LadyLee的學習筆記小行星

南極vs北極 究竟哪邊比較冷?

你已決定好在下個假期去某個極端的地方,最好是沒有任何朋友造訪過的地方。有鑑於這個標準,你便開始思考世界上最偏遠的地方。經過仔細考慮後,你覺得北極和南極都符合要求。畢竟,平常很難近距離接觸北極的北熊和南極的企鵝的。不過,你不確定極端氣候的狀況,因此決定選擇兩者中較溫暖的地方。但是哪一個比較溫暖呢?     快速瀏覽一下兩的平均溫度,你就會有明確的答案了。北極比南極還暖。北極的夏季平均溫度是人們還能應付的0°C,而南極的夏季溫度相對冷上許多的28°C。同時,北極和南極的冬季平均溫度分別為-40°C和-76°C。是什麼造成這樣的差異呢?     這可歸結為每個區域的特性。北極主要海洋,有少量的土地和大量的冰。豐富的海水(水溫接近或在冰以上)有助於保持氣溫相對溫暖。同時,南極是塊多山的陸地,被一大片厚厚的冰層覆蓋。這在空氣和較暖的水之間形成了屏    障。強風和低降雨增添了寒意。此外,刺眼的白雪反射了陽光及其能提供的任何溫暖。    現在你知道下個假期應該去哪裡了吧。記得找個人跟你一起去,並給他們看看這個用的資訊    08.05 科普園地 Which Pole Is Colder?   
   You've decided that for your next holiday, you want to go somewhere extreme, preferably to a place none of your friends has visited. With that criterion in mind, you start thinking of the most remote spots in the world. After careful consideration, you decide that the North Pole and the South Pole both "fit the bill". After all, it's hard to get up close and personal with polar bears in the Arctic and penguins in Antarctica. However, you're not sure about the extreme climate, so you decide to pick the warmer of the two. But which one is that?
    A quick glance at the average temperatures of the two poles provides a clear answer. The North Pole is warmer than the South Pole. The average summertime temperature of the Arctic is a quite manageable 0°C, while the summer temperature in Antarctica is a rather bitter -28°C. Meanwhile, the mean winter temperatures in the North and South Pole are -40°C and -76°C, respectively. What accounts for the difference?
     It comes down to the specifics of each region. The Arctic is mainly ocean with a little bit of land and quite a bit of ice. The abundance of ocean water -- the water temperature being near or above freezing--helps keep the air temperature relatively warm. Meanwhile, Antarctica is mountainous land and is covered in a thick ice sheet. This creates a barrier between the air and the warmer water. Strong winds and low precipitation add to the cold. Furthermore, the blinding white snow reflects the sunlight and any warmth it would offer.
     Now you know which place you should go for your next holiday. Remember to find someone to go with you and show them this useful information.

VERTICAL FARMING: Taking Food Production in a Different Direction
Can high-tech indoor farming towers save the world?  
In theory, CEA allows growers to make predictions regarding harvest dates and yields with a high degree of accuracy while producing crops year round. A key feature of these highly-controlled environments is their soilless growing systems, meaning soil is not the medium which the plants are grown. Instead, plants grow in water or air.
One kind of soilless growing system uses water to deliver nutrients to the plants. Another uses fish to supply fertilizer to the water that feeds the plants. A third kind of growing system sprays a nutrient-rich mist on the plant roots, which are suspended in the air.
Much as vertical farming seems to have great potential, it still has significant challenges to overcome before it can truly become the future of food production. Building materials, operating costs and labor are all still too expensive for vertical farming to be viable. The controlled. indoor environment presents another problem: In the absence of insects, pollination becomes a time-consuming and costly manual process.
Only time will tell if we can figure out a way to make large-scale vertical farming the answer to our future food production needs.
    理論上，CEA讓耕種者一整年都能生產作物，同時還能針對收成日期與產量進行高準確度的預測。這些高度控制的環境有一個關鍵要點，就是無土培系統,意即植物不是以土壤為生長媒介：而是經由水或是空氣耕種。
    其中一種無土栽培系統利用水輸送養分給植物；另一種是透過魚為栽培植物的水提供肥料。第三種栽培系統則是對著懸掛在空中的植物根部噴灑富含養分的霧氣。
   儘管垂直農耕看似潛力十足，不過仍須克服極大挑戰，才能真正成為糧食生產的未來。建造材料、營運成本以及力支出都太過昂貴，使得垂直農耕尚且無法實行。受控制的室內環境還帶來另外一個問題：少了昆蟲，授粉將成為一項耗時且費錢的人工過程。
   只有時間能證明，人類是否能夠出方法讓大規模垂直農耕滿足未來糧食生產的需求。

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