The most obvious effect the Moon has on the Earth can be seen in the ocean tides. As the Earth rotates each day, the Moon's gravity pulls the water on the nearest side of Earth towards it, creating a bulge. The sea bulges on the opposite side too due to centrifugal force caused by the Earth's rotation. The Earth rotates beneath these watery bulges, resulting in the two high tides and two low tides we see each day. (節錄至Katherine Latham文章)
tide 名詞 n. 潮汐
high/rising tide漲潮
low or falling tide/ebb退潮
rotate 動詞 v. 旋轉;名詞 n. rotation【天】自轉
gravity 名詞 n. 地心吸力
bulge 名詞 n. 腫脹、凸塊;動詞 v. 使膨脹,使凸起
centrifugal 形容詞 adj. 離心的
centrifugal effect 離心作用
centrifugal force 離心力
result it 片語 ph. 導致
Every 18.6 years the Moon's orbit "wobbles" between a maximum and minimum of plus or minus 5 degrees relative to the Earth's equator. This cycle is called the lunar nodal cycle. When the lunar planetilts away from the equatorial plane, the tides on Earth grow smaller. When the Moon's orbit is more in line with the Earth's equator, the tides are exaggerated. (節錄至Katherine Latham文章)
orbit 名詞 n. (天體等的) 運行軌道;動詞 v. 繞軌道運行
wobble 動詞 v. 使搖晃、使不穩定;名詞 n. 擺動、不穩定
equator 名詞 n. 赤道;equatorial 形容詞 adj. 赤道的
nodal 形容詞 adj. 節的
plane名詞 n. 平面
tilt 動詞 v. 使傾斜、偏向 tilt away/to the left/to one side 偏離/向左傾斜/一邊傾斜
exaggerate 動詞 v. 誇大、使擴大、使增大
Nasa says that rising sea levels due to climate change, combined with the influence of the lunar nodal cycle will cause a dramatic increase in the number of high-tide floods during the 2030s. These floods, exacerbated by the Moon, are set to damage infrastructure and change coastlines. (節錄至Katherine Latham文章)
美國宇航局 NASA 表示,由於氣候變化導致的海平面上升,再加上月球交點週期的影響,本世紀 30 年代的漲潮洪水數量將急劇增加。月球加劇了這些洪水,將破壞基礎設施並改變海岸線。
combine 動詞 v. 使結合、使聯合 (+with)
influence 名詞 n. 影響
dramatic 形容詞 adj. 戲劇般的
exacerbate 動詞 v. 使惡化
infrastructure 名詞 n. 公共建設、基礎建設
coastline 名詞 n. 海岸線
月球交點週期,威脅沿海生態
The lunar nodal cycle might be set to raise many challenges for humans, but for wildlife in coastal ecosystems it could be an existential threat. When the nodal cycle is at its peak, the high tides flood mosquitohabitat further landward. Typically, there are fewer mosquitoes at the peak of the cycle. It's not just mosquitos that are affected – their abundance is a proxy for the welfare of numerous other species. (節錄至Katherine Latham文章)
peak 名詞 n. 高峰、山頂
mosquito名詞 n. 蚊子
habitat 名詞 n. (動物的)棲息地、(植物的)產地
abundance 名詞 n. 豐富、大量
proxy 名詞 n. 代理人、取代物;to act as sb.'s proxy 做某人的代表
welfare 名詞 n. 福利、幸福、健康安樂
species 名詞 n. 種類、物種;endangered species 瀕危物種
With increased flooding due to the Moon wobble and sea level rise, freshwaterwetlands may also face a profound change. Freshwater aquatic species are also greatly impacted by increasing salinity and pushed upstream to remain in freshwater. Salinization of freshwater coastal wetlands will continue to increase with rising sea levels – and the more frequent flooding is, the more the wetlands will be impacted by the salinity. (節錄至Katherine Latham文章)