深海女王:西爾維亞•厄爾

作為一位科學家，她不畏艱險、勤于追尋，無數次潛入深海，幾十次遠洋科考，只為真實客觀地認識與揭示海洋的未知奧秘；作為一位探險家，她膽識過人、無畏無懼，進行了無數次的深海探險，創造了世界單人潛水深度紀錄，目睹了幾乎所有潛水員和海洋生物學家都無法企及的深海景象；作為環保主義者，她身體力行、誨人不倦，在浩瀚無邊的海洋中尋找海洋的希望之地，用事實的陳述與誠懇的語言呼喚世人保護地球蔚藍的心臟。她便是被冠以“深海女王”之稱的海洋生物學家——西爾維亞·厄爾。

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.

馬里亞納海溝位于關島西南方向210英里的太平洋海底，這條位于海洋底部的海溝的深度比珠穆朗瑪峰的高度(注：約8848米)還要超出1800米。1960年，探險家雅克·皮卡爾與唐·沃爾什乘坐“的里雅斯特”號深海潛水器，抵達了馬里亞納海溝的最底部，并在那里進行了20分鐘的觀察。據他們報告，他們在深達七英里(注：約11，265米)的地方發現了一種類似比目魚的生物！

自那次探險之后，由于后勤保障方面的原因，再沒有人緊隨皮卡爾和沃爾什的步伐，作進一步的探索。不過，假如有人打算去做這件事的話，那這個人肯定是杰出的海洋生物學家、世界海洋的使者——西爾維亞·厄爾。

厄爾是一名經驗豐富的輕裝潛水員，至今保持著1250英尺(注：381米)的單人潛水深度紀錄，人們親切地稱她為“深海女王”或者“鱘魚總管”。厄爾參與創建了深海工程技術公司，獲得的各類獎項和榮譽學位不計其數。她所發起的“海洋可持續發展探索項目”正在美國的海洋保護區開展一系列的探險活動，她本人目前是美國國家地理學會的學者和“常駐探險家”。最為重要的是，厄爾一直孜孜不倦地倡導海洋保護，致力于促進公眾覺醒，使人們意識到過度捕撈和污染已使海洋生態系統瀕于危險的境地。

西爾維亞·厄爾1935年8月30日出生于新澤西的吉布斯敦。她一直對海洋懷有強烈的好奇心。在與家人去澤西海岸游玩的時候，小厄爾發現在水邊有一個浩瀚而迷人的神奇世界在等待著她。隨父母搬到佛羅里達后，厄爾把墨西哥灣當成了自己探索海洋的“后花園”。說起這段經歷，厄爾把它描述為“每天都生活在偉大的未知世界旁邊”。16歲時，厄爾首次嘗試潛水。在她之后的光輝事業歷程中，她潛水的總時間超過了六千小時。

厄爾的有些潛水經歷頗具傳奇色彩。1968年，厄爾參加了一項探險活動，乘坐世界上第一艘沒有水下出入口艙的現代潛水器潛入海洋，成為第一位透過潛水器舷窗凝視海洋的女科學家，而當時的她正懷著四個月的身孕！

兩年后，也就是在宇航員踏上月球的同時，厄爾參加了美國海軍的“玻隕石項目”。在這個由美國海軍和國家航空航天局聯合出資運作的項目中，厄爾率領首支女子潛水隊進行了為期兩周的水下探險活動。在這次探險活動中，她們開展了具有重要價值的調查研究。這些研究不但可以加深人們對深海生態結構的了解，而且也能詳細闡述和記錄長時間待在水下對人體的影響。在參與這一項目的過程中，厄爾注意到人為污染和全球變暖對脆弱的珊瑚礁——這一水下復雜食物鏈中至關重要的組成部分——所產生的破壞。這一觀察結果更加證實了厄爾對人類破壞水下生態系統的擔憂。

當被問及在她看來，世界海洋面臨的最大威脅是什么時，厄爾回答說：“無知，缺乏了解，沒有把我們的命運與海洋的命運聯系在一起。” 過度捕撈是最讓厄爾感到激憤的一個問題。過度捕撈已開始威脅到許多海洋物種的生存，這樣的新聞司空見慣，已不再讓我們感到震驚。棲息于印度洋的藍鰭金槍魚就是其中一個不幸的例子。自1970年首次對藍鰭金槍魚進行統計以來，這些魚的數量已經減少至原有數量的1/10！人類破壞海洋的另一個例子是捕蝦方法。捕蝦用的拖網漁船刮掉了海底的一切，包括植物和其他魚類，最后卻僅僅把網里的蝦揀出來，其余的一切皆被扔棄！在厄爾看來，用拖網漁船捕蝦的做法就好比僅僅為了抓到松鼠而砍掉一整片森林。

厄爾支持海產養殖。她認為，捕撈野生魚類無法使海洋食物鏈得到有效利用。她認為，無論是對于海洋的發展，還是對于人類與海洋之間的關系來說，現在都是關鍵時期。在她那部引人入勝且令人大開眼界的傳記《海洋的變化》中，厄爾提供了一份保護海洋計劃，指出我們要在諸多方面作出改變，其中包括徹底改變政府部門帶有破壞性的政策問題、設立海洋保護區以及認清海產養殖的益處。她還倡議個人改變飲食習慣。她自己就不再吃海鮮。

由于癡迷于黑暗而深邃的海底，厄爾與她的前夫格拉漢姆·豪克斯共同創建了深海工程技術公司。這家公司在深海機器人和潛水器的開發方面起到了推動作用。到馬里亞納海溝去探險一直是厄爾的一個夙愿。目前，現有技術可以實現的潛水深度已達兩萬英尺(注：6096米)，比馬里亞納海溝深度的一半略深一點。

厄爾所見到的景象，是幾乎所有潛水員做夢都無法夢見的；厄爾所嘗試的事情，超出了幾乎所有海洋生物學家的想象。在創紀錄地潛至3000英尺(注：914.4米)深處后，厄爾看到了人跡未至的海底里海蛇尾魚身上的格子狀花紋，也見識了深海生態系統中生物體發出的熠熠光芒。在厄爾看來，跳進海洋就好比“跳進蔬菜濃湯：不過周圍一切微小的東西都在四處游動”。她常說，“每一小湯匙的海水都滿含著生命。”即使在陽光照射不到的地方，海洋植物也可以茁壯成長，它們的營養來源來自“化能合成作用”，這一作用過程與陸地植物賴以生存的光合作用過程正好相反。對于在一群群海洋生物中度過無數時光的厄爾而言，魚跟人一樣，因為它們也是各有不同。

在她的事業歷程中，厄爾記錄下了人為污染對海洋生命的毀滅性影響。厄爾將海洋描述為一張“失衡的資產負債表”。她堅信，只要告訴人們海洋中也存在著眾多和諧共處的生命，她就能讓人們明白人類現在改變對待海洋的方式有多重要。她說，我們對自身的關注是促使我們作出重大改變的一個主要刺激因素，因為地球的氣候受制于海洋。地球上97%的水來自海洋，因此，要讓地球繼續成為一個適宜人類居住的地方，海洋就必須保持住它們經過幾千年進化才得以逐漸形成的狀態：每一湯匙海水依然飽含生命。這非常重要。

海洋是這個世界上最寶貴的資源。西爾維亞·厄爾對海洋命運的積極宣傳使她成為一名真正的海洋使者與捍衛者。

1.Guam：關島，美國海外屬地，是美國的非憲轄管制領土，位于西太平洋的馬里亞納群島，是該群島最南端也是最大的島嶼。

2.Marianas Trench：馬里亞納海溝，位于西太平洋的馬里亞納群島南邊，其長度約2550公里，寬度約69公里，最深處估計有11.03公里。

3.Jacques Piccard：雅克·皮卡爾(1922~2008)，瑞士著名深海探險家，曾與下文提到的唐·沃爾什創造了人類潛水的最深紀錄，并以開發研究洋流的水下設備而聞名。

4.Don Walsh：唐·沃爾什，美國海洋學家、探險家與海洋政策專家

5.bathyscaphe [#712;baelig;θ#618;skaelig;f] n. 深海潛水器

6.flounder [#712;fla#650;nd#601;(r)] n. 比目魚

7.follow up：緊追，對……采取進一步行動

8.seasoned [#712;si#720;znd] adj. 經驗豐富的，老練的

9.aquanaut [#712;aelig;kw#601;n#596;#720;t] n. 輕裝潛水員

10.sanctuary [#712;saelig;#331;kt#643;u#601;ri] n. 保護區，禁獵區

11.peril [#712;per#601;l] n. 危險

12.lockout [#712;l#594;ka#650;t] n. (內有足夠空氣壓力使水不能進入的)潛水員水下出入口艙

13.porthole [#712;p#596;#720;th#601;#650;l] n. 舷窗

14.Tektite Project：玻隕石項目，1969~1970年由美國內政部、美國海軍、國家航天航空局以及通用電氣公司共同合作完成的潛水探險項目，目標是研究長時間在水下生活與工作對人體產生的影響。

15.coral reef：珊瑚礁。珊瑚礁是由成千上萬的珊瑚蟲(由碳酸鈣組成)的骨骼經過數百年或數千年的生長過程而形成的，它為許多海洋動植物提供了生活環境。

16.depredation [#716;depr#601;#712;de#618;#643;n] n. 掠奪，破壞

17.trawler [#712;tr#596;#720;l#601;(r)] n. 拖網漁船

18.scrape [skre#618;p] vt. 刮，擦

19.blueprint [#712;blu#720;pr#618;nt] n. 計劃，藍圖

20.brittle starfish：海蛇尾魚，俗稱“脆海星”

21.bioluminescence [#716;ba#618;#601;#650;lu#720;m#618;#712;nesns] n. 生物發光(現象)；生物發的光

22.minestrone [#716;m#618;n#601;#712;str#601;#650;ni] n. (意大利式)蔬菜濃湯，一種用干豆、通心粉、線面條等做成的濃汁菜湯

23.chemosynthesis [#716;kem#601;#650;#712;sinθesis] n. 化能合成，指的是一些細菌通過將無機物氧化，以取得化學能，再利用這些化學能將一碳無機物(如二氧化碳)和水合成有機物的營養方式。

24.photosynthesis [#716;f#601;#650;t#601;#650;#712;s#618;nθ#601;s#618;s] n. 光合作用，在綠色植物或其他有機物中，以光作為能量來源，用二氧化碳和水合成碳氫化合物的過程。

25.balance sheet：資產負債表