Hello, and welcome back to all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Jacob Ingram.

And I'm Nancy Sun.

In this episode, we'll be talking about how Taiwan's weather is changing, and
crackling sounds on the planet Mars!

And today's News Flash word is: Breakthrough.

Stay tuned for those stories.
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海水升溫正在改變台灣天氣
Hotter Oceans Change Taiwan's Weather

Have you ever noticed Taiwan's fast, sudden afternoon rainstorms?

Scientists now say those storms might change.

A team from National Taiwan Normal University discovered that we may get
fewer afternoon thunderstorms - but when they do happen, the rain could be
much stronger.

To find out why, they used a computer program that makes detailed weather
maps.

This helped them see how warmer or cooler ocean water could change the way it
rains in Taiwan.

Professor Huang, who led the team, has studied how climate change (氣候變遷)
shapes local rain for many years.

At first, she looked at big global wind patterns (大尺度環流), but later
learned that even Taiwan's small afternoon rain is linked to worldwide
climate systems.

Her team joined the national project TCCIP - the Taiwan Climate Change
Projection and Information Platform (臺灣氣候變遷推估與資訊平台計畫).

They used a method called dynamical downscaling (動力降尺度).

This method turns large, low-detail climate data into small, high-detail maps
that show local weather more clearly.
這個方法把原本範圍很大、細節很少的氣候資料，轉換成更小、解析度更高的氣候地圖，讓科學家能更清楚觀察台灣當地的天氣變化。

The researchers tested four different ocean-temperature situations.

All four showed the same trend: fewer afternoon convective rains (對流雨),
but rainfall that comes down faster and heavier.

This means Taiwan could face more short-term flooding (短時間淹水) and
stronger bursts of rain.

Professor Huang says that even though Taiwan is small, it's still part of the
global climate system.

When large-scale air patterns or ocean temperatures change, the amount of
water vapor (水氣) reaching Taiwan also changes.

That affects conditions for afternoon storms.

She warns that as the climate warms, Taiwan must rethink its
disaster-prevention (防災) plans.

We also need to prepare for intense afternoon thunderstorms in the future.
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火星上的霹靂聲
Crackling Sounds on Mars

Let's take a trip far into space - all the way to the planet Mars (火星).

Scientists think they may have recorded something amazing there: lightning
(閃電) on another planet.

To study Mars, NASA (美國太空總署) sends robot explorers, since humans cannot
go there yet.

One of these is the Perseverance rover (毅力號探測車) - a robot car that
studies rocks, weather, and the environment.

It also has a small microphone to record sounds on Mars.

It was mainly designed to hear the rover's lasers, but recently, scientists
heard something unexpected: crackling sounds (霹靂聲) that sounded like tiny
lightning.

A research team from France found 55 cases of what they call "mini lightning"
over two Martian years.
法國研究團隊在兩個火星年中，發現了 55 次他們稱為「迷你閃電」的現象。

Most happened during dust storms (沙塵暴) or dust devils (塵旋風).

That's when strong winds blow sand and dust into the air.

These sparks were very small - only a few centimeters long - and they
happened close to the microphone.

The sparks come from static electricity (靜電), like the tiny shock you feel
after rubbing your feet on a carpet.

On Mars, fast-moving dust can easily create these tiny sparks.

Scientists have been searching for lightning on Mars for 50 years, so this
discovery is exciting.

One researcher said it feels like finding a 'missing piece of the puzzle'
(關鍵拼圖).

But some scientists are still unsure.

A researcher from Cardiff University said the evidence is strong, but the
lightning was only heard, not seen.

Future missions will need better equipment to prove it.

Even so, this discovery helps scientists understand more about Mars' thin,
carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere (火星的稀薄且富含二氧化碳的大氣層).

These tiny sparks are not dangerous to astronauts, but they might affect
sensitive equipment (敏感儀器) on future missions.
這些微小的電火花對太空人不會造成危險，但可能會影響未來任務中某些需要高度敏感的儀器設備。

Perseverance has recorded other Mars sounds too, like its wheels rolling over
rocks and the spinning blades of the Ingenuity helicopter (機智號直升機).

The rover is still searching for signs of old life on the red planet and
collecting rock samples.

NASA hopes to bring these rocks back to Earth someday.
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Scientists studied how warming oceans may change Taiwan's afternoon rain.

They found we might get fewer thunderstorms, but stronger rain when they
happen.

Global air and sea changes can affect Taiwan's local weather.

Taiwan needs to prepare for more intense afternoon rain in the future.
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And...

Scientists recorded strange crackling sounds on Mars using a robot rover's
microphone.

They think the sounds are tiny lightning created during dust storms and dust
devils.

The lightning is small and not dangerous to people, but it may affect
equipment.

This discovery helps scientists learn more about Mars' weather and atmosphere.
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Today's vocabulary word is: breakthrough (突破)

A breakthrough is an important and sudden discovery (發現) or progress
(進步/進展) that helps solve a big problem.

We often hear this word in science, medicine, and technology - for example, a
scientific breakthrough might help doctors treat a new disease.
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If you have a fun fact, a joke or interesting news story you'd like to share
with us, record your message and send us your Bite-Sized Break to
newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might hear it in an episode.

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!