处于气候变化研究丑闻中心的一所英国大学宣布,将对其科学家涉嫌操纵全球变暖数据的指控展开广泛调查。
The British university at the heart of a scandal over climate-change research announced a wide-ranging probe into allegations that its scientists manipulated data about global warming.
这项独立调查是东英吉利大学(University of East Anglia)为了消除涉及其研究人员的数千封电子邮件被黑客窃取所引发的轰动而采取的措施之一。电子邮件中曾建议压制气候变化怀疑论者的观点。
The independent review is part of efforts by the University of East Anglia to damp the furor over thousands of hacked private emails involving its researchers, which suggested efforts to squelch the views of climate-change skeptics.
而就在几天后,世界各国领导人将在哥本哈根参加联合国主办的峰会,其目标是加强遏制温室气体排放,减缓全球变暖的国际行动。
The scandal blew up just days before world leaders are set to meet in Copenhagen for a United Nations-sponsored summit aimed at boosting international efforts to curb greenhouse-gas emissions and slow global warming.
气候变化怀疑论者获得了这些电子邮件,称这证明了人为造成的全球变暖并不像通常所说的那么严重的观点。
Climate-change skeptics have seized on the emails, saying they prove that the case for man-made global warming wasn't as definitive as generally claimed.
处于风暴中心的科学家琼斯(Phil Jones)周二说,他决定辞去东英吉利大学气候研究中心主任一职,等待调查结果。气候研究中心仍是有关全球气温变化数据最重要的数据库。
The scientist in the eye of the storm, Phil Jones, said Tuesday he was stepping aside as the director of the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit pending the outcome of the investigation. CRU maintains one of the world's most important data sets on how global temperatures have changed.
东英吉利大学说,调查将研究所有泄漏的电子邮件来往,寻找是否存在证据表明,数据因为与可接受的科学做法相违背而受到操纵或压制,并可能让研究结果受到质疑。
The review will examine all the leaked email exchanges to check for evidence that data were manipulated or suppressed in ways that are 'at odds with acceptable scientific practice and may therefore call into question any of the research outcomes,' the university said.
英国方面的调查将于明年春季完成,调查还将审核气候研究中心对发布数据和研究结果,以及交由同行评估的政策和做法,并将了解该中心是如何根据英国《信息自由法》的要求处理查询的。
The U.K. probe, to be completed next spring, will also review the climatic research unit's policies and practices on disseminating data and research findings and subjecting them to peer review, and look at how the unit handled requests under Britain's Freedom of Information Act.
这似乎是对有关该中心保管气温数据,拒绝与其他研究人员分享的指责所作出的反应。琼斯博士在一封电子邮件中要求别人删除一些邮件,尤其是在一位气候变化怀疑论者根据《信息自由法》提出查询一些数据之后。
That appears to be a response to claims that the unit hoarded temperature data, refusing to share it with other researchers. In one email, Dr. Jones asked others to delete certain emails, apparently after some data were requested by a climate-change skeptic under the Freedom of Information Act.