世界最大冰山已不复存在

The iceberg that was for a time the biggest in the world is no more. A68, as it was known, covered an area of nearly 6,000 sq km when it broke away from Antarctica in 2017. That's like a small country.
代号为A68的世界最大冰山已融化分解。A68冰山于2017年同南极洲大陆冰盖分离时，面积接近6000平方公里，与一个袖珍小国相当。

But satellites show the mega-berg has now virtually gone, broken into countless small fragments that the US National Ice Center says are no longer worth tracking.
但最新卫星照片显示，这座冰山如今已经不复存在，融化分解成大量小冰山。美国国家冰雪数据中心表示，这些小冰山已没有追踪价值。

[Photo/Agencies]

Most glaciologists regard A68 as the product of a very natural process, and it cannot be presented as a poster child for human-induced climate change.
大多数冰川学家认为，A68冰山的消失是非常自然的过程，与人类活动引发的气候变化无关。

British Antarctic Survey also put a couple of robots in the ocean in February to study up close some of A68's latter-day segments.
今年2月，英国南极调查局也在海洋中放置了两个机器人，试图近距离对A68冰山的碎片进行跟踪研究。

One went missing soon after, and the other actually got stuck under the ice for two weeks before managing to free itself and continue its observations.
其中一个不久后失联，另一个在冰下被困了两周后才得以脱身继续观察。

This robot will be recovered in May to pull down its data.
这个机器人将于5月被打捞上来。

It should reveal information about how icebergs affect their surroundings by, for example, dumping huge volumes of fresh water into the ocean as they melt.
科学家将通过该设备收集到的数据，进一步研究冰山消融过程中向海洋释出大量淡水会对周边环境产生什么样的影响。