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  3. World the Weather Become Warm to Spark South Pole the Sea Level Ups? A new analysis halves longstanding projections of how m

World the Weather Become Warm to Spark South Pole the Sea Level Ups? A new analysis halves longstanding projections of how m

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问题         World the Weather Become Warm to Spark South Pole the Sea Level Ups?
    A new analysis halves longstanding projections of how much sea levels could rise if Antarctica’s massive western ice sheets fully disintegrated as a result of global warming.
    The flow of ice into the sea would probably raise sea levels about 10 feet rather than 20 feet.
    The scientists also predicted that seas would rise unevenly, with an additional 1.5 foot increase in levels along the east and west coasts of North America. That is because the shift in a huge mass of ice away from the South Pole would subtly change the strength of gravity locally and the rotation of the Earth.
    Several Antarctic specialists familiar with the new study had mixed reactions to the projections. But they and the study’s lead author, Jonathan L. Bamber, agreed that the odds of a disruptive rise in seas over the next century or so from the buildup of greenhouse gases remained serious enough to deserve the world’s attention.
    They also uniformly called for renewed investment in satellites measuring ice and field missions that could within a few years substantially clarify the risk.
    There is strong consensus that warming waters around Antarctica, and Greenland in the Arctic will result in centuries of rising seas. But glaciologists and oceanographers still say there is uncertainty about the vital question of how fast coasts will retreat in a warming world in the next century or two.
    The new study did not assess the pace or the likelihood of a rise in seas. The goal was to examine as precisely as possible how much ice could flow into the sea if warming seawater penetrated between the West Antarctic ice sheet and the bedrock beneath.
    For decades West Antarctic ice has been identified as particularly vulnerable to melting because, although piled more than one mile above sea level in many places, it also rests on bedrock a half mile to a mile beneath sea level in others. That topography means that warm water could progressively melt spots where ice is stuck to the rock,allowing it to flow more freely.
    Erik I. Ivins.a scientist at NASA,described the new paper as "good solid science". But added that the sea-level estimates could not be verified without renewed investment in satellite missions and other initiatives that were currently lagging.
    Robert Bindschadler, a specialist in polar ice, said the study provided only a low estimate of Antarctica’s possible long-term contribution to rising seas because it did not deal with other mechanisms that could add water to the ocean.
    The prime question, he said, remains what will happen in the next 100 years or so, and other recent work implies that a lot of ice can be shed within that time.
The scientists agreed that ______.
选项 A、warming waters around Antarctica will lead to hundreds of years of rising sea levels
B、more money should be invested in satellites measuring ice and field missions
C、the sea level will definitely increase at a relatively high speed
D、the problem of rising sea levels caused by greenhouse effect would not be very serious
答案A
解析 事实细节题。由题干中的the scientists agreed定位到第六段第一句There is strong consensus that warming waters around Antarctica，and Greenland in the Arctic，will result in centuries of rising seas．可知，科学家们一致认为南极洲和北极的格陵兰岛附近海水温度升高，将导致数百年的海平面上升。[A]与该内容一致。[B]“应该在测量冰原的探测卫星以及野外考察任务上投入更多的钱”，这与第五段的“再度投资卫星和野外考察任务”不一致，故排除；[C]“海平面肯定会以较快的速度上升”与第六段第二句“海岸线后退速度的关键性问题尚无明确答案”内容不符，故排除；[D]“温室效应导致的海平面升高问题不是很严重”与第四段末句“由于温室气体增加导致的破坏性海平面上升所带来的问题仍然会很严重，足以引起全世界的关注”矛盾，故排除。
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