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2024考研英语同源外刊:东非大碳谷!

      考研英语水平的进步,不仅要记单词,还需要阅读外语文献等资料。接下来,小编为2024考研者们,整理出——2024考研英语同源外刊:东非大碳谷!供考生参考。

2024考研英语同源外刊:东非大碳谷!

East Africa’s Rift Valley, which runs for thousands of kilometres from the Red Sea to Mozambique, provides a unique window into the evolutionary history of humanity. The shifting of tectonic plates that formed its deep lakes and sheltered canyons created conditions that first nurtured the ancestors of modern humans and then preserved their bones. Those geological forces may also push open a door to the future by making it possible to capture and store global-warming carbon dioxide cheaply from the air.

从红海延伸数千公里至莫桑比克的东非大裂谷是了解人类进化史的一个独特窗口。这些地质力量或许也能帮助人们以低成本从空气中捕获并储存导致全球变暖的二氧化碳,从而推开一扇通往未来的大门。

That, at least, is the hope of James Irungu Mwangi, a Kenyan environmentalist and development expert, who talks of the opportunity that could be afforded by what he calls “the Great Carbon Valley”. The rift, he argues, has the key attributes that make it attractive for “direct air capture” (DAC) stations to suck carbon dioxide from the air: renewable-energy potential and the right geology for storing carbon.

至少,肯尼亚环境学及发展专家詹姆斯·伊兰古·姆万吉心怀这样的希望。他称这个裂谷为“大碳谷”,大谈其中可以发掘的机会。他认为,这里具备发展可再生能源的潜能和适合碳储存的地质条件,这些关键特性有利于建立“直接空气捕获”工厂,吸收空气中的二氧化碳。

DAC plants need huge amounts of energy. Some of this is in the form of electricity, which is used to run fans blowing air through or over chemicals that absorb carbon dioxide. Much more energy is then needed in the form of heat to make these chemicals belch the gas, which is then compressed for use or storage.

DAC工厂需要大量能源,一部分是电力,用于运行风扇,把空气吹向吸收二氧化碳的化学品,然后还需要多得多的热能让这些化学品释放之前吸收的二氧化碳,再将二氧化碳压缩以供使用或储存。

Because the earth’s crust is thinner than usual along the rift, it has vast geothermal potential. The American government reckons Kenya alone could generate 10.000MW of geothermal power, more than ten times the amount it currently produces. A by-product of such power stations is plenty of waste steam, which can then be used to heat DAC machines. Moreover, since close to 90% of Kenya’s power is renewable, the electricity these machines consume does not contribute to more global warming.

东非大裂谷沿线的地壳较一般地方薄,因此地热潜能巨大。据美国政府估计,仅肯尼亚的地热发电潜力就达到10.000兆瓦,是其目前地热发电量的十倍多。这类发电站的一种副产品是大量废蒸汽,恰好可以用来加热DAC设备。而且由于肯尼亚近90%的电力来自可再生能源,这些设备消耗的电力不会加剧全球变暖。

Capturing carbon dioxide is just part of the process. Next it has to be safely locked away. The rift’s geology is particularly good for this, too. It has bands of porous basalt (a volcanic rock) that stretch across thousands of square kilometres. This makes the region “ideal” for carbon capture and storage, according to a paper published in 2021 by George Otieno Okoko and Lydia Olaka, both of the University of Nairobi. After carbon dioxide has been sucked from the air it is dissolved in water (in the same way one would make sparkling water). This slightly acidic and bubbly liquid is then injected into the rock. There it reacts with the basalt to form carbon-rich minerals—in essence, rocks—which means the gas will not leak back into the atmosphere.

捕获二氧化碳只是整个过程中的一步。接下来还要把这些二氧化碳牢牢封存。东非大裂谷的地质条件在这方面也是得天独厚。它有绵延数千平方公里的多孔玄武岩(一种火山岩)地带。内罗毕大学的乔治·奥蒂诺·奥克克和莉迪亚·奥拉卡在2021年发表的一篇论文指出,这使得该地区成为碳捕获和储存的“理想”之选。从空气中捕获的二氧化碳会被溶于水中(与制造气泡水的方法相同)。再把这种带气泡的弱酸性液体注入岩石中。在那里,液体会与玄武岩发生反应,形成富含碳元素的矿物(实际上就是岩石),意味着这其中的二氧化碳不会再泄露回大气中。

 

单词:

1.tectonic

英/ tekˈtɒnɪk /美/ tekˈtɑːnɪk /

adj.[地质] 构造的;建筑的;地壳构造上的

2.canyon

英/ ˈkænjən /美/ ˈkænjən /

n.(两边为峭壁、谷底通常有溪流的)峡谷

      综上是“2024考研英语同源外刊:东非大碳谷!”,希望对备战2024考研考生们有所帮助!让我们乘风破浪,终抵彼岸,考研加油!

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