Floating ice around Antarctica just hit a record low

The amount of floating sea ice encircling Antarctica reached the lowest level ever recorded, scientists reported Tuesday, a sign that one of the most remote and mysterious facets of the climate system may, at last, be responding to the overall planetary warming trend. The latest measurements represent the lowest reading for overall Antarctic sea ice extent since satellite monitoring began in late 1978. This marks the second year in a row that, as the Antarctic summer wears on and the Southern Ocean’s blanket of sea ice shrinks to its yearly minimum extent, a record low has been recorded.

科学家们星期二报告称，环绕南极洲的浮动海冰的数量达到了有史以来的最低水平，这表明最遥远、最神秘的气候系统可能最终对整个地球变暖的趋势做出了反应。最新的测量结果显示出自 1978 年底卫星监测开始以来，南极海冰总体范围的最低读数。这标志着随着南极夏季的到来，当南半球大洋的海冰覆盖层缩减到年度最小时，覆盖面积连续第二年达到历史最低点。

tips

encircle v. 围绕，包围

planetary adj. 行星的，星球的

shrink v. 萎缩，缩小，减少