And yet, what we know about it barely scratches the surface.

然而，我們對它的瞭解還只是停留在表面。

Beneath its swell is a largely unexplored universe,

在它的膨脹之下是一個基本未被探索的宇宙。

until recently, beyond the gaze of human eyes.

直到最近，人類的目光還無法觸及。

So why do we know so little about the ocean?

那麼，為什麼我們對海洋的瞭解如此之少？

For a start, immense pressure presents huge challenges

首先，巨大的壓力帶來了巨大的挑戰

for divers and equipment alike.

對潛水員和設備來說都是如此。

In many ways, it's easier to send a mission to space.

在許多方面，向太空派遣任務更容易。

But with new technology, such as submarine robots,

但隨著新技術的發展，如潛水艇機器人。

this hidden realm is starting to reveal its secrets.

這個隱藏的領域開始揭示其祕密。

So, what's down there?

那麼，下面有什麼呢？

Well, there's water. Lots of it.

嗯，有水。大量的水。

1,419,120,000 cubic kilometres,

1,419,120,000立方千米。

to be about as precise as you can be.

要儘可能地精確。

And in that water, there's fish -

而在那水裡，有魚 --

the main source of protein for around three billion people.

是約30億人的主要蛋白質來源。

But there's a lot more than just fish down there.

但那裡不只是有魚，還有很多東西。

Extraordinary, otherworldly creatures dwell in the depths,

非凡的、異世界的生物居住在深處。

with new ones discovered all the time.

始終有新的發現。

Many are gelatinous -

許多是膠狀的 -

jellyfish that disintegrate if you try to catch them in a net.

水母，如果你試圖用網捕捉它們，就會解體。

In 2020, scientists found the giant Siphonophore Apolemia,

2020年，科學家們發現了巨大的虹吸體Apolemia。

an organism made up of millions of interconnected clones,

一個由數百萬個相互關聯的克隆體組成的生物體。

its thin twisting body reminiscent of a long piece of string.

它細長扭曲的身體讓人聯想到一根長長的繩子。

And the ocean floor is far from being the flat and featureless seabed

而洋底遠不是平坦無奇的海床

you might imagine.

你可以想象。

If you were to drain the ocean,

如果你要抽乾大海的水

a landscape would emerge just as spectacular as anything on land -

boasting some of the highest peaks,

擁有一些最高的山峰。

deepest canyons and longest river channels on the planet.

地球上最深的峽谷和最長的河道。

There are even waterfalls under the sea -

海底甚至還有瀑布------。

the largest being the Denmark Strait cataract.

其中最大的是丹麥海峽白內障。

Here, the cold waters of the Greenland Sea

在這裡，格陵蘭海的寒冷水域

meet the warmer waters of the Irminger.

遇到更溫暖的伊爾明戈爾河水。

As the cooler water is forced down,

由於較冷的水被強行壓下。

it creates a giant three and a half thousand metre drop,

它創造了一個巨大的三千五百米的落差。

undetectable to anyone who might be bobbing about on the surface.

對任何可能在海面上晃動的人來說，都無法察覺。

And that's nothing compared to the chilling 11,000 metre drop

而這與令人心寒的11,000米高空墜落相比，根本不值一提。

to the bottom of the Mariana Trench - the deepest place on Earth.

到馬裡亞納海溝的底部--地球上最深的地方。

It was here that, in 2020, scientists made an alarming discovery.

正是在這裡，在2020年，科學家們有了一個驚人的發現。

At a depth of around 7,000 metres,

在大約7,000米的深度。

in one of the most remote and inaccessible crevices on Earth,

在地球上最偏遠和最難接近的裂縫之一。

they came across a new species of crustacean.

他們遇到了一種新的甲殼類動物。

And it had plastic in its stomach.

而且它的肚子裡有塑膠。

They called it Eurythenes plasticus -

他們稱其為Eurythenes plasticus --

a living reminder that,

一個活生生的提醒：

even though we've barely begun to explore the ocean,

儘管我們還沒有開始探索海洋。

our impact on it is already being keenly felt.

我們對它的影響已經被敏銳地感覺到了。

In fact, by 2050,

事實上，到2050年。

it's estimated there could be more plastic in the sea than fish.

據估計，海里的塑膠可能比魚還多。

But it's not just plastic that's a problem.

但問題不僅僅是塑膠。

There are also “dead zones”,

也有 "死區"。

areas with insufficient oxygen to support marine life.

氧氣不足，無法支持海洋生物的地區。

These are becoming more common thanks to pollution.

由於汙染，這些情況正變得越來越普遍。

The sad truth is, when it comes to the ocean,

可悲的是，當涉及到海洋時。

the reach of human activity

人類活動的範圍

goes far beyond the reach of our knowledge.

遠遠超出了我們的知識範圍。

It's easy to feel detached from the ocean -

很容易感覺到與海洋的疏離------。

particularly if you live inland.

特別是如果你住在內陸地區。

And this might explain why we've treated it as a dumping ground.

而這也許可以解釋為什麼我們把它當作一個垃圾場。

But the more we explore, the more we find it has to offer.

但我們越是探索，就越是發現它有更多的好處。

For example, the gene pool of deep ocean life,

例如，深海生物的基因庫。

such as sponges and microorganisms,

如海綿和微生物。

could hold the key to solving the urgent problem

可能是解決這個緊迫問題的關鍵

of antibiotic resistance.

的抗生素抗性。

More importantly, the ocean is key to almost all life on the planet.

更重要的是，海洋是地球上幾乎所有生命的關鍵。

Half the oxygen we breathe comes from marine photosynthesizers

我們呼吸的氧氣有一半來自於海洋光合作用者

such as phytoplankton and seaweed.

如浮游植物和海藻。

The ocean also regulates our climate,

海洋還調節著我們的氣候。

mediating temperature by distributing solar heat around the planet.

通過在地球上分配太陽熱量來調解溫度。

We may not feel it, but every one of us is affected every day

我們可能感覺不到，但我們每個人每天都會受到影響

by the role the ocean plays in our finely-balanced Earth system.

海洋在我們精細平衡的地球系統中發揮的作用。

And yet, the efforts we've made so far

然而，我們迄今所做的努力

to protect and preserve this vital life source

以保護和保存這一重要的生命源泉

are, well, a drop in the ocean.

是，嗯，大海中的一滴水。

There's still so much we don't know -

我們仍然有很多事情不知道 --

so many breathtaking canyons unseen, so many creatures undiscovered -

這麼多令人歎為觀止的峽谷，這麼多未被發現的生物

but new technology is revealing more about our ocean than ever before.

但新技術比以往任何時候都更多地揭示了我們海洋的情況。

Perhaps if we knew more of the ocean's secrets

也許，如果我們對海洋的祕密有更多的瞭解

we might look after it better.

我們可能會把它照顧得更好。