地球脉动（2006）

眼睛的退化需要经历数千代的演变
It takes thousands of generations for eyes to be lost,
所以这些物种必定 与世隔绝了相当长的一段时间
so these species must have been isolated for a very long time.
不过这些瞎眼的蝾螈 进化出了其它发达的感觉器官
But the blind salamander has other highly developed sensory organs.
皮肤上的探测器能觉察到 猎物引起的最微小的水流变化
Receptors in their skin detect minute movements in the water made by its prey.
外生的鳃帮助它们 在极度缺氧的水中呼吸
External gills help it to breathe in water that is particularly low in oxygen.
洞穴天使鱼以急流中的细菌为食
The cave angel fish feed on bacteria in the fast flowing water
它们用鳍上的小钩紧紧抓住岩壁
keeping their grip with microscopic hooks on their fins.
食物总是很紧缺
Food is often in short supply
像螃蟹这样的穴居动物
and troglodytes like the crab
必须得吃任何从外边冲进洞内的东西
have to survive on whatever washes into the cave from outside.
童态河溪螈可能 已有几个月没有吃东西了
The salamander might not encounter food for several months,
所以只要眼前有食物出现
so when something does come along
它绝对不会放过
it can't afford to miss it.
这些奇异的洞栖生物能如此成功地生存 的确令人称奇
It's astonishing that these extraordinary cave dwellers manage to survive at all.
可是有一个洞穴的环境过于险恶
But one cave is so inhospitable
不管什么生物似乎都不可能在那里生存
that one would not expect it to contain any life whatsoever.
从墨西哥露兹别♥墅♥山洞流出来的水
The water flowing out of the Villa Luz cave in Mexico
竟然被硫酸染成了白色
is actually coloured white with sulphuric acid.
探险家们进入这个危险的山洞时
Explorers entering this dangerous cave
必须戴上防毒面具 并携带通话器
must wear respirators and carry monitors.
有毒气体很快就会达到致命的程度
Poisonous gases rise to fatal levels so quickly
所以即时预警设备是最重要的
that an early warning system is essential.
蝙蝠之所以能生存是因为 它们始终呆在天窗附近
Bats survive by staying close to the skylights,
但是深入洞穴必然极度危险
but venturing deep into the cave is very dangerous indeed.
这些毒气的源头位于地下几英里处
The source of these toxic fumes lies several miles below.
硫化氢气体从地壳内的油气储层中溢出
Hydrogen sulphide gas bubbles up from oil deposits in the earth's crust.
与水中的氧发生化合反应
It mixes with oxygen and the water,
产生了硫酸
and forms sulphuric acid.
鱼类似乎不太可能生活在这种环境中
These are not the sort of conditions in which you would expect to find fish,
然而这些洞栖帆鳍? 看上去却是悠然自得
yet these cave mollies seem to thrive
尽管这里是酸性低含氧量环境
despite the acid and the low levels of oxygen.
事实上 这里的生物数量 远比人们预料的更多
There is, in fact, more life here than anyone would think possible,
不过更大的惊奇莫过于 那些更奇怪的东西
but the biggest surprise is something altogether more bizarre.
这些奇特的钟乳石状的结构 确切地说 叫做“鼻涕石”
These strange stalactite-like formations are known, rather appropriately, as snotites,
其末端滴落的液滴就是硫酸
the drops dripping from the ends are sulphuric acid,
酸性强到足以腐蚀皮肤
strong enough to burn skin.
“鼻涕石”其实是大型菌落
The snotites are, in fact, vast colonies of bacteria,
每天能长长1厘米
capable of going a centimetre a day.
在这个没有阳光的世界里
In this world without sunlight
这些细菌只能从硫化氢气体中吸收能量
these bacteria extract energy from the hydrogen sulphide gas.
像这样的细菌被称为嗜极生物
Bacteria like these are known as extremofile
因为它们能在这种极端环境中生存
because of their ability to survive in such extreme conditions.
这些嗜极生物还在这个洞中 扮演着另一个非常重要的角色
And these extremofiles play another important role in this cave.
令人吃惊的是 它们竟然是食物链中的第一环
Surprisingly, they are the basis of a food chain
用以养活其它生物 例如这些蚋的幼虫
which supports, amongst other creatures, the larvae of these midges.
露兹别♥墅♥山洞的生态系统的确非同寻常
Villa Luz's ecosystem was certainly very remarkable,
但是洞穴探险家们 很快又有了更惊人的发现
but cave explorers were soon to make an even more astonishing discovery.
谁能想到在这些贫瘠的土地下 有一处地下仙境
Beneath this arid landscape lies a subterranean wonderland.
没有水的地方似乎不可能有洞穴
Without water one might not expect to find any caves,
但是在美国这些荒凉起伏的山崖之下
but beneath these rolling desert slopes in the United States
存在着一座世界上最长、最深 也最令人惊奇的洞穴
lies one of the longest, deepest and most surprising caves in the world.
它的秘密直到1986年才被人们发现
Its secrets remained unknown until 1986,
洞穴专家们在松散的岩层中 挖出了一条几十米深的通道
when cavers dug through several metres of loose rock
直达这个深渊的底部
to the bottom of this pit.
他们把这个洞命名为“龙舌兰洞”
They named the cave 'Lechuguilla'
自从那次发现之后 迄今已测绘了120多英里的地道
and since this discovery more than 120 miles of passageways have been mapped.
第一批探险家进入这个洞后
When the first explorers descended,
没有一个人能预料到它竟然有这么大
no-one guessed at the sheer size of this cave.
即便如此 这也不能算是最大的惊奇
But even that was not going to be the biggest surprise.
不久他们便意识到龙舌兰洞很快就会 被全世界的洞穴专家公认为地球上最美丽的洞穴
Little did they realise that Lechuguilla would soon be regarded by cavers the world over as the most beautiful of all caves.
因为他们发现了一些 地底世界中最精美的构造
They were about to discover some of the most exquisite formations ever seen underground.
石壁上布满了光洁美丽的脆弱结晶
The walls were covered with the most delicate and fragile crystals.
许多结晶都是由石膏组成
Many of these crystals were made of gypsum,
一种硫酸钙沉积而来的矿物
a mineral that comes from limestone.
它们绵延不绝
And there was mile after mile of them.
水是大部分洞穴的建造者
Water is the creator of most caves,
但是 和其它石灰岩溶洞不同的是
but, unlike all other limestone caves,
龙舌兰洞中的岩石并非被流水侵蚀
Lechuguilla's rock had not been eaten away by running rainwater.
而是因为其它的作用力
Something else was responsible.
龙舌兰洞中唯一的水 来自这些平静清澈的水塘
The only water Lechuguilla has are these wonderfully still clear pools.
随着探险家们深入洞穴
As the explorers went deeper into the cave,
他们发现了成片叹为观止的地貌
they came across whole galleries filled with the most unusual formations,
例如这些5米高的石锥 上面布满了雪霜一样的松脆结晶
like these 5-metre cones, frosted with the most delicate crystals.
龙舌兰洞的石膏结晶群
It was Lechuguilla's gypsum crystals
使科学家们产生了 这个巨洞如何形成的疑问
that made scientists question how these caverns were formed.
他们发现龙舌兰洞的石灰岩 实际上是被硫酸侵蚀的
They discovered that Lechuguilla's limestone had actually been eaten away by sulphuric acid,
凿穿了差不多数英里的石灰岩
cutting through literally miles of limestone.
硫酸在溶解石灰岩的同时
And when sulphuric acid dissolves limestone
也留下了石膏
it leaves behind gypsum,
它们最终形成了龙舌兰洞的奇景
the basis of Lechuguilla's remarkable formations.
这里有一组景观
And there was one set,
位于地表之下1英里多的地方
more than a mile from the surface,
美得简直无法令人相信
that almost defied belief.
“灯饰大厅”是最后被发现的厅洞
The Chandelier Ballroom was the ultimate discovery.
这里尽是6米多长的结晶群
With its six-metre long crystals
它可以说是世界上最奇异的厅洞
it's surely the most bizarre cave chamber in the world.
而石壁上还有更惊人的发现
And the walls had one further surprise.
嗜极细菌在岩壁上自我生长
Extremofile bacteria were found to be feeding on the rock itself.
生命彻底脱离太阳能量 却依然生存的现象
The discovery of life that exists without drawing any of its energy from the sun
再一次向我们展示了地底世界 是多么的复杂和惊人
shows us once again how complex and surprising the underground world can be.
每年 探险家们都会测绘 上百英里新的洞穴通道
Each year explorers chart over a hundred miles of new cave passages.
但世界上仍有一半石灰岩洞尚未被开♥发♥
But with half the world's limestone still to be explored,
谁知道还会有多少个龙舌兰洞 等着人们去发现呢
who knows how many Lechuguillas are still waiting to be discovered?