The sea-ice extent on 10 September stood at 4.14 million sq km, some way short of the 3.39 million sq km record low in 2012.

　　9月10日观测到的北极海冰面积为414万平方公里，只比2012年的最低记录339万平方公里略多。

　　Arctic sea-ice cover grows each autumn and winter, and shrinks each spring and summer.

　　北极海冰覆盖面积每年秋冬两季就会增加，到了春夏两季就会减少。

　　It has long been regarded as a sensitive indicator of change to the Earth’s climatic system.

　　长久以来，北极海冰覆盖面积一直被视为地球气候系统变化的一个敏感指标。

　　The ice extent has been tracked by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado, using satellite measurements.

　　位于美国科罗拉多州博尔德的国家冰雪数据中心(NSIDC)一直在监测北极冰面面积，利用卫星来进行测量。

　　However, the centre cautioned that the figures were preliminary, adding that changing winds could still push the ice extent lower.

　　但是，该中心警告说这些只是初步数据，不断变化的风可能会使得冰面覆盖面积更小。

　　Ted Scambos, NSIDC lead scientist, commented: "It really suggests that in the next few years, with more typical warmer conditions, we will see some very dramatic further losses."

　　美国国家冰雪数据中心首席科学家泰德说道：“这真的表明，在接下来的几年里，随着更多典型的、更加温暖的气候，我们未来将会有一些非常巨大的损失。”

　　This year’s minimum is seen as something of a surprise as scientists believed that the low atmospheric pressure and cloudy skies in June and July had slowed down the melt.

　　今年北极冰盖面积如此之小很令人吃惊，因为科学家们认为，今年6、7月份的低气压和云层已经放缓了冰盖的融化速度。

　　北极冰面萎缩_英语新闻

　　"It’s pretty remarkable that this year’s sea-ice minimum extent ended up the second lowest, after how the melt progressed in June and July," said Walt Meier, a sea ice scientist with Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

　　美国NASA戈达德太空飞行中心海冰科学家沃尔特·迈耶说道：“在今年6、7月份冰盖融化放缓的情况下，北极海冰覆盖面积仍然下降到了历史第二低点，这真是令人吃惊。”

　　"June and July are usually key months for melt because that’s when you have 24 hours a day of sunlight - and this year we lost melt momentum during those two months."

　　“通常来说，6、7月份是北极冰盖融化最为关键的两个月，因为那时北极处于极昼，24小时都有阳光照射--而今年这两个月冰盖融化的速度要比往年慢一些。”

　　Record global land and sea surface temperatures in 2015 that continued to shatter records well into 2016 had led many to believe that the Arctic melt would reach a new low mark this year. But some scientists, including experts from Reading University in the UK, argued that their analysis of melt ponds on ice floes indicated that 2016 would not beat 2012.

　　2015年全球海陆表面温度持续打破记录，并且延续到了2016年，从而使得很多人认为今年北极冰盖面积将会达到一个新的历史最低点。但是许多科学家，包括来自英国雷丁大学的专家，驳斥了这一说法，他们指出分析显示2016年的冰川融化面积不会达到2012年那样多。

　　While tying for the second lowest minimum in the satellite era, this year’s figure is in fact well above the 2012 melt, which saw the ice cover fall to 3.41 million sq km (1.32 million sq mi) - 50% lower than the 1979-2000 average.

　　但是在卫星观测时代，海冰覆盖面积历史第二小其实意味着2016年的冰盖融化面积要远多于2012年。2012年是北极海冰覆盖面积最少的一年，冰盖面积降到了341万平方公里(约合132万平方英里)，比1979至2000年的平均值少了一半。

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