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1、第二十四篇UndergroundCoalFires—aLoomingCatastrophe1CoalburningdeepundergroundinChina，IndiaandIndonesiaisthreateningtheenvironmentandhumanlife,scientistshavewarned.2Theselarge-scaleundergroundblazescausethegroundtemperaturetoheatupandkillsurroundingvegetation,pr
2、oducegreenhousegasesandcanevenigniteforestfires,apanel3ofscientiststoldtheannualmeetingoftheAmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofScienceinDenver4.Theresultingreleaseofpoisonouselementslikearsenicandmercurycanalsopollutelocalwatersourcesandsoils,theywarned
3、.“Coalfiresareaglobalcatastrophe,”saidAssociateProfessorGlennStracherofEastGeorgiaCollegeinSwainsboro,USA.Butsurprisinglyfewpeopleknowaboutthem.Coalcanheatuponitsown5,andeventuallycatchfireandburn,ifthereisacontinuousoxygensupply.Theheatproducedisnotcaused
4、todisappearandundertherightcombinationsofsunlightandoxygen,cantriggerspontaneous6catchingfireandburning.Thiscanoccurunderground,incoalstockpiles7,abandonedminesorevenascoalistransported.SuchfiresinChinaconsume8upto9200milliontonesofcoalperyear,delegateswer
5、etold.Incomparison,theU.S.economyconsumesaboutonebilliontonesofcoalannually,saidStracher,whoseanalysisofthelikelyimpactofcoalfireshasbeenacceptedforpublicationintheInternationaljournalofCoalEcology.Onceunderway,10coalfirescanburnfordecades,evencenturies.In
6、theprocess,theyreleaselargevolumesofgreenhousegases,poisonousfumesandblackparticlesintotheatmosphere.Themembersofthepaneldiscussedtheimpactthesefiresmaybehavingonglobalandregionalclimatechange,andagreedthattheundergroundnatureofthefiresmakesthemdifficultto
7、detect.Oneofthemembersofthepanel,AssistantProfessorPaulVanDijkoftheInternationalInstituteforGeo-InformationScienceandEarthObservationintheNetherlands,hasbeenworkingwiththeChinesegovernmenttodetectandmonitorfiresinthenorthernregionsofthecountry.Ultimately,t
8、heremotesensingandothertechniquesshouldallowscientiststoestimatehowmuchcarbondioxidethesefiresareemitting.Onesuggestedmethodofcontaining11thefireswaspresentedbyGaryColaizzi,oftheengineeringfirmGoodson,whichha
