托福阅读机经The Role of the Ocean in Controlling Climate 真题+答案

类别：环境类

真题141129CN-P3

Title：The Role of the Ocean in Controlling Climate

To predict what the climate will be like in the future, scientists must rely on sophisticated computer models. These models use mathematical equations torepresent physical processes and interactions in the atmosphere, ocean, and on land.A starting point is usually based on current measurements or estimates of past conditions. Then, using a spherical grid laid out over the entire globe, thousands of calculations are performed at grid intersections to represent and assess howconditions in the air, in the sea, and on land will change over time. Because of their complexity and size, supercomputers are used to run full-scale climate models. Much of the uncertainty in their outputs comes from the way that various aspects of theclimate are represented by different models, and even more so, because there are aspects of climate that are not well understood—one of which is how the ocean impacts climate.

The ocean’s role in global warming stems principally from its huge capacity to absorb carbon dioxide and to store and transport heat. In the sea, photosynthesis by marine plants and algae, especially phytoplankton, removes great quantities of carbondioxide from the atmosphere. Hence, the greater the growth (productivity) of phytoplankton in the sea, the greater the removal of carbon dioxide. But what controls the ocean’s productivity? There are several limiting factors, but results froma recent experiment suggest that in areas of the ocean where other nutrients are plentiful, iron may be one of the most important and, until recently, unrecognized variables controlling phytoplankton production. Some have proposed a radical, highlycontroversial and uncertain means to counteract global warming—adding iron to theoceans to induce phytoplankton blooms. Perhaps increased phytoplankton growth would use up a significant amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but perhaps not, and there might well be side effects that could be detrimental to the oceanecosystem.

Within the ocean, the production of limestone, in the form of calcium carbonate skeletons or shells, also reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, when deposits of limestone become exposed and weathered on land or are recycled in the sea, carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere. What is not well understood ishow much carbon dioxide resides in the sea and at what rate it is taken up andrecycled. Relatively new research has also discovered beneath the sea a new and potentially significant threat to skyrocketing Earth temperature: gas hydrates. Gas hydrates are a solid, crystalline form of water, like ice, except that they containadditional gas, typically methane, and are often found stored in ocean sediments.Increased ocean temperatures could cause gas hydrates to dissociate, releasingmassive amounts of methane gas into the atmosphere and cause undersea landslides in the process. Consequently, hydrates may, if released, significantly increase global warming as well as create a geologic hazard to offshore drilling operations.

The ocean is also a great reservoir and transporter of heat. Heat from the ocean warms the atmosphere and fuels tropical storms. Heat is transported by currents from the equator to the poles. Ocean circulation is strongly controlled by wind and by the sea’s balance of salt and heat. Scientists think that climate warming may slow down circulation, while cooling may speed it up, but these responses are not well understood. Evaporation from the ocean also supplies the precipitation that creates fields of snow and ice at high latitudes. Snow and ice coverage change the reflectivity Earth’s surface and are an important influence on how much incoming radiation iseither absorbed or reflected. Furthermore, clouds and water vapor in the atmospherecome mainly from the sea and strongly influence climate. Surprisingly, clouds are one of the least understood and most poorly modeled parts of the climate changeequation. Most climate modeling grids fail to take into account common-sized cloud formations. Aerosols, tiny particles of soot, dust, and other materials, are thought to seed cloud formation scatter incoming radiation and promote cooling, but this effect, which would counteract warming, is also only superficially understood. Computer models of climate change must take into account all of the processes within theocean, over land, and in the sky that potentially influence warming. No wonder there is such uncertainty.