"The prestige of the 'white desert' is not as good as it was then." When the scientific expedition team arrived at Kunlun Station, Zhou Ran couldn't help but sigh.

As far as the eye can see, it is white and covered in snow ridges on all sides.

"Compared to 300 years ago, there is less than a fifth of the snow and ice here." Zheng Dashen said, "I'm afraid that in the future, it can only be called 'desert'." ”

"yes, there are too many human footprints."

"Carbon dioxide emissions and the hole in the ozone layer are the main causes of abnormal warming, but I believe there will be new ones. What does Professor Cheng think? Zhou Ran said.

Zheng Dashen nodded, as if agreeing with his point of view: "In addition, the Pacific Ocean carries warm and humid hot air during the flow, and in this flow process forms a huge 'atmospheric river', which affects the climate of Antarctica. I think it might be a new factor......"

"Haha, I've thought about this before."

Zhou Ran looked very happy, but he didn't expect the two of them to think of a piece.

"This is a great opportunity to test this hypothesis."

……

The natural conditions of the Antarctic continent are extremely harsh, and although the temperature has been rising in recent years, the average temperature is around -20 degrees. In addition to this, Antarctica is also the windiest region in the world. On average, there are 300 days of winds of magnitude 8 or higher per year, and storms of magnitude 12 or higher are commonplace.

These factors have brought great difficulties to the scientific expedition team.

Through half a month of observation and field investigation, the Antarctic ozone hole has increased by 2~3 times, and the situation is not optimistic. And the number of "death zones" has increased dramatically, compared to the past two years, an increase of 56%, a terrible data!

The so-called "dead zone" refers to the discharge of sewage into the sea, which provides sufficient nutrients for some algae, thus stimulating the wild growth of these seaweeds, coupled with air pollution factors, resulting in the formation of some "hypoxic zones" and "hypoxic zones" in the sea.

In these areas, not only fish, shrimp, shellfish, etc., but also seagrass do not survive. Therefore, the "hypoxic zone" and the "hypoxic zone" are also called the "death zone", that is, the "death zone".

In addition, Antarctic iceberg collapse events are also frequent, and the sea ice area is decreasing year by year, which is a major problem and will accelerate the rate of global warming.

White sea ice reflects the sun's heat, but when it is replaced by dark, unfrozen water, it reflects less heat and absorbs more. This, in turn, causes more sea ice to melt, which in turn absorbs more heat energy, creating a vicious cycle.

"It turns out that the speed of human destruction of the earth is unprecedented!" Zheng Dashen said sadly, "Professor Zhou, I have a question, I hope you don't be surprised. ”

"Please."

In this Antarctic scientific expedition, the two have worked together more than in the past five years, and through these ten days of contact, Zhou Ran gradually let down his guard.

"Antarctica's environmental degradation is only a microcosm of the planet, from which other aspects of destruction can be imagined. I would like to ask you, do you still think that what I said in the debate was alarmist? Zheng Dashen said.

Zhou Ran was stunned, he didn't expect him to ask such a sharp question, especially standing in front of the facts in front of him. Zheng Dashen is right, the situation in the Antarctic continent can definitely be described as "bad".

At this moment, Zhou Ran saw a few rickety penguins in the distance, which should have trekked to the nearest coast to hunt. Iceberg collapse and reduced sea ice cover are making it more difficult for penguins to survive, forcing them to travel farther to hunt for food, and this arduous journey is having a devastating impact on penguins' survival.

"It is undeniable that the environment in Antarctica is deteriorating year by year, reflecting the ...... of human beings," Zhou Ran quickly thought of an appropriate word, "excesses and ignorance." But this does not mean that the earth is not saved, and there are still many ways to save her, to save ourselves. ”

"So you still don't agree with me?"

"Not exactly."

"You're confusing me." Zheng Dashen said.

"Essentially, you and I have a clear understanding of the current state of the planet, there's no doubt about that." Zhou Ran said that seeing that the penguin just now was already in the sea, "it's just that the response measures taken in the face of this state are different." ”

"Just like a terminally ill patient, can he be cured by only giving him gua sha?" Zheng Dashen argued, and the atmosphere slowly became solemn.

"My idea is not scraping, but scraping bones to cure poison." Zhou Ran retorted, "Do you know the origin of 'scraping bones to cure poison'? ”

"Hehe, of course I know. The story of Hua Tuo, a miracle doctor in history, treating Guan Yu's illness. ”

"Yes, Guan Yu endured the pain, and the arrow wound was healed soon." Zhou Ran's mood was high, "Imagine that the earth is the same, after a 'bone scraping and poisoning', she will recover quickly!" ”

Zheng Dashen was not to be outdone, but he couldn't think of an excuse to refute for a while, so he had to say coldly: "Not long after, Guan Yu was defeated in Maicheng." ”

Zhou Ran couldn't help laughing, he didn't expect that he would be able to make Zheng Da's defense speechless one day, so he said: "Everyone will die eventually, you are secretly changing the concept." ”

"No, I mean, the current earth is like Guan Yu who retreated to Maicheng, there is no possibility of survival, no matter how much he saves it, it will not help."

Zhou Ran was silent, and he felt that what he said made some sense. It suddenly occurred to him that Antarctica was no longer the pure land of the world, and in the near future, would human beings still be the masters of the earth?

Is the future good......

Although after the last argument, the two had a somewhat unpleasant quarrel, but in the face of the overall situation, the two are still measured, and the investigation will not be affected.

After surveying the sea ice surface, today's task is to measure the thickness of the snow and ice, as well as to observe data related to the "atmospheric river". The team members carried the required equipment to the iceberg, which was difficult because it was carried by manpower. When your feet are in the thick snow and ice, it gives people a feeling of unsteadyness, so everyone is careful.

According to data provided by the Kunlun station, the average thickness of the ice in Antarctica is only 1,280 meters, and the thickest can reach more than 2,500 meters. However, this is already five years ago, and can only be used as a reference. Because the job is so heavy, measurements are not taken every year.

Although he has never been to Antarctica, Zhou Ran has been concerned about this issue for the past five years.

He once conservatively calculated that if all the ice and snow on the Antarctic continent melted, the global average sea level would rise by 50~60 meters. At that time, the lower elevations of the world's land will be the first to be flooded, and the lowest elevation regions in Europe, such as the lowest, are more likely to be inundated.

And, along with rising sea levels, tsunamis appeared, and its destructive power was too great.

At first, Zhou Ran and Zheng Dashen walked in the middle of the team, moving a little bit with heavy steps. Although they did not carry any equipment and only carried a telescope around their necks, they were much slower than the team members.

Slowly, the two of them were left behind in the back of the line.