NASA公布的南极最新照片，在以肉眼可见的速度融化

Antarctica is supposed to be an extremely cold place. The annual mean temperature of the snow-laden continent's central area is -57 degrees Celsius (−70.6°F); even the coast averages around -10°C (14°F).

南极应该是极寒之地，这个冰雪覆盖的大陆的中心地带年平均温度是-57摄氏度（−70.6华氏度），沿海平均温度约为-10摄氏度（14华氏度）。

But on February 6, the weather station at Esperanza Base on the Antarctic Peninsula - the northernmost tip of the content - logged the hottest temperature ever recorded on the mainland, at 18.3°C (64.9°F).

但2月6日，位于南极大陆最北端南极半岛的阿根廷基地的气象站记录了这片陆地有史以来最高温度——18.3摄氏度（64.9华氏度）。

It beat out the former record of 17.5°C, from 24 March 2017.

打破了2017年3月24日17.5摄氏度的纪录。

This latest heatwave lasted for about a week, and images of Eagle Island, taken by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8, have now captured a pretty depressing picture of its impact.

最近的高温持续约一周，Landsat 8（美国陆地卫星计划的第八颗卫星）上的陆地成像仪拍摄的鹰岛照片显示了高温产生的影响，情况不容乐观。

The tiny Eagle Island is located just off the coast of Graham Land in the Antarctic Peninsula. The record-high temperatures have resulted in a large amount of Eagle Island's ice cap melting into the sea, while areas towards the middle of the island saw melt ponds form astonishingly quickly.

鹰岛这座小岛位于南极半岛的格雷厄姆海岸附近。本次创纪录的高温导致鹰岛冰盖大量融化入海，靠近半岛中心的一些地区出现了融化的冰池，形成速度惊人。

"I haven't seen melt ponds develop this quickly in Antarctica," says Mauri Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College.

尼科尔斯学院的冰川学家Mauri Pelto说：“我从未见过南极融化池形成速度如此之快。”

"You see these kinds of melt events in Alaska and Greenland, but not usually in Antarctica."

“在阿拉斯加和格陵兰岛都能看到这种融化现象，但南极不常见。”

Pelto also notes that the source of this melt event - persistent high temperatures significantly above freezing - is not typical of Antarctic weather patterns. Nevertheless, these have become more common recently.

Pelto也表示融化现象的根源，也就是明显高于冰点的持续高温，并非是典型的南极气候模式，但最近却越来越常见。

In total, snow pack on Eagle Island had over 10 centimetres (4 inches) of melt in the span of just a few days - between February 6 and February 11.

鹰岛的积雪在2月6日至11日的短短几天内总共融化了十多厘米（4英寸）。