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  3. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). 【F1】It’s a massive ocean curr

Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). 【F1】It’s a massive ocean curr

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问题    Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). 【F1】It’s a massive ocean current system that’s critical to the stability of our climate, as it moves a significant amount of heat from the Southern Hemisphere and the tropics up toward the North Atlantic, where that heat is released to the atmosphere. For Europe and North America, the AMOC helps regulate how seasons are experienced. But in a study published Friday in the journal Nature Communications, scientists at the University of South Florida (USF) used NASA data to conclude that Greenland’s rapidly melting ice sheet could be slowing down the AMOC, (according to a map of the surface currents (solid curves) and deep currents (dashed curves) that form a portion of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation). And that could be a problem.
   【F2】As the Greenland ice sheet melts and the meltwater runs off (and it’s running off much faster than previously thought according to the latest research), more and more cold freshwater is pushed into the Labrador Sea. The scientists used data from NASA’s gravity-sensing GRACE satellite mission to determine that freshwater is significantly "freshening" the North Atlantic Ocean. Freshwater is more buoyant than salt water, and the GRACE mission can detect that subtle difference in height—and therefore gravitational pull—of the more-buoyant water.
   【F3】The Greenland runoff, then, "has the potential to increase the buoyancy of surface waters and reduce formation of dense, deep water that helps drive the overturning circulation," explained Don Chambers, a professor of marine science at USF College and an author on the study, in a statement. That, in turn, could "weaken," or slow down, the AMOC. In other words, this ocean current could be knocked off-kilter. "The major effect of a slowing AMOC is expected to be cooler winters and summers around the North Atlantic, and small regional increases in sea level on the North American coast," Chambers said.
   【F4】On a global scale, however, the effects are much harder to understand—but could be more consequential. "The AMOC and Gulf Stream are part of a complex global ocean circulation system that is still not completely understood," Tom Dixon, another USF professor and author on the study, said. "【F5】If human activities are starting to impact this system, it is a worrying sign that the scale of human impacts on the climate system may be reaching a critical point."
【F4】
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答案然而，在全球范围内，这些影响很难被人们所理解——但其意义更为重要。
解析 ①本句是由but连接两个简单句的并列句，两个简单句都是主系表结构，主语均为the effects。②句子开头的On a global scale为地点状语，说明这些影响很难被人们理解的地点范围。③分句1含有比较级形容词，much harder意为“更难的”。分句2同样带有一个形容词比较级作表语，more consequential意为“更重要的”。consequential意思是“结果的；重要的”。
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