VOA慢速英语2017 高科技实验室使用飞机绘制亚马逊地图

Looking at a rainforest from high in the sky, you might think all the trees look about the same.

从天空高处向下看热带雨林，你可能会觉得所有的树木都是一样的。

But they are not.

但它们是不同的。

Take, for example, the Amazon rainforest in South America. Research shows that the Amazon's biological diversity—the huge number of plants and animals living there—is more of a mix than experts believed. It turns out the rainforest has many species of trees and even different kinds of forests.

就南美洲的亚马逊雨林举例。研究表明，亚马逊的生物多样性 - 生活在那里的植物和动物的种类 - 比专家认为的更多。事实证明，雨林有许多不同种类的树，它们甚至是不同种类的森林。

The Amazon covers an area of about 7 million square kilometers. It lies within the borders of nine countries: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, which belongs to France.

亚马逊约700万平方公里，位于九个国家的边界??内，包括：巴西、秘鲁、哥伦比亚、委内瑞拉、厄瓜多尔、玻利维亚、圭亚那、苏里南和法属圭亚那。

About 60 percent of the rainforest falls within Brazil.

大约60％的雨林在巴西境内。

For about 150 years, researchers have explored the Amazon. They searched under its tall trees to study the many plants growing there.

研究人员探索了亚马逊约150年。他们在高大的树木下研究生长在那里的多类植物。

Greg Asner has done that too. He is the principal investigator 1 for the Carnegie Airborne Observatory 2 (CAO) program.

格雷格·阿斯纳也做到了。他是卡内基机载观测台（CAO）计划的主要研究员。

Asner studied the plants and then, with his team, developed a tool to identify what is growing in the Amazon rainforest. They use an airplane equipped with a high-technology laboratory to create maps of the area.

阿斯纳对植物进行了研究，然后和他的团队一起开发了一个能够确定什么植物在亚马逊雨林生长的工具。他们使用配备高科技实验室的飞机来创建该地区的地图。

When the plane flew over Peru, the team learned there are many more -- and different kinds of -- forests than was documented before.

当飞机飞越秘鲁时，该团队了解到实际的森林种类比以前记录的更多。

Researchers once thought the western Amazon had three to five different forests. Then, Asner notes, his team mapped the area in the CAO aircraft.

研究人员曾经认为亚马逊西部有三到五个不同的森林。然后，阿斯纳说她的团队在CAO飞机上画出这些区域。

“We flew over and we mapped 36 distinct forest types. And so what we did, we just increased the diversity of the region by tenfold and that's important because the region, the Peruvian Andes and Amazon, just like all the other countries that occupy that region, are rapidly developing.”

“我们从上空飞过，我们将这个地区划分为36种不同的森林类型。因此我们预计该地区的生物多样性是以前的十倍，这一点很重要，因为秘鲁安第斯山脉和亚马逊和占据该地区的所有其他国家一样，正在迅速发展。”

The CAO is equipped with airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy. This technology enables Asner and his team to take three-dimensional images of the forest far below. These pictures give the appearance of length, width and depth. They have bright colors and look like modern art paintings. Yet they show different tree species.

CAO配备了机载激光引导成像光谱仪。这项技术使阿斯纳和他的团队能够拍摄森林下面的三维图像。这些图片给出了植物的长度、宽度和深度。它们有明亮的颜色，看起来像现代艺术画。然而他们是不同的树种。

Asner says the team is gathering 3 more than just pictures of plants.

阿斯纳说，团队不仅仅收集植物的图片。

“And at the same time we're able to assess the health, composition and types of trees that are there, from their chemical signatures.”

“同时，我们能够从其化学特征中评估出那里的树木的健康状况、成分和类型。”

He says getting chemical information on the trees is like a doctor taking blood from a patient. The images tell the researchers about the health of the forests, and give them genetic 4 information, too.

他说，在树上获取化学信息就像医生从病人那里取血一样。图像告诉研究人员森林的健康状况，并给予他们遗传基因信息。

But how can you get chemical information from trees while flying above them?

但是，当你在树的上空飞行时，如何获取化学信息呢？

Asner says the CAO aircraft uses sunlight as the main measurement tool. The sunlight reflects off the tops of the trees. With the equipment on the plane, they can measure infrared 5 light – the light that cannot be seen.

阿斯纳说CAO飞机把阳光作为主要的测量工具。阳光射在树顶上。他们可以用飞机上的设备测量不可见的光——红外光。

“This is in the shortwave infrared. So we can't see this with the naked eye. But we are able to read the molecular 6 composition of the tree canopy 7.”

“这是短波红外线。因此我们的肉眼无法看到。但我们能够由此读到树冠的分子组成成分。”

This information helps them understand how the plant species and forests change in different areas.

这些信息帮助他们了解植物物种和森林在不同地区的变化。

Asner says they can use airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy over a huge area that has never been mapped. In this case, it is 76 million hectares in the Amazon.

阿斯纳说，他们可以在从未记录过的大面积区域上使用机载激光引导成像光谱仪。用这种方法得出亚马逊有7600万公顷。

The Carnegie team joined with the Peruvian Ministry 8 of Environment to study that country's forests. Asner says this technology is still new to science, and it can help officials watch over and protect the forests.

卡内基团队与秘鲁环境部一道研究该国的森林。 阿斯纳说这种技术在科学还是较为新颖的，它可以帮助官员监视和保护森林。

“The application to Peru is really a big step forward because it tells us that we can use this still-new approach to map the composition of forests, in this case,and use that information to do better forest management, conservation and planning for future changes that we know the region is undergoing.”

“这个应用程序对秘鲁来说确实是一个重大的进步，因为我们可以使用这种仍然是新的方法来描绘森林的组成，并利用这些信息实行更完善的森林管理、保护和规划，并结合我们了解的该地区正在经历的变化来规划未来。”

He says their maps help researchers and government officials make decisions based on the actual biodiversity of each area. No longer are people treating the Amazon rainforest “like a big green carpet” – one that is the same everywhere.

他说他们的地图有利于研究人员和政府官员根据每个地区的实际生物多样性做决定。人们不在把亚马逊雨林看作无处不相同的“大绿地毯”。

Researchers will be busy because they noticed plant species that are little known, or completely unknown, in the forest communities.

研究人员将很忙碌，因为他们注意到森林里有鲜为人知或完全未知的植物物种。

The Carnegie team is now working with Equador to map its countryside. The images will help Ecuadorean officials preserve their forests.

卡内基团队现在与厄瓜多尔合作一起描绘其乡村的地图。该地图将帮助厄瓜多尔官员保护自己的森林。

The next step is to take the technology even higher—to orbit the Earth. Then researchers may observe the biodiversity not just of the Amazon, but the whole planet.

下一步是发展技术去探索更高一些的地方——地球轨道。然后研究人员可以观察到的生物多样性不仅局限在亚马逊，而会是整个星球。

The orbiting satellite would remap the entire Earth every 30 days and measure the health of its biodiversity.

轨道卫星每30天会重新拍摄整个地球，并测量其生物多样性的健康。

Biodiversity is important to the health of the planet, Asner explains. It is the “fabric” that is under all the planet's systems, like water and food.

生物多样性对地球的健康很重要，阿斯纳解释说。它是所有星球系统下的“织物”，如水和食物。

“So where the different species are and what types of species we have actually affects all the major processes that regulate our climate.”

“所以，在哪个地方有什么不同的物种，我们现有什么类型的物种，实际上影响了所有调节气候的主要过程。”

So, Asner adds, finding ways to watch the Earth will help researchers make better decisions on how to save more species and help stop destruction of our planet.

所以，阿斯纳补充说，寻找观察地球的方法将有助于研究人员更好地保护更多的物种，并阻止对我们星球的毁坏。

Words in This Story

biodiversity – n. the existence of many different kinds of plants and animals in an environment

tenfold – adj. ten times as much or many

laser – n. a device that produces a narrow and powerful beam of light that has many special uses in medicine, industry, etc.

spectroscopy – n. using a tool to measure different properties of light.

assess – v. to make a judgment 9 about (something)

reflect – v. of light, sound, etc. to move in one direction, hit a surface, and then quickly move in a different and usually opposite direction

infrared – adj. producing or using rays of light that cannot be seen and that are longer than rays that produce red light

shortwave – n. a radio wave with a wavelength 10 between 10 and 100 meters

canopy – n. the highest layer of branches in a forest or on a tree

conservation – n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources