- [Narrator] This is one of the most unique deserts

- [旁白]這是最獨特的沙漠之一

in the world.

在這個世界上。

Not only can its pure white sands be seen

不僅可以看到其純白的沙子

from outer space, but for years,

從外太空，但多年來。

it's left many scientists with many questions than answers.

它給許多科學家留下了許多問題而不是答案。

Like, why are there these giant, mysterious pedestals

比如，為什麼會有這些巨大的、神祕的基座？

scattered throughout that seem to defy

散落在各處，似乎在藐視

the laws of physics?

物理學規律？

How are there so many diverse animals

怎麼會有這麼多不同的動物

seen nowhere else on Earth?

在地球上沒有其他地方可以看到？

And where did these footprints come from?

這些腳印又是從哪裡來的？

Discovered just last year,

去年剛發現的。

they're dated 10,000 years before homo sapiens

它們的時間比智人的時間早一萬年。

even arrived in North America.

甚至抵達北美。

(inspiring music)

(鼓舞人心的音樂)

- We are here in New Mexico, at White Sands National Park,

- 我們在新墨西哥州，在白沙國家公園。

for Earth Day, as part of Youtube's

在地球日，作為Youtube的一部分

Non-Fungilble Planet Campaign to appreciate

不易腐爛的地球 "運動將得到讚賞

the beauty of this thing we call home.

我們稱之為 "家 "的這個東西的美麗。

- This is so interesting, everything is so white here,

- 這真是太有趣了，這裡的一切都那麼白。

it's crazy, and just over there,

太瘋狂了，而且就在那邊。

there was a breakthrough scientists made

科學家們取得了一項突破性進展

that has changed human history forever.

徹底改變了人類歷史。

But first, why is there this moonlight,

但首先，為什麼會有這種月光。

gorgeous desert in the middle of America?

美國中部的絢麗沙漠？

I know we're in White Sands, 'cause boom, white sand.

我知道我們是在白沙，因為嘣，白沙。

300 million years ago, this was the Permian Sea,

3億年前，這裡是二疊紀海。

full of water, and sharks, and cephalopods, and nautili.

充滿了水、鯊魚、頭足類動物和海龜。

Over millions of years, that water evaporated

經過數百萬年，這些水蒸發了

and left behind deposits of gypsum.

並留下了石膏的沉積物。

You can actually see the gypsum in the mountains,

你實際上可以看到山中的石膏。

over there yonder, it's the white little streaks.

在那邊，它是白色的小條紋。

They're actually not little, they're rather huge,

它們實際上並不小，而是相當巨大。

just far away.

只是距離很遠。

Around 10,000 years ago, and it still happens today,

大約在一萬年前，今天仍有這種情況。

the rains began washing the gypsum, and other minerals,

雨水開始沖刷石膏和其他礦物。

off of the mountain to the lowest part of the basin

從山下到盆地的最低部分

we're in right now, called Lake Lucero.

我們現在所處的位置，叫做盧塞洛湖。

But Lake Lucero doesn't actually drain into any ocean.

但盧塞洛湖實際上並沒有流入任何海洋。

So, the hot sun and the wind evaporates the water out,

是以，炎熱的太陽和風把水蒸發掉了。

and according to the laws of nature,

並根據自然規律。

the dehydrated gypsum left behind

遺留的脫水石膏

starts to form selenite crystals,

開始形成亞硒酸鹽晶體。

which jut out all over the lake.

在湖面上到處都是突起的建築物。

This is a super windy desert area,

這是一個超級多風的沙漠地區。

which breaks up the soft crystals into shards,

它將柔軟的晶體打碎成碎片。

which continue to get whipped around by the wind,

其中繼續被風吹動。

until they become coarse grains of gypsum sand.

直到它們成為石膏砂的粗粒。

So, all these little pieces of white gypsum

是以，所有這些小塊的白石膏

have been scratched and whipped together,

已被劃傷和鞭打在一起。

that's why they appear white.

這就是為什麼它們看起來是白色的。

And over the last 10,000 years, the whipping of all

而在過去的一萬年裡，對所有的鞭打

of those gypsum selenite crystals into these little

這些石膏硒石晶體變成這些小的

pieces of sand have created these unbelievable dunes.

沙子的碎片形成了這些令人難以置信的沙丘。

And as I say this out loud, I'm just like,

當我大聲說出這句話時，我只是想。

"How is this real?"

"這怎麼會是真的呢？"

- Did you think it'd be tough?

- 你認為這很難嗎？

- I don't know, I do find that sand is hell to walk on,

- 我不知道，我確實發現沙子是行走的地獄。

and we're on the White Sands National Park,

而我們在白沙國家公園。

so I'm not thinking it's gonna be easy.

所以我不認為這會很容易。

- [Narrator] But what keeps the white sand

- [旁白]但是，是什麼讓白色的沙子

from blowing away across America,

從美國各地吹走。

never to be seen again?

再也見不到了？

Well, there's ground water, 12 to 36 inches

嗯，有地下水，12至36英寸

below the surface of the dunes,

在沙丘的表面之下。

and this water helps hold the large dunes in place,

而這些水有助於保持大沙丘的位置。

because the water and gypsum mix

因為水和石膏的混合

to make this plaster-like substance.

來製作這種類似石膏的物質。

The water is essentially just holding onto the sand,

水本質上只是抓著沙子。

keeping it in place, and making this

保持它的位置，並使這個

the largest white gypsum desert in the world,

世界上最大的白石膏沙漠。

which yes, you can see from space.

是的，你可以從太空中看到。

- Oh, there we go.

- 哦，我們走吧。

- [Crew] Woo.

- [Crew] Woo.

- You're just pulling the line.

- 你只是在拉線。

- And on the surface, these dunes are very soft,

- 而在表面上，這些沙丘是非常柔軟的。

but you just have to brush away about an inch or so,

但你只需要刷掉大約一英寸左右。

and you'll see it's very hard, it's cool.

而且你會看到它非常難，它是很酷的。

- Oh my god, it's so cold.

- 哦，我的上帝，它是如此寒冷。

- It is wet, you can see all the moisture in it.

- 它是溼的，你可以看到它的所有水分。

The dune itself, inside, is hard

沙丘本身，在裡面，是硬的

because of this water, and that's what holds

因為有了這些水，所以才有了

the dune in place.

沙丘的位置。

If it was just the soft sand, it would blow away.

如果只是軟沙，它就會被吹走。

- Awesome. - I love this.

- 真棒。- 我喜歡這個。

I just wanna keep digging.

我只想繼續挖掘。

- [Narrator] The dunes can actually move

- [旁白]沙丘實際上可以移動

up to 38 feet per year, but are ultimately contained

每年最高可達38英尺，但最終被控制在

within the boundaries of the aquaphor.

在水囊的範圍內。

- These tracks behind me are actually from

- 我身後的這些曲目實際上是來自

the dunes moving on.

沙丘繼續前進。

So, as the wind blows, you can see,

是以，隨著風的吹動，你可以看到。

this dune's moved over there,

這個沙丘移到了那邊。

and it's left in its wake this harder, sort of,

並在其身後留下了這個更難的，有點。

clay-like substance.

粘土狀物質。

And scientists don't know exactly the mechanism

而科學家們並不確切知道其機制

by which it happens, but even though they're

但是，即使他們是

kind of shaped this way, you'd think it's from being pushed,

形狀是這樣的，你會認為它是被推的。

they believe it's from the tail-end of the dunes

他們認為這是來自沙丘的尾端

moving that way.

向那邊移動。

So, these tracks all here are from that dune,

所以，這裡的這些足跡都是來自那個沙丘。

moving that way.

向那邊移動。

- Sometimes when you're in sand dunes,

- 有時候，當你在沙丘上。

you've gotta get from the inter-dunal space

你必須要從南北半球的空間中獲得

up terrain, you need to keep hiking,

上的地形，你需要繼續徒步旅行。

so- - Let's see you go.

所以------讓我們看看你的表現。

- With he thick legs and the buttocks.

- 有了他的粗腿和臀部。

- [Cameraman] Oh my god.

- [攝影師]哦，我的上帝。

- You can walk barefoot, it's kinda

- 你可以赤腳走路，這有點像

gorgeous for the feetsies.

華麗的腳丫子。

But it is really unique.

但它確實是獨一無二的。

If this was any other desert, it'd be so hot.

如果這是任何其他的沙漠，那就太熱了。

- [Cameraman] Literally, it's so nice and cold.

- [攝影師]從字面上看，它是如此美好和寒冷。

- [Narrator] We'd seen a variety of the smaller pedestals

- [旁白]我們已經看到了各種較小的基座

scattered throughout the park,

分散在整個公園裡。

but we actually needed to go off the marked trail

但我們實際上需要離開有標記的小路。

to find the huge ones we had read about.

找到我們在書上讀到的那些巨大的東西。

When we saw a truly massive one in the distance,

當我們在遠處看到一個真正巨大的。

we had our friends stand on top of the dune

我們讓我們的朋友站在沙丘的頂部

so we could always know how to get back,

這樣我們就可以隨時知道如何回去了。

as the dry, hot desert can dehydrate you quickly.

因為乾燥、炎熱的沙漠會讓你迅速脫水。

And recently, somebody died after getting lost

而最近，有人在迷路後死亡

on this hike, so we stayed close, and within eyesight,

在這次徒步旅行中，我們一直在附近，並在視線範圍內。

and finally reached the one we were looking for.

並最終到達了我們要找的那個地方。

- One of the most striking parts about this desert

- 這片沙漠最引人注目的部分之一是

are these giant pedestal structures.

是這些巨大的基座結構。

This one's almost three stories tall,

這個人幾乎有三層樓高。

and it's interesting, 'cause it's this hard structure

這很有趣，因為它是這種硬結構

in an otherwise soft sand desert.

在一個柔軟的沙子沙漠中。

And for a long time, scientists didn't really understand

而在很長一段時間裡，科學家們並不真正瞭解

what was going on.

發生了什麼事。

But it turns out, it has to do with the way

但事實證明，這與以下方式有關

the sand moves.

沙子在移動。

As the dunes slowly slide over the landscape,

隨著沙丘慢慢滑過地表。

they often cover the shrubs and plants.

他們經常覆蓋灌木和植物。

And for many, that simply spells doom, or death.

對許多人來說，這意味著厄運，或死亡。

But for others, they adapt by frantically growing upward,

但對其他人來說，他們通過瘋狂地向上生長來適應。

to get back to the surface, where the sun is,

以回到表面，那裡有太陽。

which is great for a while.

這在一段時間內是很好的。

The problem for plants, like the soap tree yucca,

植物的問題，如皂莢樹玉蘭。

which you can see all around the desert

你可以在沙漠周圍看到

is that when the dune continues to move on,

是，當沙丘繼續前行時。

the yucca is no longer able to support such a tall stalk,

絲蘭不再能夠支持這麼高的莖。

and it falls over and dies.

而它卻倒下了，死了。

The skunkbush sumac, on the other hand,

另一方面，臭椿樹的蘇木。

grows tall to reach the surface, but has roots

長得很高以達到表面，但有根系

that pull water into the gypsum.

將水拉入石膏中。

This gypsum then turns into a hard, plater-like substance

這種石膏然後變成一種堅硬的、類似於石膏的物質

and when the dune moves on, the hardened pedestal stays put,

而當沙丘繼續前進時，堅硬的基座就會留在原地。

supporting the plant, which continues to live on top of it.

支持植物，植物繼續生活在它的上面。

Like, it's really hard, 'cause the roots have

就像，這真的很難，因為根部有

brought up the water.

把水帶上來了。

Even though it's still sand, you can break it apart

儘管它仍然是沙子，但你可以把它拆開。

if you need to, and it becomes softer again.

如果你需要的話，它就會再次變得柔軟。

Modern art from nature, the MOFN.

來自大自然的現代藝術，MOFN。

While at the pedestals, I freaked out,

在基座上時，我嚇壞了。

because we were lucky enough to find

因為我們很幸運地找到了

the bleached earless lizard.

漂白的無耳蜥蜴。

These exist nowhere else on earth.

這些在地球上其他地方都不存在。

- So, that's the bleached earless lizard,

- 所以，這就是那個漂白的無耳蜥蜴。

we were told we wouldn't be able to see one,

我們被告知，我們將無法看到一個。

'cause they're so well camouflaged,

因為他們偽裝得很好。

and it's because roadrunners, the birds,

而這是因為路人，鳥類。

eat these earless lizards.

吃這些沒有耳朵的蜥蜴。

Outside of this park, they're brown or black,

在這個公園之外，他們是棕色或黑色的。

within it, over 10,000 years, due to mutations

在一萬年的時間裡，由於突變的原因，它的內部

that would be more advantageous when they were lighter,

這在他們更輕的時候會更有優勢。

sort of proliferating over that period of time,

在那段時間裡，這種情況不斷增加。

they have now bleached this white color.

他們現在已經漂白了這種白色。

It's an amazing example of rapid evolution.

這是一個驚人的快速進化的例子。

That's super rare to see in nature.

這在自然界中是超級罕見的。

10,000 years for a species of lizard

一種蜥蜴的10,000年

to change colors like that, to turn white,

像這樣改變顏色，變成白色。

is really, really quickly on evolutionary terms.

是真的，真的很快的進化條件。

And essentially, the roadrunners can't see

而從本質上講，路人甲們是看不到的

the white ones as well, so any mutation

白種人也是如此，所以任何變異

that would make an earless lizard more white

這將使無耳的蜥蜴變得更白

would be advantageous.

將是有利的。

I'm star-struck by a lizard right now,

我現在正被一隻蜥蜴追星。

it's so frickin' cool.

這真是太酷了。

(upbeat music)

(歡快的音樂)

And it's so cute.

而且它是如此可愛。

You think I could take it home?

你認為我可以把它帶回家嗎？

No.

沒有。

- [Narrator] But these lizards aren't

- [旁白] 但這些蜥蜴並不是

the only uniquely adapted animals to the white sands.

是唯一獨特的適應白沙的動物。

There are sand treader camel crickets,

有踩沙的駱駝蟋蟀。

lightened Apache pocket mice, 40 different species

淡化阿帕奇袖珍小鼠，40個不同的物種

of white moths, and even sand wolf spiders

的白蛾，甚至還有沙狼蜘蛛

much lighter in color than anywhere else on Earth.

比地球上其他地方的顏色要淺得多。

- Time to see how much sand's in my shoe.

- 是時候看看我的鞋子裡有多少沙子了。

(wind blows)

(風吹)

(all laugh)

(大家笑)

- Here at White Sands, if you happen to be white,

- 在白沙，如果你碰巧是白人。

like me, apparently you have to put sunscreen

像我一樣，顯然你必須塗抹防晒霜

under your nose, under your chin, under your arms,

鼻子下面，下巴下面，胳膊下面。

because the sun actually gets reflected so well,

因為太陽實際上被反射得很好。

off of the sand, a lot of people don't do that,

從沙子上下來，很多人都不這麼做。

and they end up getting burnt in all these weird ways.

而他們最終以所有這些奇怪的方式被燒燬。

So, hopefully at the end of this,

所以，希望在這個結束的時候。

I don't look like a weird Canadian flag.

我看起來並不像一面奇怪的加拿大國旗。

We're at the edge of the dunes right now,

我們現在就在沙丘的邊緣。

and just behind me are the alkali flats,

而在我身後就是鹼地。

where last year, footprints frozen in time

去年在那裡，腳印凍結在時間中

from the ice age proved that humans were living here,

來自冰河時代的數據證明人類曾經生活在這裡。

in America, 10,000 years earlier

在美洲，早在一萬年前

than we had initially thought.

比我們最初想象的要好。

Before, it was thought that humans came to America

之前，人們認為人類來到了美洲

between 13 to 16,000 years ago.

在13至16,000年前。

But by studying these footprints at White Sands,

但通過研究白沙的這些腳印。

the course of human history has now changed

人類歷史的進程現在已經改變

and we understand that humans were here

我們瞭解到，人類曾經在這裡

22 to 23,000 years ago.

22至23000年前。

Because these alkali flats are so flat,

因為這些鹼地平坦得很。

and so vast, they go on for so long,

而且如此龐大，它們持續了這麼久。

we can study these numerous footprints from giant sloths,

我們可以研究這些來自大樹懶的眾多腳印。

from humans, and understand their behaviors.

從人類那裡，瞭解他們的行為。

How they hunted the giant sloths,

他們是如何獵殺大樹懶的。

how teenagers were actually looking after the kids,

青少年實際上是如何照顧孩子的。

how the parents' lives were different

父母的生活有什麼不同

than the kids' lives.

比孩子們的生活更重要。

It's so fascinating, 'cause we actually can now

它是如此迷人，因為我們現在實際上可以

understand human behavior from these footprints.

從這些腳印中瞭解人類行為。

- [Narrator] So, how do scientists know this?

- [旁白]那麼，科學家是如何知道這些的？

Well, we left footprints behind us

嗯，我們在身後留下了腳印

everywhere we went while hiking in the desert in 2022,

2022年，我們在沙漠中徒步旅行時所到之處。

and it turns out that humans also left

而事實證明，人類也留下了

distinct footprints here around 22,000 years ago.

大約在22000年前，這裡有明顯的腳印。

It happened during an abrupt warming event

它發生在一個突然的變暖事件中

that lowered lake levels at the time in a way

導致當時的湖泊水位下降，其方式是

that when humans walked over the wet and dry ground,

當人類在溼地和乾地上行走時。

they left footprints that became preserved

他們留下的腳印被保存了下來

in multiple sediment layers that were dug up by scientists

在科學家們挖出的多個沉積層中發現的

in the last few years.

在過去的幾年裡。

Scientists carefully inspected the prints,

科學家們仔細檢查了這些指紋。

and then carbon dated seeds they found

然後對他們發現的種子進行碳測定

from water-dwelling plants that were also found

從水棲植物中也發現了

around the footprints, to prove the date

圍繞腳印，以證明日期

that these footprints were from.

這些腳印是來自。