你和一棵银杏树可以帮助科学家研究气候变化

你和一棵银杏树可以帮助科学家研究气候变化

Most of us can't do much to stop climate change, but doing a little is still better than nothing. And along with the many lifestyle changes that can shrink our carbon footprints, one undervalued way to help is by serving as a citizen scientist. This August, if you have some free time and legal access to a ginkgo tree, there's an easy way to help researchers study this increasingly hot mess.

我们大多数人都无法为阻止气候变化做太多，但做一点总比什么都不做强。随着许多生活方式的改变，我们的碳足迹也在不断缩小，一种被低估的帮助方式就是成为一名公民科学家。今年8月，如果你有一些自由时间和合法途径获得一棵银杏树，有一个简单的方法可以帮助研究人员研究这种越来越热的混乱。

Because ginkgo trees haven't changed much in all that time, they're in a unique position to help us learn what Earth was like many millions of years ago — and what it might be like in the coming centuries. The long continuity of ginkgos makes it easier for scientists to compare modern specimens with prehistoric remains, which can reveal how Earth's atmosphere has changed naturally over time, and how today's sped-up climate change might affect plant life (and, by extension, us) in the near future.

由于银杏树在这段时间里没有发生太大的变化，它们处于一个独特的位置，帮助我们了解数百万年前的地球是什么样子的——以及未来几个世纪的地球可能是什么样子的。银杏的长时间连续性使科学家更容易将现代标本与史前遗迹进行比较，这可以揭示地球大气如何随着时间的推移发生自然变化，以及今天加速的气候变化如何在不久的将来影响植物生命(进而影响我们)。

Ginkgo trees have distinctive fan-shaped leaves, which are green all summer before turning a vivid yellow in autumn. (Photo: V.apl/Shutterstock)

For the other part of the project, researchers are relying on help from citizen scientists. This is a multiphase initiative, as Meilan Solly reports for Smithsonian Magazine, including a long-term component as well as one that only runs through August.

在项目的另一部分，研究人员正依赖于公民科学家的帮助。正如美兰·索利为《史密森尼》杂志所报道的那样，这是一个多项计划，包括一项长期计划，以及一项仅持续到8月的计划。

This project's main goal is to clarify the relationship between atmospheric CO2 levels and two kinds of cells — stomatal and epidermal — in ginkgo leaves. Once that's fully understood, fossilized ginkgo leaves should provide more reliable climate proxies, the researchers explain, a term for data sources that can reveal details about climates of the distant past.

本项目的主要目的是阐明大气CO2水平与银杏叶中两种细胞(气孔细胞和表皮细胞)之间的关系。研究人员解释说，一旦完全理解了这一点，银杏叶化石应该能提供更可靠的气候代用指标，这是一个可以揭示遥远过去气候细节的数据源的术语。

In the greenhouse experiment, the researchers are growing 15 ginkgo trees at various CO2 levels. As they monitor those leaves, though, they're also seeking a much wider dataset beyond one group of just 15 trees. And that's where citizen science comes in.

在温室实验中，研究人员在不同的二氧化碳浓度下种植了15棵银杏树。然而，当他们监测这些叶子时，他们也在寻找一个更广泛的数据集，而不仅仅是一组15棵树。这就是公民科学的用武之地。

If you'd like to help perform that role, there are a few things to know before getting started. You'll need to join the project on iNaturalist (which is free), either via its website or mobile app, and you'll need a smartphone or a computer plus a camera. Your ginkgo tree must be at least 10 feet tall, and should either be located on public property or private property that you have permission to use for this purpose. Identify whether the tree is male or female (the project site offers tips to help), then take a photo of the entire tree and one of its base, which you'll post to iNaturalist. You'll also need to gently collect at least six leaves from a single short cluster, secure them in a "cardboard ginkgo sandwich" and then mail them off to the researchers.

如果你想帮助完成这个角色，在开始之前有几件事要知道。你需要通过iNaturalist的网站或移动应用程序(这是免费的)加入这个项目，你需要一部智能手机或一台电脑，外加一台相机。您的银杏树必须至少有10英尺高，并且应该位于公共财产或私人财产，您有权用于此目的。确定这棵树是雄的还是雌的(该网站提供了一些帮助)，然后给整棵树和它的一个底座拍张照片，你会把它贴到《自然主义者》上。你还需要轻轻从一个短簇中收集至少六片叶子，把它们放在一个“硬纸板银杏三明治”里，然后寄给研究人员。

Another option is an online tool for stomatal counting, letting anyone with an internet connection help researchers by counting stomata in photos of both modern and fossilized ginkgo leaves. This can be tricky, but the tool offers tips and tutorials, and also features an an "easier count" mode to help you hone your skills before trying the more advanced stomatal count. According to the site, more than 3,300 volunteers have completed nearly 25,000 classifications since the project launched in 2017.

另一种选择是一个在线的气孔计数工具，任何人只要有网络连接，都可以通过在现代和银杏叶化石的照片中计数气孔来帮助研究人员。这可能有点棘手，但该工具提供了提示和教程，并提供了一个“更简单的计数”模式，帮助您在尝试更高级的气孔计数之前磨练您的技能。该网站称，自2017年该项目启动以来，已有3300多名志愿者完成了近2.5万个分类。

This kind of research is becoming "vital" for climate science, Soul tells Solly, since it lets us collect more data in less time about an increasingly urgent issue. While that's generally good for anyone on the planet, projects like this can also help more people get interested and involved with science. And of all possible scientific topics, this one needs all the enthusiasm it can get.

索尔告诉索利，这种研究对气候科学来说正变得“至关重要”，因为它让我们在更短的时间内收集到更多关于一个日益紧迫的问题的数据。虽然这对地球上的每个人来说都是好事，但像这样的项目也可以帮助更多的人对科学感兴趣并参与其中。在所有可能的科学话题中，这个话题需要所有的热情。

"The real benefit [for volunteers] is to participate in a project that's actually answering useful questions about our changing climate," Soul says, "which is one of the most pressing issues that we're facing at the moment."

索尔说:“(对志愿者来说)真正的好处是参与一个项目，它实际上是在回答有关气候变化的有用问题，这是我们目前面临的最紧迫的问题之一。”