美国国家公共电台 NPR Explorers Probing Deep Sea Abyss Off Australia's Coast Find Living Wonders

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

We're going to speak now with someone who has spent the last month exploring a largely uncharted world, discovering some bizarre creatures that have never before been seen by humans. Dr. Tim O'Hara is a marine¹ biologist, and we are calling him on board the research vessel² known as The Investigator³. Dr. O'Hara, welcome. And tell us where you are right now.

TIM O'HARA: Hello, Ari. Right now we're in the Coral Sea, which is an area off northeast Australia. People probably familiar with the Great Barrier Reef - and we're about 100 kilometers offshore⁴ of the Barrier Reef. But this is our final site. And after this, we head to Brisbane and home.

SHAPIRO: The Barrier Reef is relatively⁵ shallow. You have been exploring quite the opposite, someplace very, very deep.

O'HARA: That's right. That's right. Most people think of the sea as something that's surrounding the coastline. And perhaps if you're a scuba⁶ diver, you dive down to 50 meters. But we've been surveying 4,000 meters beneath the sea. So that's two nautical⁷ miles straight down. So it's very deep. It's a place of crushing temperatures and no light and very little food. And it's kind of one of the great extreme environments of the planet.

SHAPIRO: And yet, despite those extreme temperatures and pressure and darkness, you have found extraordinary things down there. Tell us about it.

O'HARA: Yeah. There's lots of amazing things. I mean, it's a completely different environment that demands different things of the animals. There's not a lot of food, so that means everything's kind of long and jelly-like in a lot of ways. A lot of the fish look like eels⁸. And that's because they don't need as much magical energy to function. And a lot of animals just stay still for long periods, just waiting for prey⁹ to come along.

SHAPIRO: You've been doing this research for the last month in this abyss. How many new species do you figure you've discovered in that time?

O'HARA: Well, you know, that's going to take another couple of years to kind of give you a precise figure. But, you know, I think a good rule of thumb is at least a third of everything we see would be new.

SHAPIRO: Is that, like, dozens or hundreds or what?

O'HARA: Yeah, it would be hundreds.

SHAPIRO: Hundreds of new species just in the last month.

O'HARA: Yeah, easily. You know, we haven't explored this environment much in the Southern Hemisphere at all. And around Australia, this is really the first dedicated¹⁰ trip to study the abyss. So it is really a voyage of discovery. It's quite amazing in the 21st century you can still do that. But, yes, you can.

SHAPIRO: I've been following along on your blog, where you have videos and photos. And there are more extraordinary creatures there than I can count. Will you tell us about one of your favorites?

O'HARA: Sure. I mean, I actually study a group of animals called brittle¹¹ stars. And, believe it or not, they dominate the deep sea, and yet hardly anyone's heard of them. So kind of they're my sentimental¹² favorite.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter).

O'HARA: But, you know, there's been lots of other amazing animals, the crustaceans¹³. You know, they've got extraordinary spines¹⁴ all over the bodies. And lots of the worms have petal¹⁵ and hair-like structures all over them. And then there's the fish, as well. They're always the outstanding favorites - you know, the tripod fish, which are sitting on three kind of processes coming from their fins¹⁶ like a camera on a tripod. We've had faceless fish. It's a fish that almost has no eyes. The eyes, perhaps, are very deep. No one's really quite sure, but...

SHAPIRO: Because when you're in the pitch-black depths of the ocean, why would you need eyes?

O'HARA: Exactly, exactly.

SHAPIRO: And so the mouth is on the underside of its body, so it has, really, no eyes. This is why it's called the faceless fish.

O'HARA: That's right because, really, you look at the thing, and it's just kind of a round end for the animal. The mouth is underneath¹⁷. And what it uses it for is sucking. So it would go along the sea floor, sucking up little worms and crustaceans and shells and that sort of stuff.

SHAPIRO: Describe what you're actually doing to get these creatures.

O'HARA: So we're relying on a good, old-fashioned, you know, metal box on the end of a very, very long rope. We have video cameras that we take down. We also have small nets to take some fish and other sort of invertebrates¹⁸ from the sea floor. Some people are a bit disturbed that we go in there and we actually bring the animals back to the surface to look at. But, really, kind of science demands that we really need to see animals in detail. We want to see the DNA¹⁹. We need to sort of bring them to the attention of people. Otherwise, it's just another hidden world.

SHAPIRO: When we're talking about hidden worlds like this, it's easy for the imagination to run wild. Is there any chance that the collection techniques you're using would miss the leviathans, the fast creatures, a type of species that might not be caught in your net?

O'HARA: Yeah, sure, the megalodons. Yeah.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter).

O'HARA: I mean, all those things - yeah, absolutely. You know, our nets and sleds are very small. So, yes, anything big, smart and intelligent would just move easily out of the way. And you've got to pitch it down. You know, it's an area completely without lights. No sunlight can penetrates²⁰ that far. And, you know, our cameras go down there - and this huge ball of kind of iridescent²¹ light. To a deep-sea creature, we're the aliens, really. I'm sure the intelligent ones just swim out of the way. So, yes, maybe. Maybe there's that big monster just waiting out there. Who knows?

SHAPIRO: Well, Dr. O'Hara, congratulations, and thank you for telling us about the expedition.

O'HARA: And thank you for having me.

SHAPIRO: Dr. Tim O'Hara is wrapping up his month-long exploration of the abyss off Australia's eastern coast.

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

4 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

7 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

8 eels   

abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system）

参考例句：

• Eels have been on the feed in the Lower Thames. 鳗鱼在泰晤士河下游寻食。
• She bought some eels for dinner. 她买回一些鳗鱼做晚餐。

9 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

10 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

11 brittle   

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

• The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
• She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

12 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

13 crustaceans   

n.甲壳纲动物（如蟹、龙虾）( crustacean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句

14 spines   

n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊

参考例句：

• Porcupines use their spines to protect themselves. 豪猪用身上的刺毛来自卫。
• The cactus has spines. 仙人掌有刺。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 petal   

n.花瓣

参考例句：

• Each white petal had a stripe of red.每一片白色的花瓣上都有一条红色的条纹。
• A petal fluttered to the ground.一片花瓣飘落到地上。

16 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

17 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

18 invertebrates   

n.无脊椎动物( invertebrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Insects and worms are all invertebrates. 昆虫和蠕虫都是无脊椎动物。 来自辞典例句
• In the earthworm and many other invertebrates, these excretory structures are called nephridia. 在蚯蚓和许多其它无脊椎动物中，这些排泄结构称为肾管。 来自辞典例句

19 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

20 penetrates   

v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透

参考例句：

• This is a telescope that penetrates to the remote parts of the universe. 这是一架能看到宇宙中遥远地方的望远镜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dust is so fine that it easily penetrates all the buildings. 尘土极细，能极轻易地钻入一切建筑物。 来自辞典例句

21 iridescent   

adj.彩虹色的，闪色的

参考例句：

• The iridescent bubbles were beautiful.这些闪着彩虹般颜色的大气泡很美。
• Male peacocks display their iridescent feathers for prospective female mates.雄性孔雀为了吸引雌性伴侣而展现了他们彩虹色的羽毛。