一项研究警告说，冰盖融化、土地露出，导致更少地阳光被反射走、更多的热量被土地吸收，从而使温度进一步升高。
Researchers used climate modeling and data for the Middle Miocene period - which was 13 to 17 million years ago - when carbon dioxide levels and global temperatures were similar to those expected at the end of the 21st century.
研究人员使用了中新世中期(1300万至1700万年前)的气候模型和数据，当时二氧化碳水平和全球温度与21世纪末的预期相似。
They found that the Antarctic ice sheet was more unstable in its past than initially thought.
他们发现南极冰原在过去比最初想象的更不稳定。
If the ice sheet becomes unstable, it becomes harder for it to reform and could eventually collapse, especially if the climate continues to warm.
如果冰盖变得不稳定，则可能最终塌陷，尤其是在气候持续变暖的情况下。
The research, published in Nature Geoscience on Thursday, suggests that if global temperatures continue to rise, the ice sheet could give way to the land underneath it.
周四发表在《自然地球科学》上的这项研究表明，如果全球气温继续上升，冰盖可能会融化，陆地露出地面。
This would lead to higher temperatures and greater amounts of rain in the region, further accelerating the ice loss.
这会导致该地区气温升高，降雨量增加，进一步加速冰的流失。
'When an ice sheet melts, the newly exposed ground beneath is less reflective, and local temperatures become warmer,' the study's lead author, University of Exeter professor Dr. Catherine Bradshaw, said in a statement.
该研究的主要作者、埃克塞特大学教授凯瑟琳·布拉德肖博士在一份声明中说，冰盖融化后，下面新暴露的地面反射性减弱，当地温度也会升高。
'This can dramatically change weather patterns,' Bradshaw continued.
布拉德肖继续说，这会极大地改变气候模式。
