冰冻星球（2011）

They constantly monitor the aurora
保护人类不受其影响
to help protect us from its effects,
这样我们就能够自在地享受美景了
so the rest of us can simply enjoy the magic,
就如同几千年前
just as the Arctic's first people must have done,
第一批北极开拓者那样
thousands of years ago.
对于生活在这里的各族人群
For all the many peoples of the Arctic,
在冬季极夜里看到极光
the aurora is a reminder of the sun's presence
就意味着日出
throughout the dark days of winter.
然而 当北极笼罩在黑幕下时
But when the sun is below the horizon in the north,
南极却阳光明媚
it's above it at the southern end of our planet.
人类在这里书写的历史迥然不同
Here, humanity's history has been very different.
南极比北极冷得多
Antarctica is far colder than the Arctic,
99%的陆地都被永久冰封
and 99% of its land is permanently blanketed by ice.
南极大♥陆♥极其偏僻和荒凉
Antarctica is so utterly remote and inhospitable
人类从未定居于此
that no people ever settled here.
直到两百年前
It was only 200 years ago
才有人类得以一瞥这广袤陆地的宏伟
that the first human beings even glimpsed the vast continent.
第一批横渡南冰洋的人类
The first people who crossed the Southern Ocean did so for
与第一批到达北冰洋的人类目的一致
the same reason that the first people went to the Arctic Ocean,
为捕食海中动物
to hunt sea mammals.
过去150年里 人类大肆捕杀
The populations of whales and seals are only now beginning to
鲸和海豹的数量如今才开始恢复
recover from 150 years of intensive hunting.
不过从未有捕杀者
But none of those hunters ever tried to
冒险登上冰天雪地的南极大♥陆♥
venture into the frigid interior of the Antarctic continent.
第一次成功的尝试
The first successful attempt
出现在一百年前
to do that was made only a hundred years ago.
这间小木屋
This hut was the base for one
是极地史上最闻名遐迩的探险基地
of the most famous expeditions in polar history.
1911年 斯科特船长率领的队伍
It was from here in 1911 that Captain Scott and his team
从这里出发
launched their attempt to
拉开了第一次冲向南极点的旅程
be the first people to reach the South Pole.
寒冷和干燥的环境使小屋内部
The cold, dry conditions have preserved the interior
保存得几乎如探险队离开时一样
of the hut almost exactly as the expedition members left it.
探险摄影家赫伯特·庞汀
Expedition photographer Herbert Ponting
依然留存着探险时的照片
captured the spirit of the age of exploration.
第一批探险者
These first explorers
从北极居民那借来装备
borrowed the techniques of the Arctic peoples.
他们戴着毛皮手套 穿着靴子
They wore fur gloves and boots
燃烧海豹脂肪取暖
and burned seal blubber to keep warm.
他们按因纽特人的传统设计制♥造♥雪橇
They built sleds based on a traditional Inuit design.
甚至还用驯鹿皮做成睡袋
They even made their sleeping bags from reindeer hide.
斯科特和队员们在无人涉足的荒原里
Scott and his men sought the glory of discovery
追寻探索的荣耀
in an untouched wilderness,
却命丧途中
and died in the attempt.
但他和队员们 是将南极壮丽美景
But he, and those who followed him, were the first to reveal
呈现给世人的第一批人
the splendour of Antarctica to the rest of the world.
今日 探险依然引诱着无畏的游客
The lure of adventure still draws intrepid travellers today.
如同第一批探险者一样
Like the first explorers,
大多数现代游客都趁短暂的夏天来到这
most modern visitors come during the brief summer
这时候严寒缓和 最坚固的破冰船
when the cold relents enough for the toughest icebreakers
才可以到达南极大♥陆♥
to reach the edge of the continent,
但要想走远 大多数人还需搭乘直升机
but most still need a helicopter to go further.
南极的风景壮丽宏大 变幻无穷
The scenery in Antarctica is magnificent and dramatic,
然而真正吸引游客的是野生动物
but what really attracts people here is the wildlife.
特别是帝企鹅聚居的地方
An emperor penguin colony is a particular highlight.
人类在几世纪前
Because human beings didn't
才首次出现在南极大♥陆♥
arrive in the Antarctic until the past few centuries,
这里的动物从不畏惧人类
the animals have never developed a fear of man.
但人们接近野生动物的范围
But very strict regulations govern
受到严格规定
how close people can approach any wildlife.
而且当游客离开时
And when visitors leave,
必须将所有物品随身带走
they must take every trace of their visit away with them.
自1959年以来 整个南极
Since 1959, the whole of Antarctica
一直受到国际条约的保护
has been protected by international treaty.
所有国家达成一致
The nations of the world have agreed
不得对南极宣告主♥权♥
that no country can claim Antarctica,
也不得打南极石油和矿物的主意
or prospect for its oil or minerals.
这里唯一允许的人类活动
The only significant human activities allowed here
只能是科学研究
are those that extend our scientific knowledge.
但想要揭开南极的神秘面纱
But unlocking Antarctica's secrets
还需要些特别的工具
requires some unusual tools.
设计这种新型潜水机器人
This brand new robot submarine has been designed
是为了超越人类在水下的极限
to go far beyond the limits of any human.
今天 潜水员正令这位替代者
Today, this diver is putting the sub
一步步地初涉征程
through its paces on one of its very first dives.
它被设计得足够小而灵巧
It's designed to be small and nimble enough
可在探测南极的海底时 不带来破坏
to explore the Antarctic seabed without damaging it.
它进入未知区域 其任务
The submarine's mission, as it journeys into the unknown,
就是绘制海底地图 探寻未知物种
is to map the seafloor and look for species new to science.
这里的海水低于零度
The seawater here is a degree below zero,
人类最优秀的潜水员也坚持不了多久
so even the toughest human diver can't stay down for long.
而机器人能探测到的深度
The submarine will explore deeper under the ice
将超越任何人类
than anyone has gone before.
从海洋深处到陆地的最高峰
From the depths of the ocean to the highest peaks of the land,
新的探索正在进行
new discoveries are being made
甚至包括那些一百年前就去过的地方
even in places which were first visited over a century ago.
埃里伯斯山以其不可抗拒的魅力
Mount Erebus was an irresistible draw
吸引了传奇探险家欧内斯特·沙克尔顿
to the legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton.
1908年
In 1908,
他的队员们首次攀登了这座活火山
his men became the first to climb this active volcano.
他们很快发觉
They soon discovered that
这是南极海岸最寒冷的地区
this is the coldest place on the Antarctic coast.
时至今日 探险家们
Today's explorers still have to
在盛夏时 仍旧需要预防冻伤
guard against frostbite in the height of summer
温度在此时一般都低于零下三十度
when temperatures rarely creep above minus 30 degrees centigrade.
沙克尔顿的队员们没料到
Shackleton's men had no idea of
他们脚下的景象如此非凡
the extraordinary spectacle that lay beneath their feet.
洞壁上有落脚处了
OK, up on the wall there somewhere now.
冰雪下面是洞穴网
Under the ice and snow is a network of caves,
没有几个洞穴专家敢进去
which only a handful of expert cavers have ever dared to enter.
这是为了探求洞穴详情
This is the first scientific expedition
而进行的第一次科学远征
to explore them in detail.
这里有地球上独一无二的成冰现象
Here, there are ice formations that occur nowhere else on Earth.
每个洞都有自己独特的结构
Each cave contains its own unique collection of structures.
为了看清洞穴多年来的形态变化
The team is mapping the caves
探险队在绘制洞穴地图
to see how their shape changes over the years.
射一条光束到这里
OK, flat side to here.
角度为126.8
That's 126.8 degrees for the angle.
126.8 -没错
126.8. - Correct.
靠火山侧通风孔漏出的蒸汽
The steam leaking from vents in the side of the volcano
不断地雕琢着这个
is constantly sculpting this labyrinth
一直延伸到冰下深处的迷宫
that extends deep under the ice.
当火山灼热的呼吸敲打冰墙
When the hot breath of the volcano hits the icy walls,
空气中的水分冻结成美丽的形状
the moisture in the air freezes into beautiful shapes.
其中一些冰晶非常奇特
Some of the crystals are so unusual
洞穴专家正在研究一种罕见的
that the cavers are investigating a remote
却极为可能的形成原因
but tantalising possibility about their formation.
这些奇特的晶体形状
Could it be that some of these extraordinary crystal shapes
是由存在于冰内的特殊细菌造成的吗
are formed by highly specialised bacteria, living in the ice?
没人知道答案
Nobody yet knows the answer.
这里有众多神秘待解之事
This is just one of the many strange mysteries
吸引人们来此危险之境探究
that draw people to work in a place
以上只是其中之一
that is so hostile to human life.
一些科学家来到埃里伯斯火山
While some scientists come to Erebus
探索它奇异的冰洞
to explore its bizarre ice caves,
另一些人则去了火山
others visit the volcano
研究我们星球最深处的情况
to study the innermost workings of our planet.
埃里伯斯地球上最活跃的火山之一
Erebus is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth,
但即便如此
but even so,
火山学家仍旧在火山口边缘工作
volcanologists work on the very rim of its crater.
他们身处苦寒之中 而脚下一百米处