新研究探讨金星是否曾有液态水
📖 逐句对照翻译
A new study suggests that Venus likely never had water flowing on its surface.
一项新研究表明，金星表面很可能从未有过液态水流动。
The research was based on data related to the chemical makeup of the planet’s atmosphere.
这项研究基于与该行星大气化学成分相关的数据。
Scientists have long considered whether Venus once held liquid water, even possibly large oceans.
科学家们长期以来一直在思考金星上是否曾经存在过液态水，甚至可能有过广阔的海洋。
Such research was based on the fact that Venus is like our own planet in many ways.
这类研究基于这样一个事实：金星在许多方面与我们自己的星球相似。
It is a rocky planet similar in structure and size to Earth and is also our closest planetary neighbor.
这是一颗岩石行星，其结构和大小与地球相似，也是我们最近的行星邻居。
But the latest study provides evidence that Venus has likely always been the hot, extremely dry planet it remains today.
但最新研究提供的证据表明，金星很可能一直就是如今这个炎热、极度干燥的星球。
Researchers from Britain’s University of Cambridge led the study.
英国剑桥大学的研究人员领导了这项研究。
It recently appeared in the publication Nature Astronomy.
它最近发表在《自然天文学》期刊上。
The researchers’ data examinations led them to conclude that both the surface and interior of Venus remain dry.
研究人员对数据的分析使他们得出结论：金星的表层和内部都保持干燥。
The team said the strongest evidence that Venus once had large amounts of water would be the discovery of some water inside the planet today.
该团队表示，金星曾经拥有大量水的最有力证据将是如今在该行星内部发现一些水。
But the study provided no evidence of that.
但该研究并未提供这方面的证据。
Since water is considered an important element for supporting life, the researchers also suggest that Venus was likely never habitable, or able to support life.
由于水被认为是维持生命的重要元素，研究人员还认为金星很可能从未宜居，或者说无法维持生命。
The lead writer of the study was Tereza Constantinou, a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy.
该研究的主要作者是特蕾莎·康斯坦丁努，她是剑桥大学天文研究所的博士生。
She told Reuters news agency, "We suggest that a habitable past would be associated with Venus' present interior being water-rich, and a dry past with Venus' present interior being dry.
她告诉路透社：“我们认为，宜居的过去与金星目前内部富含水有关，而干燥的过去则与金星目前内部干燥有关。”
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The researchers explained they attempted to measure the current destruction rate of molecules in water, carbon dioxide and carbonyl sulfide in Venus’ atmosphere.
研究人员解释说，他们试图测量金星大气中水、二氧化碳和硫化羰分子的当前破坏速率。
The state of the planet’s atmosphere is linked to volcanic activity, the team said.
该团队表示，地球大气层的状态与火山活动有关。
“Volcanism, through its supply of gases to the atmosphere, provides a window into the interior of rocky planets like Venus,” the researchers wrote in a statement.
研究人员在一份声明中写道：“火山活动通过向大气供应气体，为了解金星等岩质行星的内部提供了一个窗口。”
“As magma rises from the mantle to the surface, it releases gases from the deeper portions of the planet.
当岩浆从地幔上升到地表时，它会释放出地球深部的气体。
Volcanic explosions, or eruptions, can provide information on the amount of water contained deep below a planet’s surface, the scientists said.
科学家表示，火山爆炸或喷发可以提供有关行星表面深处含水量的信息。
On Earth, for example, volcanic eruptions mostly release steam, a vapor created when water gets heated.
例如，在地球上，火山喷发主要释放的是蒸汽，即水受热时产生的水汽。
Measurements of volcanic gases on Earth have shown they release about 60 percent water vapor.
对地球火山气体的测量表明，它们释放的气体中约60%是水蒸气。
But the researchers said their examinations suggested volcanic gases released on Venus were less than 6 percent water vapor.
但研究人员表示，他们的检测表明金星上释放的火山气体中水蒸气含量不到6%。
This persuaded the team to conclude that the planet’s interior – the source of the magma that releases volcanic gases – must be very dry.
这使团队得出结论：这颗行星的内部——释放火山气体的岩浆来源——必定非常干燥。
The team noted that scientists have had two leading theories on the history of water on Venus.
该团队指出，科学家们对于金星上水的历史一直有两种主流理论。
The first is that the planet had a moderate climate for billions of years, with liquid water flowing over areas of the surface.
首先是这颗行星数十亿年来气候温和，地表部分区域有液态水流动。
Over time, widespread volcanic activity likely led to extreme heat and dry conditions that made the water disappear.
随着时间的推移，广泛的火山活动可能导致了极端高温和干燥条件，使水消失。
The second theory imagined Venus as being very hot from the beginning, preventing liquid water from ever forming on the surface.
第二种理论认为金星从一开始就非常炎热，使得液态水从未能在其表面形成。
Constantinou said, “Both of those theories are based on climate models, but we wanted to take a different approach based on observations of Venus’ current atmospheric chemistry.”
康斯坦丁诺表示：“这两种理论都基于气候模型，但我们想采取一种不同的方法，基于对金星当前大气化学的观测。”
She added that the team did not find evidence that any chemicals being removed from the atmosphere were later being restored.
她补充说，团队没有发现任何证据表明，从大气中移除的化学物质后来被恢复了。
This provides strong evidence that Venus has a very dry interior today, the scientists concluded.
科学家们总结道，这提供了强有力的证据，表明如今的金星内部非常干燥。
"The atmospheric chemistry suggests that volcanic eruptions on Venus release very little water, implying that the planet's interior…is equally dry,” Constantinou said.
康斯坦丁诺表示：“大气化学表明，金星上的火山喷发释放的水极少，这意味着金星内部……同样干燥。”
She added that her team “would have loved to find that Venus was once a planet much closer to our own.”
她补充说，她的团队“本来很希望能发现金星曾经是一颗与地球更为相似的星球”。
However, Constantinou noted the finding suggests that researchers should center their searches “on planets that are mostly likely to be able to support life – at least life as we know it.”
然而，康斯坦丁诺指出，这一发现表明研究人员应将搜索重点放在“最有可能支持生命——至少是我们所知的生命——的行星上”。
I’m Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters and the University of Cambridge.
布莱恩·林恩根据路透社和剑桥大学的报道，为美国之音英语学习频道撰写了这篇报道。
