声音简介
The ocean covers over 70% of our planet. And yet, what we know about it barely scratches the surface. Beneath its swell is a largely unexplored universe, until recently, beyond the gaze of human eyes. So why do we know so little about the ocean?
海洋占地球面积的 70%以上。然而，我们对海洋的了解还仅仅停留在表面。在其涌动的波涛之下，是一个基本未被探索的宇宙，直到最近，人类的目光还无法触及。那么，为什么我们对海洋知之甚少呢？
For a start, immense pressure presents huge challenges for divers and equipment alike. In many ways, it's easier to send a mission to space. But with new technology, such as submarine robots, this hidden realm is starting to reveal its secrets,
首先，巨大的压力给潜水员和设备都带来了巨大的挑战。从很多方面来说，到太空执行要更容易一些。但是，随着水下机器人等新技术的出现，这个隐秘的领域开始揭晓它的秘密。
So, what's down there? Well, there's water. Lots of it. 1, 419,120, 000 cubic kilometres, to be about as precise as you can be. And in that water, there's fish - the main source of protein for around three billion people.
那么，下面到底有什么呢？嗯，有水。有很多水。14亿1912 万立方公里，这是尽可能精确的数字。水里有鱼，是大约 30 亿人的主要蛋白质来源。
But there's a lot more than just fish down there, Extraordinary, otherworldly creatures dwell in the depths, with new ones discovered all the time, Many are gelatinous - jellyfish that disintegrate if you try to catch them in a net.
但下面可不仅仅只有鱼。深海里栖息着非凡的、超凡脱俗的生物，而且不断有新的生物被发现。许多是胶状水母，如果你试图用网捕捉它们，它们就会解体。
In 2020, scientists found the giant Siphonophore Apolemia, an organism made up of millions of interconnected clones, its thin twisting body reminiscent of a long piece of string. And the ocean floor is far from being the flat and featureless seabed you might imagine. If you were to drain the ocean, a landscape would emerge just as spectacular as anything on land -boasting some of the highest peaks, deepest canyons and longest river channels on the planet.
2020 年，科学家发现了巨大的管水母，这种生物由数百万个相互连接的克隆体组成，其细长扭曲的身体让人联想到一根长长的绳子。海底远非你想象的那样平坦无奇。如果把海洋的水抽干，就会出现和陆地上一样壮观的景观——拥有地球上最高的山峰、最深的峡谷和最长的河道。
There are even waterfalls under the sea - the largest being the Denmark Strait cataract, Here, the cold waters of the Greenland Sea meet the warmer waters of the Irminger. As the cooler water is forced down, it creates a giant three and a half thousand metre drop, undetectable to anyone who might be bobbing about on the surface. And that's nothing compared to the chilling 11, 000 metre drop to the bottom of the Mariana Trench - the deepest place on Earth.
海底甚至还有瀑布——最大的瀑布是丹麦海峡的大瀑布。在这里，格陵兰海寒冷的海水与伊尔明厄海温暖的海水交汇。当较冷的海水被迫下降时，就形成了高达 3500 米的巨大落差，任何在海面上晃动的人都无法察觉。而这与地球上最深的地方——马里亚纳海沟令人不寒而栗的 11000 米落差相比，简直是小巫见大巫。
It was here that, in 2020, scientists made an alarming discovery. At a depth of around 7, 000 metres, in one of the most remote and inaccessible crevices on Earth, they came across a new species of crustacean. And it had plastic in its stomach.
2020 年，科学家们在这里有了惊人的发现。在大约 7000 米深处，在地球上最偏远、最难以接近的裂缝中，他们发现了一种新的甲壳类动物。它的胃里有塑料。
They called it Eurythenes plasticus - a living reminder that, even though we've barely begun to explore the ocean, our impact on it is already being keenly felt. In fact, by 2050, it's estimated there could be more plastic in the sea than fish.
他们称这种甲壳动物为“塑胶钩虾”——这个活生生的例子在提醒我们，尽管我们才刚刚开始探索海洋，但我们对海洋的影响已经深入海底。事实上，据估计，到 2050 年，海洋中的塑料可能比鱼类还要多。
But it's not just plastic that's a problem. There are also "dead zones", areas with insufficient oxygen to support marine life. These are becoming more common thanks to pollution. The sad truth is, when it comes to the ocean, the reach of human activity goes far beyond the reach of our knowledge.
但问题不仅仅在于塑料。海洋中还存在“死亡区”，即氧气不足以支持海洋生物生存的区域。由于污染，这些区域正变得越来越普遍。令人痛心的是，在海洋问题上，人类活动的影响范围远远超出了我们的认知范围。
It's easy to feel detached from the ocean - particularly if you live inland. And this might explain why we've treated it as a dumping ground. But the more we explore, the more we find it has to offer.
我们很容易感到与海洋疏远——尤其是如果你生活在内陆。这也许可以解释为什么我们把它当成垃圾场。但我们探索得越多，就越能发现它给予我们的东西很多。
For example, the gene pool of deep ocean life, such as sponges and microorganisms, could hold the key to solving the urgent problem of antibiotic resistance. More importantly, the ocean is key to almost all life on the planet. Half the oxygen we breathe comes from marine photosynthesizers such as phytoplankton and seaweed. The ocean also regulates our climate, mediating temperature by distributing solar heat around the planet.
例如，海绵和微生物等深海生物的基因库可能是解决抗生素耐药性这一紧迫问题的关键。更重要的是，海洋是地球上几乎所有生命的关键所在。我们呼吸的氧气有一半来自海洋光合作用，如浮游植物和海藻。海洋还调节着我们的气候，通过将太阳热量散发到地球的各个角落来调节温度。
We may not feel it, but every one of us is affected every day by the role the ocean plays in our finely balanced Earth system. And yet, the efforts we've made so far to protect and preserve this vital life source are, well, a drop in the ocean.
我们可能感觉不到，但我们每个人每天都受到海洋在我们微妙平衡的地球系统中所扮演角色的影响。然而，迄今为止，我们为保护和维护这一重要生命源泉所做的努力不过是沧海一粟。
There's still so much we don't know —— so many breathtaking canyons unseen, so many creatures undiscovered — but new technology is revealing more about our ocean than ever before. Perhaps if we knew more of the ocean's secrets we might look after it better.
我们不知道的事情还有很多——还有那么多令人叹为观止的峡谷没有被发现，还有那么多生物没有被发现——但是新技术正在揭示比以往任何时候都更多的关于我们海洋的信息。也许，如果我们知道更多海洋的秘密，就能更好地保护海洋。
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