Chinese Pottery
Variations in the Climate
【單詞】
constitute：v. 構成
measure：n. 措施，測量，程度，尺寸
measurement：n. 尺寸，測量方法
measurable：adj. 可測量的
intervention：n. 介入
accord：n. 協議，條約 of your own accord：自愿地；主動地
interpret：v. 解釋，理解，口譯，詮釋
instrumental：adj. 儀器的
timescale：n. 時標，時間量程
interval：n. 間隔
internal：adj. 內部的
swing：n. 搖擺
proxy：n. 代理服務器，代理人，替代物，委托書
property：n. 特性，屬性，財產，地產
date：v. 顯示……的時代，鑒定……的年代
calcite：n. 【礦物】方解石
Peruvian：adj. 秘魯的；n. 秘魯人
glacier：n. 冰河，冰川
Antarctica：n. 南極洲
intriguing：adj. 有趣的，迷人的
pattern：n. 模式，圖案，樣品，榜樣
nonetheless：adv. 盡管如此
to the extent that：達到這種程度以致……，就……來說，在……方面來說
simulation：n. 模仿，模擬
deliberation：n. 考慮，深思熟慮，評議，審議，從容，沉著
invoke：v. 乞靈，祈求；提出或授引……以支持或證明
【長難句】
One of the most difficult aspects of deciding whether current climatic events reveal evidence of the impact of human activities is that it is hard to get a measure of what constitutes the natural variability of the climate.
We need therefore to know how much the climate can vary of its own accord in order to interpret with confidence the extent to which recent changes are natural as opposed to being the result of human activities.
Generally, the layering occurs on an annual basis, hence the observed changes in the records can be dated.
Proxy temperature records have been reconstructed from ice core drilled out of the central Greenland ice cap, calcite shells embedded in layered lake sediments in Western Europe, ocean floor sediment cores from the tropical Atlantic Ocean, ice cores from Peruvian glaciers, and ice cores from eastern Antarctica.
替代性溫度指標已被重建：格陵蘭冰帽中部鉆取的冰核，西歐深嵌在分層湖底沉積物中的方解石殼，取自熱帶大西洋的海底沉積物核，取自秘魯冰河的冰核,以及取自東南極洲的冰核。
While these records provide broadly consistent indications that temperature variations can occur on a global scale, there are nonetheless some intriguing differences, which suggest that the pattern of temperature variations in regional climates can also differ significantly from each other.
To the extent that the coverage of the global climate from these records can provide a measure of its true variability, it should at least indicate how all the natural causes of climate change have combined.
Studies suggest that to date the variability in computer simulations is considerably smaller than in data obtained from the proxy records.
