的轨道上，将监测大气中二氧化碳的浓度、分布和流量，TanSat的首席设计师尹增山对新华社说。
On a three-year mission, TanSat will thoroughly examine global carbon dioxide levels every 16 days, accurate to at least 4 parts per million.
在三年的任务中，TanSat将每16天彻底检查全球的二氧化碳水平，精确到至少4ppm。
China is the third country after Japan and the US to launch such a satellite. Japan launched one in 2009 and the US in 2014.
中国是继日本和美国之后，第三个发射这类卫星的国家。日本和美国分别于2009年和2014年发射了碳卫星。
The satellite sent by China has a higher accuracy than the one launched by Japan and compared with the US satellite, it carried a cloud and aerosol detectors that could minimize interference and make the detection more accurate.
中国发射的卫星比日本和美国发射的卫星精度更高，它搭载了一个多谱段云与气溶胶探测仪，可以最大程度减少干扰，使监测更精确。
"The detectors are capable of identifying particulate matters such as PM2.5 and PM10," said Liu Yi, a scientist of the TanSat project at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
中国科学院大气物理研究所TanSat项目的科学家刘毅说，“探测仪能够识别颗粒物质，如PM2.5和PM10。”
"However, to what extent the detector could help monitor smog depends on the quality and processing of information," he added.
“然而，探测仪可以在多大程度上帮助监测雾霾取决于信息的质量和加工。”他补充说。
The satellite can also monitor areas unreachable by ground monitors, such as deserts, polar regions and oceans, to provide more accurate and wider information about global carbon emissions.
卫星还可以监测到地面监测仪无法到达的地区，如沙漠、极地和海洋，以提供更精确和更广泛的全球碳排放信息。
Xinhua reported that the satellite has different modes for observing oceans and land, and can constantly adjust its orientation and position. To ensure TanSat’s accuracy, six ground-based observation stations will calibrate and examine the data.
新华社报道，卫星有不同的观测海洋和陆地的模式，可以不断调整其方向和位置。为了确保TanSat的精度，将有六个地面观测站负责校准和检查数据。
China will have a bigger role in global climate negotiations, as the satellite can provide more first-hand data about global greenhouse gas emissions.
中国将在全球气候谈判中发挥更大的作用，因为卫星可以提供更多关于全球温室气体排放的第一手数据。
Though many countries are reducing greenhouse gas emissions, calculating how much they are actually reducing is difficult, and ground-based monitoring cannot collect accurate data on a global scale, satellites offer the best means of measuring CO2, said experts.
专家说，虽然很多国家正在减少温室气体排放，但很难计算其实际减少量，而且地面监测无法收集全球范围内的准确数据，卫星提供了测量二氧化碳的最佳方法。
China’s carbon dioxide emissions are expected to peak around 2030, with emissions per unit of GDP to be cut by 60 percent of 2005 levels. A national carbon trading market will open next year.
中国的二氧化碳排放预计在2030年左右达到高峰，每单位GDP的排放量将比2005年的水平减少60％。全国碳交易市场将于明年开放。
