The greenhouse effect was discovered more than 150 years ago and the first scientific paper linking carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere with climate change was published in 1896.
150年前发现了温室效应，并于1896年发表了第一份将大气中二氧化碳水平与气候变化联系起来的科学论文。
But it wasn’t until the 1950s that scientists could definitively detect the effect of human activities on the Earth’s atmosphere.
但是直到1950年代，科学家才能明确检测人类活动对地球大气的影响。
In 1956, United States scientist Charles Keeling chose Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano for the site of a new atmospheric measuring station. It was ideal, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and at high altitude away from the confounding influence of population centres.
1956年，美国科学家查尔斯·基林（Charles Keeling）选择了夏威夷的莫纳·洛阿火山（Mauna Loa Volcano）作为新的大气测量站的地点。它是理想的，位于太平洋中部，远离人口中心的混杂影响。
Data collected by Mauna Loa from 1958 onward let us clearly see the evidence of climate change for the first time. The station samples the air and measures global CO₂ levels. Charles Keeling and his successors used this data to produce the famous Keeling curve – a graph showing carbon dioxide levels increasing year after year.
从1958年开始，Mauna Loa收集的数据让我们首次清楚地看到气候变化的证据。车站采样了空气并测量全球Co₂水平。查尔斯·基林（Charles Keeling）和他的继任者使用了这些数据来产生著名的龙骨曲线 - 该图显示了二氧化碳水平年复一年。
But this precious record is in peril. US President Donald Trump has decided to defund the observatory recording the data, as well as the widespread US greenhouse gas monitoring network and other climate measuring sites.
但是这个宝贵的记录是危险的。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）已决定向录制数据的天文台以及广泛的美国温室气体监测网络和其他气候测量地点资助。
We can’t solve the existential problem of climate change if we can’t track the changes. Losing Mauna Loa would be a huge loss to climate science. If it shuts, other observatories such as Australia’s Kennaook/Cape Grim will become even more vital.
如果我们无法跟踪更改，我们将无法解决气候变化的存在问题。失去Mauna LOA将是气候科学的巨大损失。如果关闭，澳大利亚的Kennaook/Cape Grim等其他观测站将变得更加重要。
What did Mauna Loa show us?
Mauna Loa向我们展示了什么？
The first year of measurements at Mauna Loa revealed something incredible. For the first time, the clear annual cycle in atmospheric CO₂ was visible. As plants grow in summer, they absorb CO₂ and draw it out of the atmosphere. As they die and decay in winter, the CO₂ returns to the atmosphere. It’s like Earth is breathing.
Mauna Loa的测量第一年表现出了不可思议的东西。首次可以看到大气中的清晰年度周期。随着夏季植物的生长，它们会吸收浓缩剂并将其从大气中抽出。当他们在冬天死亡和腐烂时，Co₂返回大气。就像地球在呼吸。
Most land on Earth is in the Northern Hemisphere, which means this cycle is largely influenced by the northern summer and winter.
地球上的大多数土地位于北半球，这意味着这个周期在很大程度上受北夏季和冬季的影响。
It only took a few years of measurements before an even more profound pattern emerged.
在出现了更深刻的模式之前，只花了几年的时间进行测量。
Year on year, CO₂ levels in the atmosphere were relentlessly rising. The natural in-out cycle continued, but against a steady increase.
一年一年，大气中的co级水平无情地上升。自然的出口周期持续，但稳定增加。
Scientists would later figure out that the ocean and land together were absorbing almost half of the CO₂ produced by humans. But the rest was building up in the atmosphere.
后来，科学家们会发现，海洋和土地一起吸收了人类生产的几乎一半。但是其余的是在大气中建立的。
Crucially, isotopic measurements meant scientists could be crystal clear about the origin of the extra carbon dioxide. It was coming from humans, largely through burning fossil fuels.
至关重要的是，同位素测量意味着科学家可以清楚地清楚二氧化碳的起源。它来自人类，主要是通过燃烧化石燃料。
Mauna Loa has now been collecting data for more than 65 years. The resulting Keeling curve graph is the most iconic demonstration of how human activities are collectively affecting the planet.
Mauna Loa现在已经收集了65年以上的数据。由此产生的龙骨曲线图是人类活动如何共同影响地球的最具标志性演示。
When the last of the Baby Boomer generation were being born in the 1960s, CO₂ levels were around 320 parts per million. Now they’re over 420 ppm. That’s a level unseen for at least three million years. The rate of increase far exceeds any natural change in the past 50 million years.
当婴儿潮一代的最后一代出生于1960年代时，Co₂水平约为每百万分之320。现在他们超过420 ppm。至少有300万年的水平是看不见的。在过去的5000万年中，增长率远远超过了任何自然变化。
The reason carbon dioxide is so important is that this molecule has special properties. Its ability to trap heat alongside other greenhouse gases means Earth isn’t a frozen rock. If there were no greenhouse gases, Earth would have an average temperature of -18°C, rather than the balmy 14°C under which human civilisation emerged.
二氧化碳如此重要的原因是该分子具有特殊的特性。它与其他温室气体捕获热量的能力意味着地球不是冷冻的岩石。如果没有温室气体，地球的平均温度将为-18°C，而不是人类文明出现的14°C的宜人温度。
The greenhouse effect is essential to life. But if there are too many gases, the planet becomes dangerously hot. That’s what’s happening now – a very sharp increase in gases exceptionally good at trapping heat even at low concentrations.
温室效应对生命至关重要。但是，如果气体太多，地球就会变得危险的热。这就是现在正在发生的事情 - 即使在低浓度下，气体的急剧增加也可以极大地增加。
Keeping our eyes open
睁开眼睛
It’s not enough to know CO₂ is climbing. Monitoring is essential. That’s because as the planet warms, both the ocean and the land are expected to take up less and less of humanity’s emissions, letting still more carbon accumulate in the air.
这还不足以知道Co₂正在攀登。监视至关重要。这是因为随着地球的温暖，海洋和土地都预计人类的排放量越来越少，让更多的碳积聚在空中。
Continuous, high-precision monitoring is the only way to spot if and when that happens.
连续高精度监控是发现是否和何时发生的唯一方法。
This monitoring provides the vital means to verify whether new climate policies are genuinely influencing the atmospheric CO₂ curve rather than just being touted as effective. Monitoring will also be vital to capture the moment many have been working towards when government policies and new technologies finally slow and eventually stop the increase in CO₂.
该监视提供了至关重要的手段，可以验证新的气候政策是否真正影响了大气曲线，而不仅仅是被吹捧为有效。监测对于捕捉许多人一直在努力的那一刻，当政府政策和新技术最终放缓并最终阻止CO₂的增加时，监测也将是至关重要的。
The US administration’s plans to defund key climate monitoring systems and roll back green energy initiatives presents a global challenge.
美国政府计划向关键气候监测系统拨款并撤销绿色能源计划的计划提出了全球挑战。
Without these systems, it will be harder to forecast the weather and give seasonal updates. It will also be harder to forecast dangerous extreme weather events.
没有这些系统，很难预测天气并提供季节性更新。预测危险的极端天气事件也将更加困难。
Scientists in the US and globally have sounded the alarm about what the closure would do to science. This is understandable. Stopping data climate collection is like breaking a thermometer because you don’t like knowing you’ve got a fever.
美国和全球的科学家对关闭对科学的作用发出了警报。这是可以理解的。停止数据气候收集就像打破温度计，因为您不喜欢知道自己发烧。
If the US follows through, other countries will need to carefully reconsider their commitments to gathering and sharing climate data.
如果美国遵循，其他国家将需要仔细重新考虑其收集和共享气候数据的承诺。
Australia has a long record of direct atmospheric CO₂ measurement, which began in 1976 at the Kennaook/Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station in north-west Tasmania. This and other climate observations will only become more valuable if Mauna Loa is lost.
澳大利亚的直接大气涂料的记录很长，该测量始于1976年在塔斯马尼亚西北部的Kennaook/Cape Grim基线空气污染站。只有失去了Mauna Loa，这种气候观察和其他气候观察才会变得更加有价值。
It remains to be seen how Australia’s leaders respond to the US retreat from climate monitoring. Ideally, Australia would not only maintain but strategically expand its monitoring systems of atmosphere, land and oceans.
澳大利亚领导人如何从气候监测中对美国撤退的反应还有待观察。理想情况下，澳大利亚不仅可以维持，而且会在战略上扩展其气氛，土地和海洋的监测系统。
