Zombie ice from the massive Greenland ice sheet will eventually raise global sea level by at least 10 inches (27 centimeters) on its own, according to a study released Monday.
8月29日公布的一项研究显示，格陵兰岛巨大冰盖上的“僵尸冰”融化将使全球海平面上升至少27厘米。
Zombie or doomed ice is ice that is still attached to thicker areas of ice, but is no longer getting fed by those larger glaciers. That’s because the parent glaciers are getting less replenishing snow. Meanwhile the doomed ice is melting from climate change, said study co-author William Colgan, a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.
“僵尸冰”或“死冰”附着在较厚的冰川上，但受母冰川补雪减少影响，这些冰将无法再补冰。研究论文的合著者、丹麦和格陵兰地质调查局的冰川学家威廉·科尔根称，由于气候变化，这些“僵尸冰”正在融化。
“It’s dead ice. It’s just going to melt and disappear from the ice sheet,” Colgan said in an interview. “This ice has been consigned to the ocean, regardless of what climate (emissions) scenario we take now.”
科尔根在一次采访中称：“这是死冰，它将融化并从冰盖上消失。不管我们现在采取怎样的气候排放方案，这些冰都会融入海洋中。”
Study lead author Jason Box, a glaciologist at the Greenland survey, said it is “more like one foot in the grave.”
该研究论文主要作者、格陵兰地质调查局的冰川学家杰森·博克斯称，这些冰“更像是死期已定”。
The unavoidable ten inches in the study is more than twice as much sea level rise as scientists had previously expected from the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet. The study in the journal Nature Climate Change said it could reach as much as 30 inches (78 centimeters). By contrast, last year’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report projected a range of 2 to 5 inches (6 to 13 centimeters) for likely sea level rise from Greenland ice melt by the year 2100.
研究预测格陵兰冰盖不可避免的融化将导致海平面上升27cm，这一数值是科学家此前预测的两倍多。这项发表在《自然气候变化》杂志上的研究显示，最高可能会导致海平面上升78厘米。相比之下，2021年联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会的报告预测，到2100年，格陵兰冰川融化可能导致海平面上升6至13厘米。
What scientists did for the study was look at the ice in balance. In perfect equilibrium, snowfall in the mountains in Greenland flows down and recharges and thickens the sides of glaciers, balancing out what’s melting on the edges. But in the last few decades there’s less replenishment and more melting, creating imbalance. Study authors looked at the ratio of what’s being added to what’s being lost and calculated that 3.3% of Greenland’s total ice volume will melt no matter what happens with the world cutting carbon pollution, Colgan said.
科学家们在这项研究中观察格陵兰冰川的平衡。在完美的平衡状态下，格陵兰岛山区的降雪向下流动，使冰川两侧重新结冰变厚，平衡了边缘的融化。但在过去的几十年里，补给更少，融化更多，造成了不平衡。科尔根称，研究人员观察了加冰量与减冰量之比，并计算出无论全球如何进行减排，格陵兰岛冰川至少都会融化3.3%。
