VOA健康报道2023 科学家努力拯救佛罗里达州受威胁的珊瑚礁（在线收听）

科学家努力拯救佛罗里达州受威胁的珊瑚礁

Several organizations are racing to save the reef that runs along the Florida Keys.

一些组织正在竞相拯救佛罗里达群岛沿岸的珊瑚礁。

A summer heat wave has already led to historic coral bleaching.

夏季热浪已经导致了历史性的珊瑚白化。

Coral bleaching is the process by which coral becomes white because of high water temperatures or pollution.

珊瑚白化指的是珊瑚因高水温或污染而变白的过程。

Up and down the islands that form the Florida Keys, coral rescue groups, universities and the government are working to save the coral.

在构成佛罗里达群岛的岛屿上，珊瑚救援组织、大学和政府都在努力拯救珊瑚。

Experts say the bleaching event threatens the health of the third-largest reef area in the world.

专家表示，珊瑚白化事件威胁到了世界第三大珊瑚礁区域的健康。

They have been working long days for many weeks to get as much coral as they can onto land.

为了把尽可能多地珊瑚带到陆地上，几个星期以来，他们一直在长时间地工作。

In mid-July, water surface temperatures averaged 33 degrees Celsius off the lower Florida Keys.

7月中旬，佛罗里达群岛下游的水面平均温度为33摄氏度。

That is well above the average of 29.5 degrees, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.

美国国家海洋和大气管理局表示，这远远高于平均温度29.5度。

The hot water resulted in nearly 100 percent bleaching along some parts of the reef.

热水导致珊瑚礁的某些部分几乎100%白化。

The bleaching caused the corals to lose their zooxanthellae.

白化导致珊瑚失去了它们的虫黄藻。

That is the algae that gives them color and nutrition.

正是这种藻类赋予了它们颜色和营养。

If they do not recover their zooxanthellae, they will die.

如果它们不能找回自己的虫黄藻，它们就会死。

"We're already seeing not just bleaching, but actual coral death out on the reef because the temperatures were so hot," said Cynthia Lewis.

辛西娅·刘易斯说：“由于温度太高，我们不仅看到了珊瑚白化，还看到了珊瑚礁上的珊瑚死亡。”

She is director of the Keys Marine Lab, a research institute on the island of Long Key, about 160 kilometers south of Miami.

她是群岛海洋实验室的主任，这是位于迈阿密以南约160公里的长礁岛上的一家研究机构。

In Miami, rescue groups have already brought more than 1,500 pieces of coral.

在迈阿密，救援组织已经取出了1500多块珊瑚。

Coral bleaching happens naturally when waters warm greatly.

当海水变暖时，珊瑚就会自然白化。

It happened in 2016 in the Florida Keys.

这发生在2016年的佛罗里达群岛。

But Lewis said the current situation is urgent for coral, which is very important to Florida's economy, coastal protection and marine life.

但刘易斯表示，目前的情况对珊瑚来说非常紧迫，珊瑚对佛罗里达州的经济、海岸保护和海洋生物都非常重要。

Recent cloudy and rainy days helped lower water temperatures slightly.

近日多云及有雨的天气略为降低了水温。

But it will likely be late October or November before the coral samples can be returned to the reef, Lewis said.

但刘易斯说，珊瑚样本可能要到10月底或11月才能回到珊瑚礁。

The Florida Coral Reef stretches about 563 kilometers from the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf of Mexico to St. Lucie Inlet, about 185 kilometers north of Miami.

佛罗里达珊瑚礁从墨西哥湾的干龟岛延伸到迈阿密以北约185公里的圣卢西湾，绵延约563公里。

The reef is a first line of defense against coastal erosion and flooding from storms, Lewis said.

刘易斯说，珊瑚礁是抵御海岸侵蚀和风暴洪水的第一道防线。

It helps support fishing and the tourism industry.

它有助于支持渔业和旅游业。

Coral also contains "such an amazing amount of diversity and life" in the ocean around them, Lewis added.

刘易斯补充说，珊瑚在其周围的海洋中也包含了“数量惊人的多样性和生命”。

Reef Renewal is a group that has worked to move endangered coral into land-based centers.

Reef Renewal是一个致力于将濒危珊瑚转移到陆基中心的组织。

More recently, the group has worked to save coral in several of their own underwater facilities in shallower water by moving them to deeper, cooler water.

最近，该组织通过将设施移到更深、更冷的水中来努力拯救他们在浅水水下设施中放置的珊瑚。

Reef Renewal founder Ken Nedimyer called the coral bleaching "hard to watch and hard to experience."

Reef Renewal的创始人肯·尼迪迈尔称珊瑚白化“难以观察和体验。”

He said his group knew that coral stress would increase under climate change.

他说，他的团队知道，在气候变化的情况下，珊瑚的压力会增加。

But he and others did not think it would happen so soon.

但他和其他人认为这不会这么快发生。

Back at the Keys Marine Lab on Long Key, the collected pieces of coral are put in cooling containers that hold between 40 and 400 gallons of seawater.

回到位于长礁岛的群岛海洋实验室，收集到的珊瑚碎片被放在能容纳40到400加仑海水的冷却容器中。

The 29-degree water makes for "much happier coral," said marine biologist Emily Becker.

海洋生物学家艾米丽·贝克尔说，29度的海水让“珊瑚变得更快乐”。

The work goes beyond saving the coral.

这项工作的目的不仅仅是拯救珊瑚。

Becker and others are studying different kinds of coral to see which ones survive temperature stress and disease better.

贝克尔和其他人正在研究不同种类的珊瑚，看看哪种珊瑚能更好地经受住温度压力和疾病。

They hope to "build a better reef with more resilient corals," she said.

她说，他们希望“用更有适应力的珊瑚建造一个更好的珊瑚礁”。

Scientists from the University of Miami have created a research site off of Key Biscayne to do such work.

迈阿密大学的科学家在比斯坎岛附近建立了一个研究基地来进行这项工作。

Jamison Gove is the co-writer of a new article in Nature about how Hawaii coral reefs survived a 2015 ocean heat wave.

贾米森·戈夫是《自然》杂志上一篇关于夏威夷珊瑚礁如何在2015年的海洋热浪中幸存下来的新文章的合著者。

The oceanographer said reefs that returned best after Hawaii's heat wave were those that had both the most fish and the least sewage.

这位海洋学家说，夏威夷热浪过后恢复得最好的珊瑚礁是那些鱼最多、污水最少的珊瑚礁。

But he said local efforts will not save reefs if people do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

但他表示，如果人们不减少温室气体排放，各组织在当地所付出的努力将无法拯救珊瑚礁。