与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（2010）

Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman S05E05

Part 4 April 19, 2021, 3:02 p.m.

几乎所有的生物灭绝
of nearly every living thing on the planet.
当一只蜜蜂发现它的蜂巢有危险
When a honey bee perceives a threat to its hive,
它会射出毒刺发起攻击
it will sting its victim
并释放致命的毒液
and release toxic venom that can be fatal.
之后蜜蜂则会死亡
After the bee stings, it dies.
不计代价的保护蜂巢是蜜蜂的本能
The honey bee's instinct is to defend its hive at any cost.
海洋中的生命同样是这样的吗？
Will life in the ocean do the same?
彼得·沃德是一名海洋古生物学家
Peter Ward is an oceanic paleontologist
他喜欢亲身投入到
who likes to get up close and personal
自己的研究课题中
with the subject of his studies.
我经常潜水，我的研究需要潜水
I dive a lot. My science requires it.
而当我回来之后
And yet, I come back,
我无法用语言形容我的感受
I just can't describe in words what it's like.
无法表达
I just cannot bring out the vision
我在水下的所见所想
of what I'm seeing and thinking down there.
电影是一个比较好的方式
Movies are way better.
我带回来一些小视频
I bring back small videos,
我想你能通过它们感受到一些
and you really get a sense, I think.
一张照片也许就能代替千言
A picture may be worth 1,000 words,
而一个短片会代替万语
but a short video is worth millions of words.
但不要被彼得拍的宁静的画面欺骗了
But don't let Peter's tranquil footage fool you.
波涛之下
Beneath the waves,
彼得正在调查一个犯罪现场
Peter is looking at a crime scene
地球上数百万个物种
where millions of species all across the globe
会因此突然死亡
suddenly wound up dead.
99.999999%的生物个体
So, 99.999999% of all individuals --
大规模物种灭绝并非只消除一个物种
a mass extinction not only wipes out a species,
而会使地球上所有的生命发生灭绝
but it really empties the earth of life.
这是非常可怕的事
These are really hideous events.
多年来，科学家们认为
For years, scientists thought
大规模物种灭绝是由于小行星撞击地球
that all mass extinctions were caused by climate change
以及大规模火山喷发所导致的气候变化而引起的
brought on by asteroid impacts and massive volcanic eruptions.
但彼得认为，还有另一个大规模物种灭绝的因素
But Peter thinks there's another mass killer.
我们开始关注于
We started looking
大规模物种灭绝的原因
at the other mass extinction boundaries.
但一直都没有找到小行星撞击地球
None of the evidence of an asteroid collision
导致物种灭绝的证据
were showing up.
事实上，有些事很不寻常
In fact, something quite different.
彼得和他的同事通过研究化石证据
Peter and his colleagues have studied the fossil evidence
找到了物种灭绝的凶器
and pinpointed the murder weapon,
有一种致命的化学物质遍布于几乎所有海岸线上
a lethal chemical that can be found in trace amounts
到处都能检测到微量的这种物质
on nearly every shoreline on earth.
哇哦，看看这个
Wow, look at this.
哦
Oh, ho, ho.
这些东西真的很臭
So, what makes this so stinky, and it really is stinky,
这么臭是因为这里面富含硫化氢
is it's full of hydrogen sulfide.
硫化氢是一种气体
Hydrogen sulfide is a gas
硫化氢对哺乳动物有剧毒
that is extremely poisonous to we mammals.
而有很多细菌喜爱硫化氢
There are many bacteria who love it,
它们依靠硫化氢生存
who need it to live, but not our kind.
对我们和喜爱氧气的生物来说
Those of us who use oxygen, who love oxygen,
这种物质剧毒无比
this is a very, very bad, bad poison.
每一百万个空气分子中，只要有500、600个硫化氢分子
As few as 500, 600 of these molecules
就能置人于死地
in a million molecules of air will kill you.
而这种物质却存在于海洋底部
This is the stuff that literally sits at the bottom of the ocean.
彼得认为
Peter believes
产生这种致命神经毒气的细菌
the bacteria that produce this deadly nerve gas
对整个星球发起了一场化学战争
have waged chemical warfare on the entire planet,
无论在海洋中还是陆地上
in the sea and on land,
这场战争毁灭了地球上几乎所有生物
resulting in the death of nearly every living creature.
而且还发生了至少5次
And it has happened at least five times.
彼得想要预测
Peter wants to predict
何时这种致命细菌会在海洋中泛滥
when this lethal bacterial plague will overrun the ocean
并再次使硫化氢充斥于大气之中
and flood our atmosphere with hydrogen sulfide again.
好的，让我们来看看
All right, let's say
这是低温的含氧水
that this is nice, cold, oxygenated water,
从上层的墨西哥湾暖流中
and it's been moving up from the Gulf stream,
开始向欧洲北边移♥动♥
and then north towards Europe,
温度也越来越低
getting colder and colder and colder.
最后，它温度足够低了，就会下沉
And finally, it's cold enough, it sinks.
当它下沉时，会发生什么呢？
And when it sinks, what happens?
这里有沉在底部的含氧水
We get this nice, oxygenated bottom water
它覆盖了海洋底部
that covers the bottom of the oceans,
这使海洋保持健康
keeps the oceans healthy.
现在，我们就有了一个循环系统
So, we have this nice circulation system.
但如果富含氧气的海水
But that can change
不再向需要它的地方下沉
if oxygen-rich seawater stops sinking to the ocean floor
这一切就发生了改变
where it's needed.
如果深海中没有氧气存在
The deep sea, if there is no oxygen in it,
就为产生硫化氢的细菌
starts favoring other types of bacteria
提供了良好的生存环境
that produce hydrogen sulfide.
当海洋表面温度提高仅仅几度
When the ocean surface warms by just a few degrees
或被流入的淡水稀释
or is flooded with fresh water,
表面海水的密度就会比底层的密度低
it becomes less dense than the water beneath it.
让我们来弄一个非常温暖的环境
So, let's make a really, really, really warm world
来代替低温的含氧水
instead of that nice, cold oxygen water.
我们来倒入这些热的低氧水
Let's pour in this nice, hot low-oxygen water.
可以看到这些热水漂在上方
You can see the hot water stays right on the top.
它不会沉下去，也不把氧气带下去
It doesn't go down and take the nice oxygen down.
这样就产生了一个
We, instead, have a system
氧气无法输送到底部的系统
without an oxygen export to the bottom.
这个系统最终会导致大规模物种灭绝
And the net result in the end is mass extinction.
在没有氧气的深海中
Without oxygen in the deep sea,
产生硫化氢的细菌旺盛生长
hydrogen sulfide-producing bacteria thrive
使海洋中充满了有毒的紫色污泥
and fill the ocean with poisonous violet sludge.
大量有毒的黄色硫化氢气体冲出
Large plumes of toxic yellow hydrogen sulfide explode
并覆盖整个大气层
and blanket the atmosphere.
植物窒息而亡
Plants are suffocated to death.
动物也中毒死亡
Animals die from poisoning.
人类将不能继续生存
Human life would be impossible to sustain.
这可能再次发生吗？绝对可能
Could it happen again? Absolutely.
彼得认为如果我们使地球变暖
Peter thinks that if we warm up the planet
仅仅是几度
by just a few degrees,
海洋会让我们付出最终代价
the ocean could make us pay the ultimate price.
但对彼得来说，这并不意味着
But for Peter, that does not mean
海洋是有生命的
the ocean is itself a living thing.
微生物学家尤里·戈比则使用另一种方法
Microbiologist Yuri Gorby is taking a different approach.
他发现
He's found evidence that suggests
海洋生态系统是一个有生命超个体
the ocean ecosystem is a living superorganism
而且是一个可以思考的超个体
with the capacity to think.
海洋有大脑吗？
Does the ocean have a brain?
我们是如何获得智力的？
How did we get our brain power?
数百万年的进化中
Well, during millions of years of evolution,
细胞之间形成了电♥信♥♥号♥♥连接
groups of cells developed electrical connections
形成了一个复杂的网络
to one another and became complex networks.
整个海洋似乎也有一个类似的网络
The entire ocean seems to have a similar network.
海洋和我们一样进化出智能了吗？
Has it evolved to be intelligent like us,
还是它已经超过我们了？
or has it surpassed us?
微生物学家尤里·戈比所在的研究团队
Microbiologist Yuri Gorby is part of a team
做出了一个重要的发现
that has made a major discovery.
这个发现能够永远的改变
It's one that could forever change
我们看待海洋生命的方式
how we look at life in the ocean.
它由一个简单的问题开始
But it started with a humble question.
微生物是如何呼吸的？
How do microorganisms breathe?
我们认为吸入空气就是呼吸
Now, we think that breathing in is respiration,
但那仅仅是呼吸气体
but that's really inhalation.
真正的呼吸则发生在线粒体上
True respiration in our body occurs in mitochondria.
呼吸是一种电子运动
Respiration is the movement of electrons
电子由供体
from an electron donor
输送到受体上
to an appropriate electron acceptor.