科学家在北极雪中发现大量微塑料颗粒

    Scientists say they have found high levels of small plastic particles in Arctic snow. Their findings provide more evidence that plastic is entering Earth's atmosphere and traveling great distances around the planet.
    科学家们表示,他们在北极雪中发现了大量的微塑料颗粒。他们的研究为塑料进入地球大气层并飘向远方提供了更多证据。

    A new report describing the discovery was published in Science Advances.
    一篇描述这一发现的报告发表在《科学进展》杂志上。

    A German-Swiss research team collected snow samples from the Arctic and other areas. They included northern Germany, the Bavarian and Swiss Alps, and the North Sea island of Heligoland.
    德国和瑞士的一个研究小组收集了北极等地区的雪样。这些地区包括德国北部巴伐利亚和瑞士境内的阿尔卑斯山脉,以及北海的黑尔戈兰岛。

    When the researchers examined the samples in a laboratory, they were surprised to find very high levels of microplastics.
    当研究人员在实验室检查这些雪样时,他们惊讶地发现了非常高含量的微塑料。

    Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic. These plastic particles are generally smaller than 5 millimeters in length. Other studies have found microplastics in the environment. They come from the disposal and breakdown of man-made plastic products and industrial waste.
    微塑料是极其微小的塑料碎片。这些塑料颗粒的直径通常小于5毫米。其它研究已经在环境中发现微塑料。它们来自于人造塑料制品和工业废料的处理和分解。

    Melanie Bergmann co-wrote the report on the new study. She told The Associated Press that while her team did expect to find some microplastics in the samples, they were surprised by the very large amounts.
    梅拉尼·贝格曼共同撰写了关于这项新研究的报告。她对美联社表示,虽然她的团队预料到会在雪样中发现一些微塑料,但是他们对这么高的含量感到惊讶。

    Bergmann is a researcher at the Alfred-Wegener-Institute in the German city of Bremerhaven.
    贝格曼是德国不莱梅哈芬市阿尔弗雷德韦格纳研究所的一名研究员。

    The study found the highest levels of microplastics came from the Bavarian Alps. One snow sample from the area had 154,000 microplastic particles per liter. Samples collected from the Arctic had much lower levels. However, even samples from the Arctic contained up to 14,000 particles per liter, the study found.
    该研究发现,阿尔卑斯山脉巴伐利亚段的微塑料含量最高。采自该地区的一个雪样中每升含有15.4万个微塑料颗粒。从北极采集的雪样的含量要低很多。然而研究发现,即使采自北极的雪样中每升也含有多达1.4万个塑料颗粒。

    Earlier studies found signs of plastic in Arctic areas. Those microplastics were found in coastal areas, sea ice, the seafloor and the seawater's surface.
    早期的研究在北极地区发现了塑料的踪迹。那些微塑料是在北极的沿海地区、海冰、海底以及海面发现的。

    The new study attempted to explore how some of the material could have been carried in the atmosphere. A limited number of earlier studies did find microplastics in the air of some cities, including Paris, Tehran and Dongguan, China.
    这项新研究试图探索一些物质如何被大气携带旅行。为数不多的早期研究确实在包括巴黎、德黑兰和中国东莞在内的一些城市的空气中发现了微塑料。

    Bergmann said in a statement she believes the new study clearly shows that "the majority of the microplastic in the snow comes from the air." She said this idea is supported by research that studied the atmospheric movement of pollen from plants. In those studies, scientists confirmed pollen had traveled great distances to reach the Arctic.
    贝格曼在一份声明中表示,她认为这项新研究明确表明“雪中大多数的微塑料来自于空气。”她说这个想法得到了调查植物花粉大气运动的研究等支持。在这些研究中,科学家们证实花粉长途旅行到了北极。

    Other studies found that dust particles – which are similar to microplastics - traveled more than 3,500 kilometers from the Sahara Desert to the northeast Atlantic.
    其它研究发现,与微塑料相似的尘埃颗粒从撒哈拉沙漠行程超过3500公里到达了大西洋东北部。

    Bergmann said the new study suggests that much of the microplastic found in Europe and the Arctic comes from the atmosphere and snow. "This additional transport route could also explain the high amounts of microplastic that we've found in the Arctic sea ice and the deep sea in previous studies," she said.
    贝格曼表示,这项新的研究表明,在欧洲和北极发现的大部分微塑料都来自于大气和降雪。她说:“这条额外的运输路线也可以解释我们之前的研究在北极海冰以及深海中发现的大量微塑料。”

    The research team discovered many kinds of microplastics. Some were from paints commonly used to coat the surface of automobiles and ships. A rubber-like substance was also found that could have come from vehicle or boat parts or packaging materials, the report said.
    该研究小组发现了多种类型的微塑料。一些出自通常用于喷涂在汽车和轮船表面的涂料。该报告称,还发现了一种类似于橡胶的物质,它可能来自于汽车或轮船零件,或是包装材料。

    While there is growing concern about the effect of microplastics on the environment, scientists are still studying their possible harmful effects on humans and animals.
    虽然人们越来越关注微塑料对环境的影响,但科学家们仍在研究它对人类和动物可能产生的有害影响。

    Bergmann said she hopes the new study will lead to more research on this issue. She also said she believes that microscopic plastic particles should be included in worldwide observations of air pollution levels.
    贝格曼表示,她希望这项新研究能够引发更多关于这个问题的研究。她还表示,她认为应该将微塑料颗粒纳入全球空气污染水平监测当中。

    "We really need to know what effects microplastics have on humans, especially if inhaled with the air that we breathe," Bergmann said.
    贝格曼表示:“我们确实需要知道微塑料对人类有什么影响,特别是我们通过空气呼吸进入身体之后。”

    I'm Bryan Lynn.
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