深海女王:西尔维亚厄尔|西尔维亚女星

　　作为一位科学家，她不畏艰险、勤于追寻，无数次潜入深海，几十次远洋科考，只为真实客观地认识与揭示海洋的未知奥秘；作为一位探险家，她胆识过人、无畏无惧，进行了无数次的深海探险，创造了世界单人潜水深度纪录，目睹了几乎所有潜水员和海洋生物学家都无法企及的深海景象；作为环保主义者，她身体力行、诲人不倦，在浩瀚无边的海洋中寻找海洋的希望之地，用事实的陈述与诚恳的语言呼唤世人保护地球蔚蓝的心脏。她便是被冠以“深海女王”之称的海洋生物学家――西尔维亚・厄尔。
　　
　　Beneath the Pacific Ocean, 210 miles southwest of Guam1), lies the Marianas Trench2): a gouge in the ocean floor 1800 meters deeper than Mt. Everest is tall. In 1960, explorers Jacques Piccard3) and Don Walsh4) took the bathyscaphe5), “Trieste,” to the very floor of the Marianas Trench, where they spent 20 minutes looking around. They reported seeing, fully seven miles deep, a flounder6)-like creature!
　　Since that one expedition, for logistical reasons, no one has followed up7) on the exploration of Piccard and Walsh. However, if anyone is going to do it, it will be the distinguished marine biologist Sylvia Earle, ambassador to the world’s oceans.
　　Affectionately called “Her Deepness,” or “The Sturgeon General,” Earle is a seasoned8) aquanaut9) who holds the depth record for a solo dive: 1,250 feet. Earle co-founded the company, Deep Ocean Engineering, and is a recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees. She founded the Sustainable Seas Project, which is currently conducting a series of explorations of the United States’ marine sanctuaries10), and she currently serves as a scholar and “Explorer-in-Residence” for the National Geographic Society. Most importantly, Earle is a tireless advocate for marine conservation and for fostering public awareness of the perils11) to ocean ecosystems caused by overfishing and pollution.
　　Sylvia Earle was born on August 30, 1935, in Gibbstown, New Jersey. She has always been motivated by an intense curiosity of the sea. Young Earle found that, during family trips to the Jersey shore, a vast world of magical wonder awaited her at water’s edge. When her parents moved to Florida, Earle turned the Gulf of Mexico into her own backyard of discovery. Earle describes the experience as “living on the edge of the great unknown everyday.” At 16, Earle attempted her first dive. More than 6,000 hours of diving time were to follow in her brilliant career.
　　Some of Earle’s diving pursuits are legendary. In 1968, Earle was part of an expedition to descend into the ocean in the first modern submersible without a lockout12) chamber. Four months pregnant, Earle became the first woman scientist to gaze through the porthole13) of a submersible!
　　Two years later, at the same time that astronauts were landing on the moon, Earle participated in the Navy’s Tektite Project14). Funded jointly by the Navy and NASA, the Tektite Project saw Earle leading the first team of women aquanauts on a two-week underwater expedition where invaluable research would add to the body of knowledge concerning deep water eco-structures, as well as detail the effects of prolonged underwater habitation on the human body. During this project, she noted the damaging effects of man-made pollutants and global warming on delicate coral reefs15)―a vital part of the complex underwater food chain. This observation confirmed Earle’s fears about the human destruction of underwater ecosystems.
　　When queried as to her opinion of the greatest threat to the world’s oceans, Earle responded: “ignorance, lack of understanding, a failure to relate our destiny to that of the sea.” Overfishing is one issue where Earle’s displeasure is most ardent. It is no longer shocking to hear news of the many marine species being overfished to the extent that their existence is threatened. One example is the sad case of the bluefin tuna which inhabit the Indian Ocean. Since the first bluefin census in 1970, the population of these fish has shrunk to one-tenth its size! Another example of human depredation16) of the ocean is the method of shrimp harvesting. Shrimping trawlers17) scrape18) everything off the ocean bottom, including plants and other fish, simply to pick out the shrimp and discard the rest! Earle compares trawling for shrimp to clear-cutting an entire forest just to get the squirrels.
　　Earle is a proponent of sea farming. She considers the harvesting of wild fish an inefficient use of the marine food chain. She believes this to be a crucial time in the development of the oceans and our relationship with them. In her compelling and informative biography, Sea Change, Earle offers a blueprint19) for change that involves reversal of damaging governmental policy issues, the creation of marine sanctuaries, and awareness of the benefits of sea farming. She also advocates individual changes in eating habits. She, herself, no longer eats seafood.
　　As a result of her fascination with the dark depths of the ocean floor, Earle started Deep Ocean Engineering with her former husband, Graham Hawkes. This firm was instrumental in the development of deep water robots and submersibles. The exploration of the Marianas Trench has always been one of Earle’s goals. At present, the technology exists for a dive to 20,000 feet, a little more than half the depth of the Trench.
　　Earle has already seen what few divers dream of and she has attempted what few marine biologists could imagine. At record-breaking depths of 3,000 feet, Earle has seen the lattice-like patterns of brittle starfish20) decorating the unexplored sea floor, as well as the dazzling bioluminescence21) of deep water ecosystems. Earle likens jumping into the ocean to “jumping into minestrone22): but all the little bits are swimming around.” She often says that “every little spoonful of the ocean is full of life.” Even below the reach of sunlight, ocean plants thrive, nourished by a process called “chemosynthesis23),” a counter to the process of photosynthesis24) by which land plants live. To Earle, who has spent countless hours in the company of sea creatures, fish are like humans in that each one is different.
　　Over the course of her career, Earle has marked the devastating effects of man-made pollutants on ocean life. Earle describes the ocean as “a balance sheet25) out of balance.” She believes that by telling people about the “symphony of life” that exists in the ocean, she will be able to make people understand how crucial it is, at this moment, for human beings to change the way they treat the seas. She says that one important impetus for our making drastic changes should be concern for ourselves, since the earth’s climate is governed by the ocean. Ninety-seven percent of the earth’s water is ocean, so it is absolutely crucial that, in order to keep the earth a habitable place for humans, the oceans must remain as they have slowly evolved over the millennia: that is, with every spoonful still full of life.
　　Sylvia Earle’s advocacy for the fate of the oceans makes her a true ambassador and champion of the world’s most precious resource.
　　
　　马里亚纳海沟位于关岛西南方向210英里的太平洋海底，这条位于海洋底部的海沟的深度比珠穆朗玛峰的高度(注：约8848米)还要超出1800米。1960年，探险家雅克・皮卡尔与唐・沃尔什乘坐“的里雅斯特”号深海潜水器，抵达了马里亚纳海沟的最底部，并在那里进行了20分钟的观察。据他们报告，他们在深达七英里(注：约11,265米)的地方发现了一种类似比目鱼的生物！
　　自那次探险之后，由于后勤保障方面的原因，再没有人紧随皮卡尔和沃尔什的步伐，作进一步的探索。不过，假如有人打算去做这件事的话，那这个人肯定是杰出的海洋生物学家、世界海洋的使者――西尔维亚・厄尔。
　　厄尔是一名经验丰富的轻装潜水员，至今保持着1250英尺(注：381米)的单人潜水深度纪录，人们亲切地称她为“深海女王”或者“鲟鱼总管”。厄尔参与创建了深海工程技术公司，获得的各类奖项和荣誉学位不计其数。她所发起的“海洋可持续发展探索项目”正在美国的海洋保护区开展一系列的探险活动，她本人目前是美国国家地理学会的学者和“常驻探险家”。最为重要的是，厄尔一直孜孜不倦地倡导海洋保护，致力于促进公众觉醒，使人们意识到过度捕捞和污染已使海洋生态系统濒于危险的境地。
　　西尔维亚・厄尔1935年8月30日出生于新泽西的吉布斯敦。她一直对海洋怀有强烈的好奇心。在与家人去泽西海岸游玩的时候，小厄尔发现在水边有一个浩瀚而迷人的神奇世界在等待着她。随父母搬到佛罗里达后，厄尔把墨西哥湾当成了自己探索海洋的“后花园”。说起这段经历，厄尔把它描述为“每天都生活在伟大的未知世界旁边”。16岁时，厄尔首次尝试潜水。在她之后的光辉事业历程中，她潜水的总时间超过了六千小时。
　　厄尔的有些潜水经历颇具传奇色彩。1968年，厄尔参加了一项探险活动，乘坐世界上第一艘没有水下出入口舱的现代潜水器潜入海洋，成为第一位透过潜水器舷窗凝视海洋的女科学家，而当时的她正怀着四个月的身孕！
　　两年后，也就是在宇航员踏上月球的同时，厄尔参加了美国海军的“玻陨石项目”。在这个由美国海军和国家航空航天局联合出资运作的项目中，厄尔率领首支女子潜水队进行了为期两周的水下探险活动。在这次探险活动中，她们开展了具有重要价值的调查研究。这些研究不但可以加深人们对深海生态结构的了解，而且也能详细阐述和记录长时间待在水下对人体的影响。在参与这一项目的过程中，厄尔注意到人为污染和全球变暖对脆弱的珊瑚礁――这一水下复杂食物链中至关重要的组成部分――所产生的破坏。这一观察结果更加证实了厄尔对人类破坏水下生态系统的担忧。
　　当被问及在她看来，世界海洋面临的最大威胁是什么时，厄尔回答说：“无知，缺乏了解，没有把我们的命运与海洋的命运联系在一起。” 过度捕捞是最让厄尔感到激愤的一个问题。过度捕捞已开始威胁到许多海洋物种的生存，这样的新闻司空见惯，已不再让我们感到震惊。栖息于印度洋的蓝鳍金枪鱼就是其中一个不幸的例子。自1970年首次对蓝鳍金枪鱼进行统计以来，这些鱼的数量已经减少至原有数量的1/10！人类破坏海洋的另一个例子是捕虾方法。捕虾用的拖网渔船刮掉了海底的一切，包括植物和其他鱼类，最后却仅仅把网里的虾拣出来，其余的一切皆被扔弃！在厄尔看来，用拖网渔船捕虾的做法就好比仅仅为了抓到松鼠而砍掉一整片森林。
　　厄尔支持海产养殖。她认为，捕捞野生鱼类无法使海洋食物链得到有效利用。她认为，无论是对于海洋的发展，还是对于人类与海洋之间的关系来说，现在都是关键时期。在她那部引人入胜且令人大开眼界的传记《海洋的变化》中，厄尔提供了一份保护海洋计划，指出我们要在诸多方面作出改变，其中包括彻底改变政府部门带有破坏性的政策问题、设立海洋保护区以及认清海产养殖的益处。她还倡议个人改变饮食习惯。她自己就不再吃海鲜。
　　由于痴迷于黑暗而深邃的海底，厄尔与她的前夫格拉汉姆・豪克斯共同创建了深海工程技术公司。这家公司在深海机器人和潜水器的开发方面起到了推动作用。到马里亚纳海沟去探险一直是厄尔的一个夙愿。目前，现有技术可以实现的潜水深度已达两万英尺(注：6096米)，比马里亚纳海沟深度的一半略深一点。
　　厄尔所见到的景象，是几乎所有潜水员做梦都无法梦见的；厄尔所尝试的事情，超出了几乎所有海洋生物学家的想象。在创纪录地潜至3000英尺(注：914.4米)深处后，厄尔看到了人迹未至的海底里海蛇尾鱼身上的格子状花纹，也见识了深海生态系统中生物体发出的熠熠光芒。在厄尔看来，跳进海洋就好比“跳进蔬菜浓汤：不过周围一切微小的东西都在四处游动”。她常说，“每一小汤匙的海水都满含着生命。”即使在阳光照射不到的地方，海洋植物也可以茁壮成长，它们的营养来源来自“化能合成作用”，这一作用过程与陆地植物赖以生存的光合作用过程正好相反。对于在一群群海洋生物中度过无数时光的厄尔而言，鱼跟人一样，因为它们也是各有不同。
　　在她的事业历程中，厄尔记录下了人为污染对海洋生命的毁灭性影响。厄尔将海洋描述为一张“失衡的资产负债表”。她坚信，只要告诉人们海洋中也存在着众多和谐共处的生命，她就能让人们明白人类现在改变对待海洋的方式有多重要。她说，我们对自身的关注是促使我们作出重大改变的一个主要刺激因素，因为地球的气候受制于海洋。地球上97%的水来自海洋，因此，要让地球继续成为一个适宜人类居住的地方，海洋就必须保持住它们经过几千年进化才得以逐渐形成的状态：每一汤匙海水依然饱含生命。这非常重要。
　　海洋是这个世界上最宝贵的资源。西尔维亚・厄尔对海洋命运的积极宣传使她成为一名真正的海洋使者与捍卫者。
　　
　　1. Guam：关岛，美国海外属地，是美国的非宪辖管制领土，位于西太平洋的马里亚纳群岛，是该群岛最南端也是最大的岛屿。
　　2. Marianas Trench：马里亚纳海沟，位于西太平洋的马里亚纳群岛南边，其长度约2550公里，宽度约69公里，最深处估计有11.03公里。
　　3. Jacques Piccard：雅克・皮卡尔(1922~2008)，瑞士著名深海探险家，曾与下文提到的唐・沃尔什创造了人类潜水的最深纪录，并以开发研究洋流的水下设备而闻名。
　　4. Don Walsh：唐・沃尔什，美国海洋学家、探险家与海洋政策专家
　　5. bathyscaphe [ˈbæθɪskæf] n. 深海潜水器
　　6. flounder [ˈflaʊndə(r)] n. 比目鱼
　　7. follow up：紧追，对……采取进一步行动
　　8. seasoned [ˈsiːznd] adj. 经验丰富的，老练的
　　9. aquanaut [ˈækwənɔːt] n. 轻装潜水员
　　10. sanctuary [ˈsæŋktʃuəri] n. 保护区，禁猎区
　　11. peril [ˈperəl] n. 危险
　　12. lockout [ˈlɒkaʊt] n. (内有足够空气压力使水不能进入的)潜水员水下出入口舱
　　13. porthole [ˈpɔːthəʊl] n. 舷窗
　　14. Tektite Project：玻陨石项目，1969~1970年由美国内政部、美国海军、国家航天航空局以及通用电气公司共同合作完成的潜水探险项目，目标是研究长时间在水下生活与工作对人体产生的影响。
　　15. coral reef：珊瑚礁。珊瑚礁是由成千上万的珊瑚虫(由碳酸钙组成)的骨骼经过数百年或数千年的生长过程而形成的，它为许多海洋动植物提供了生活环境。
　　16. depredation [ˌdeprəˈdeɪʃn] n. 掠夺，破坏
　　17. trawler [ˈtrɔːlə(r)] n. 拖网渔船
　　18. scrape [skreɪp] vt. 刮，擦
　　19. blueprint [ˈbluːprɪnt] n. 计划，蓝图
　　20. brittle starfish：海蛇尾鱼，俗称“脆海星”
　　21. bioluminescence [ˌbaɪəʊluːmɪˈnesns] n. 生物发光(现象)；生物发的光
　　22. minestrone [ˌmɪnəˈstrəʊni] n. (意大利式)蔬菜浓汤，一种用干豆、通心粉、线面条等做成的浓汁菜汤
　　23. chemosynthesis [ˌkeməʊˈsinθesis] n. 化能合成，指的是一些细菌通过将无机物氧化，以取得化学能，再利用这些化学能将一碳无机物(如二氧化碳)和水合成有机物的营养方式。
　　24. photosynthesis [ˌfəʊtəʊˈsɪnθəsɪs] n. 光合作用，在绿色植物或其他有机物中，以光作为能量来源，用二氧化碳和水合成碳氢化合物的过程。
　　25. balance sheet：资产负债表

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