冰川追悼會

Iceland on August 18th， 2019 honored the passing of Okjokull， as scientists warn that some 400 others on the subarctic island risk the same fate.

2019年8月18日，冰島為奧克冰川的消逝舉行了紀念儀式。科學家警告說，冰島還有大約400座冰川面臨相同的命運。

With a theme of fighting climate change， about 100 Icelanders have said farewell to what once was a glacier. Scientists said it was the first of Icelands glaciers to disappear because of climate change.

大約100名冰島人為這座“死亡”的冰川舉行了告別儀式，這場活動的主題是應對氣候變化。科學家們表示，這是冰島第一座因氣候變化而消失的冰川。

About 100 years ago， the glacier covered almost 6 square miles of a mountainside in western Iceland and measured more than 160 feet thick.

大約100年前，這座冰川覆蓋了冰島西部約6平方英里（約合15.5平方千米）的山坡，厚度超過160英尺（約合48.8米）。

A plaque has been installed at the site of the former glacier， which reads： “In the next 200 years， all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.”

人們在這座冰川曾經的所在地豎起了紀念碑，上面寫道：“在未來的200年里，所有的冰川可能步其后塵。設立這座紀念碑是為了承認，我們知道正在發生什么，需要做什么。只有你知道我們是否做到了。”

The plaque bears the inscription “A letter to the future”， and is intended to raise awareness about the decline of glaciers and the effects of climate change.

紀念碑碑文題為“給未來的一封信”，旨在提高人們對冰川消融和氣候變化影響的認識。

It is also labelled “415ppm CO2，” referring to the record level of carbon dioxide measured in the atmosphere in May， 2019.

紀念碑還刻有“415ppm CO2”，指的是2019年5月測出的創紀錄的大氣中二氧化碳含量。

In 1890， the glacier ice covered 16 square kilometres but by 2012， it measured just 0.7 square kilometres， according to a report from the University of Iceland from 2017.

冰島大學在2017年發布的一份報告稱，1890年，奧克冰川覆蓋面積為16平方千米，但到2012年，冰川面積僅剩0.7平方千米。

“In 2014， we made the decision that this was no longer a living glacier， it was only dead ice， it was not moving，” Oddur Sigurdsson， a glaciologist with the Icelandic Meteorological Office， told AFP.

冰島氣象局的冰川學家奧杜爾·西古德松告訴法新社：“我們在2014年已確定這個冰川不復存在，已經‘死亡，它不再移動了。”

According to a study published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature （IUCN） in April， 2019， nearly half of the worlds heritage sites could lose their glaciers by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate.

根據世界自然保護聯盟2019年4月發表的一項研究，如果溫室氣體繼續以目前的速度排放，到2100年，近半數世界遺產地的冰川將會消失。

Sigurdsson said he feared “that nothing can be done to stop it”.

西古德松說，他擔心“人類對此無能為力”。

Residents reminisced about drinking pure water thousands of years old from Okjokull.

當地居民回憶說，這里的人們飲用奧克冰川純凈水已有幾千年。

“The symbolic death of a glacier is a warning to us， and we need action，” former Irish president Mary Robinson said.

“冰川的象征性死亡是對我們的警告，我們需要采取行動。”愛爾蘭前總統瑪麗·羅賓遜說。

“We see the consequences of the climate crisis，” Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said. “We have no time to lose.”

冰島總理卡特琳·雅各布斯多蒂爾說：“我們看到了氣候危機的后果。我們沒有時間可以浪費了。”

Word Study

subarctic /s?b'ɑ?kt?k/ adj. 亞北極的

plaque /pl?k/ n.（紀念性的）匾牌，匾額

inscription /?n'skr?p?n/ n. 題詞;銘刻;碑文

reminisce /'rem?'n?s/ v. 回憶;追憶

Ray and I ate our meal and reminisced about the trip.