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Greenland's glaciers continue to melt away because of rising global temperatures.
由于全球气温上升，格陵兰岛的冰川继续融化。
But the melting ice might provide a way to lessen the impact of climate change.
但融化的冰可能会提供一种减缓气候变化影响的方法。
As the ice melts, it deposits tiny silt.
当冰融化时，会有微量泥沙沉积。
Silt is very small sand, mud or other material carried by running water.
泥沙是指流水携带的非常细小的沙子、泥或其他物质。
"It's a kind of wonder material," said Minik Rosing.
米尼克·罗辛说：“这是一种神奇的材料。”
He is a native Greenlander and professor at the University of Copenhagen.
他是土生土长的格陵兰人，也是哥本哈根大学的教授。
Called glacial rock flour, the silt is crushed to tiny particles by the weight of the melting ice.
这种泥沙被称为冰川岩粉。它被融化的冰压碎成微小的颗粒。
One billion tons of the silt is deposited it per year on Greenland, the world’s largest island.
每年有10亿吨泥沙沉积在世界上最大的岛屿——格陵兰岛上。
Rosing and his team have found the nutrient-rich mud improves plant growth when used in farms.
罗辛和他的团队发现，在农场使用这种营养丰富的泥可以促进植物生长。
It also absorbs carbon dioxide from the air in the process.
在这个过程中，它还能吸收空气中的二氧化碳。
Researchers from the University of Ghana were able to increase corn production by 30 percent using glacial rock flour.
加纳大学的研究人员利用冰川岩粉将玉米产量提高了30%。
The flour decreased the effect of rain and heat on poor farmland.
冰川岩粉减少了雨水和高温对贫瘠农田的影响。
The tiny size of the silt's particles is what allows plants more access to nutrients, including potassium, calcium and silicon compared to normal, rocky farmland.
与普通的多石的农田相比，这种泥沙颗粒的微小尺寸使植物能够获得更多的养分，包括钾、钙和硅。
"We are the stage in this project where we definitely know that it works," Rosing said.
罗辛说：“这个项目进行到目前这个阶段，我们肯定知道它是有效的。”
"There are many barriers between this and a big scale industry, but the potential is definitely there."
“虽然在这个项目与大规模工业之间存在许多障碍，但潜力是绝对存在的。”
The tiny size of the silt's particles also helps speed up a natural process in which rocks absorb carbon dioxide.
泥沙颗粒的微小尺寸也有助于加速岩石吸收二氧化碳的自然过程。
When the silt dissolves in rainwater and releases its nutrients, a chemical reaction occurs that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
当泥沙溶解在雨水中并释放出营养物质时，就会发生化学反应，并吸收大气中的二氧化碳。
The silt is eventually deposited in the sea.
泥沙最终会沉积在海里。
The idea of putting tiny rock in farmland is not new.
在农田里放置小石头的想法并不新鲜。
But the method has gained more interest because of the discovery that it can absorb CO2.
但由于发现它可以吸收二氧化碳，这种方法吸引了更多关注。
"That realization has been a catalyst for a lot more research in this area," said David Beerling.
戴维·比尔林说：“这一认识促进了这一领域的更多研究。”
He is a professor at the University of Sheffield and head author of a study on crushed basalt, a tiny volcanic rock.
他是谢菲尔德大学的教授，也是一项关于破碎玄武岩的研究的主要作者，玄武岩是一种微小的火山岩。
The study found that spreading finely crushed basalt on fields, as well as helping crops to grow, removes CO2 from the atmosphere.
该研究发现，在田里撒上粉碎的玄武岩，除了可以帮助作物生长，还可以去除大气中的二氧化碳。
And it does so at a cost about equal to other methods of carbon capture.
这样做的成本与其他碳捕获方法的成本大致相当。
Such detailed research has not been done for glacial rock flour.
目前还没有对冰川岩粉做过如此详细的研究。
But tests by the scientists in Copenhagen found that one ton of glacial rock flour would accept between 250 and 300 kilograms of CO2 when applied to fields.
但哥本哈根的科学家们的测试发现，把一吨冰川岩粉撒在田地里可以吸收250至300公斤二氧化碳。
That may also permit farmers to sell that as carbon credits.
这也可能允许农民将其作为碳信用出售。
Greenland's new government hopes the silt can one day can help the economy as well as permit the country to move away from some kinds of mining.
格陵兰岛的新政府希望有一天这种泥沙可以帮助经济发展，并使该国摆脱某些类型的采矿。
"We don't need to blast off the top of a mountain or build a processing plant," Greenland's resources minister told possible investors in September.
格陵兰岛资源部长在9月份告诉潜在投资者：“我们不需要炸开山顶，也不需要建造加工厂。”
Government officials will present the mineral at a mining meeting in Vancouver early next year, but say commercial mining and use could be years away.
格陵兰岛政府官员将于明年年初在温哥华举行的矿业展览会上展示这种矿物，但他们表示商业开采和使用可能还需要几年时间。
The scientists at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Ghana say success could improve food security and economic inequality.
哥本哈根大学和加纳大学的科学家说，这种泥沙的成功应用可以改善粮食安全和经济不平等。
Good farmland is not equally spread around the world.
全球良田分布不均。
Studies show that the best farmland, which is across parts of North America and Europe, was covered by ice during the last ice age.
研究表明，如今北美和欧洲部分地区最好的农田在上一个冰河时代是被冰覆盖的。
Just as in Greenland today, the thick layer of ice has made the soil healthier.
就像今天的格陵兰岛一样，厚厚的冰层使土壤变得更健康。
"In Northern Europe, we think the reason we're better off than the rest of the world is that we are so much smarter than everyone else.
罗辛说：“在北欧，我们认为我们比世界其他地方情况更好的原因是我们比其他人聪明得多。
In fact, we just have better soil," Rosing said.
确切地说，我们只是有了更健康的土壤。”
I'm Dan Novak.
丹·诺瓦克为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
