Climate change could have been responsible for bringing down the Roman Empire, scientists believe.
据科学家们的推测，天气变化或是导致壮盛一时的罗马帝国覆灭的“首恶”。
Researchers studied ancient tree growth rings to show links between climate change and major events in human history such as migrations, plagues and the rise and fall of empires.
通过对古树年轮的走向的研究之后，科学家们发现，天气的变化与例如人口迁移、瘟疫、王朝兴衰等人类社会的重大历史事件之间都存在着联系。
They discovered that periods of warm, wet weather coincided with period of prosperity, while droughts or varying conditions occurred at times of political upheaval such as the demise of the Roman Empire.
他们发现，在天气热和湿润的时期，社会经济发展呈现出欣欣向荣的景象，而在干旱或其他极端天气的影响下，政治频发，而这便是导致了罗马帝国灭亡的原因。
To match the environmental record with the historical one, researchers looked at more than 7,200 tree fossils from the past 2,500 years.
为了印证环境情况与人类历史之间的关系，科学家们研究了超过7200多块树龄在2500年以上的古树化石。
The study, published in the journal Science, said: 'The rise and fall of past civilizations have been associated with environmental change, mainly due to effects on water supply and agricultural productivity, human health and civil conflict.
这篇发表于《科学》杂志的报告称，人类文明的兴衰起伏总是与天气环境的变化密切相关，这主要便现在水源供给、农业生产、人体健康和社会冲突方面。
'Wet and warm summers occurred during periods of Roman and Medieval prosperity.
在夏季热和湿润的时期正是罗马和中世纪的繁荣时期。
'Increased climate variability from AD 250 to 600 coincided with the demise of the Western Roman Empire and the turmoil of the Migration Period.
而从公元250年到600年间，天气变法平凡，这正好配合了西罗马帝国的衰落以及动荡的迁移时期的到来。
'Distinct drying in the third century paralleled a period of serious crisis in the western Roman Empire marked by barbarian invasion, political turmoil and economic dislocation in several provinces in Gaul.'
三世纪时爆发大规模的干旱，西罗马帝国在这时惨遭野蛮的进侵，在高卢的很多地区政治局面不稳，经济凋敝。
Oak rings are sensitive to changes in precipitation, and can show changes according to what was happening in the environment.
树木的年轮对于降水量的变化十分的敏感，它记录了不同时期的环境状况以及变化。
The research could also glean signs about what was happening from changes in how many trees were being cut.
这项研究还收集了有关于树木减少所导致的环境改变之间的联系。
The study said: 'Reduced tree harvesting around AD 250 to 400 coincides with the biggest central Europe historical crisis, the Migration Period, a time marked by lasting political turmoil, cultural change and socio-economic instability.
研究称，公元250年到400年间，树木被大量的砍伐，与此同时恰逢欧洲大陆正遭受着有史以来最大的危机，大迁移，此时标志性的社会现象包括了政治更迭、文化变迁以及经历衰退。
'Increasing timber harvest for construction is represented by abundant felling parallel to socio-economic consolidation from the sixth to the ninth centuries.'
因建筑需求所而引发的大规模的伐木行为，正好出现在了社会经济趋于平稳的六世纪到九世纪之间。
The scientists said 'unfavourable climate may have contributed to the spread of the second plaguepandemic, the Black Death, which reduced central Europe's population after AD 1347 by 40 to 60 percent.'
科学家们还表示，不利的天气条件也助涨了第二次的鼠疫大爆发，黑死病，这些流行病的传染导致了1347之后欧洲人口骤减四到六成。
Researchers also noted that a sharp decline in North American temperatures around the same time saw an 'abrupt desertion of former Greenland settlements'.
研究职员还指出，北美地区在同时期出现了气温剧烈下降的情况，从而迫使了大批人口从格林兰岛迁出。
Technological advances have made the modern human population less vulnerable to environmental changes to a certain extent, the study said.
随着科学技术的进步，人类受到天气环境变化的影响也越来越小。
However we are 'certainly not immune to the predicted temperature and precipitation changes, especially considering that migration to more favourable habitats as an adaptive response will not be an option in an increasingly crowded world.'
尽管如此，我们并不能幸免于可预知的气温及降水变化，而在这个日益拥挤的世界里，迁移已经不再是一个选择和适应环境的办法了。
（责任编辑:allen）
