时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2015年(十月)


英语课

Robotic Marine 1 Vehicles Explore Celtic Sea 机器人海洋车探索凯尔特海


Scientists in England are using two autonomous 2 marine vehicles to explore the hydrology and biology of the Celtic Sea, an area off Ireland's southern coast defined by its unique marine life. Primarily, they want to know why marine animals are so attracted to this part of the Atlantic Ocean.


Slowly moving just below the surface, a battery-powered submersible glider 3 called Slocum collects data for England's National Oceanography Center in Southampton and the World Wildlife Fund.


Its low energy requirements allow it to stay afloat for up to 30 days, regularly sending reports via satellite about the Celtic Sea’s diverse ecosystem 4.


“We have echo sounders to detect zooplankton and fish, acoustic 5 Doppler current profilers for measuring the currents in the water, wet-lab fluorometers for measuring chlorophyll and organic matter, and a few other specialist sensors 6 as well,” said Stephen Woodward, a glider engineer.


As it oscillates through the water, the glider also creates a two-dimensional cross-section map of the sea.


“We're interested in how, for example, the weather events directly affect the water column and in turn does that affect productivity and then again in fish and further up the food chain, cetaceans or seabirds,” said marine biologist Lavinia Suberg.


Meanwhile, the autonomous catamaran C-Enduro has embarked 7 on its own mission in the Celtic Sea. Powered by solar panels and a wind turbine, it can stay afloat for months, sending data about the so-called biodiversity hot spots.


“Biodiversity hot spots are areas in the ocean that are usually particularly productive. Productive areas attract zooplankton, and that in turn attracts fish," Suberg said. "Areas of enhanced or elevated biomass of fish often attract marine mammals and seabirds in turn.”


Using autonomous marine vehicles sharply reduces the cost of exploring the seas with crewed floating labs, so scientists can devote more time to laboratory analysis of the collected data. They say it will give them a better understanding of this area’s needs for future management and protection.



1 marine
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵
  • Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
  • When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
2 autonomous
adj.自治的;独立的
  • They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
  • This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。
3 glider
n.滑翔机;滑翔导弹
  • The glider was soaring above the valley.那架滑翔机在山谷上空滑翔。
  • The pilot managed to land the glider on a safe place.那个驾驶员设法让滑翔机着陆到一个安全的地方。
4 ecosystem
n.生态系统
  • This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
  • We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
5 acoustic
adj.听觉的,声音的;(乐器)原声的
  • The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
  • Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。
6 sensors
n.传感器,灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )
  • There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时,有很大变化。 来自辞典例句
7 embarked
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 ); 装载; 从事
  • We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
  • She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。
学英语单词
aluminium plate evaporator
amyotonias
application network
balbo
bronner's acid
building complex
Burmesia
by-spine
capital construction project audit
Chase Manhattan Asia Limited
cloth merchant
combined fuel economy
compensating of load
Congo coffee
contest competition
crank bearing metal
crowed
crushing strength under high temperature
crystal enamel
destabilisers
dihydrostreptose
domestic garden
drilling data base
duty call
dynamic alteration
Euterpe oleracea
exchange broker
F-ERG
fishing-tube
forwell
genus Bougainvillaea
going-to
grey heron
heat sinking capability
hemi-tetragonal trisoctahedron
house air bill
hum-um
hypertrophic osteoarthropathy
initial credit balance
intermittent cramps
Ismailovo
kecklings
Kras(Karst)
letter of countermart
low dimension
Maboulou
main power source
mantle cone
masking-out
Mason County
matrix notation
mechanical metamorphism
microfilmed
misevaluated
motor guarantee fund
naked debenture
name length
Nemastomataceae
nidhug
nitrocellulose method
non agricultural
non-incorporated
nonprestressed reinforcement
nonvampires
outgoing calls barred
path length
peoplers
positive hypergeometric distribution
pure literal rule
radiolocations
Ravennese
red-legged partridges
reference critical stress intensity factor
required number
rowlock bolster
rules on air warfare
rusty gold
Saddell Castle
seamewes
Seapatrick
Solberga
southeasts
sparnacian subage
squelched
supply - side economics
swizzling
tantalian cassiterite
tax agent
thorington
toastie
transitory bud
transmissibillity coefficient of aquifer
transparency dye
transport symbol
traumatic sinuses
trial and error theory
tubero-hypophyseal
unbiased estimate of population variance
unlabelled compound
water birches
Well-diversified portfolio