crossing continents and planting our flags all over the place in the name of science.

橫片大洲，並奉科學之名佔領各個土地。

But one part of the world that has remained pretty mysterious to us also happens to cover more

但仍有一部分對我們來說充滿未知，卻涵蓋

than 70% of its surface: the ocean.

地表70%的表面積：海洋。

Yes , we’ve sailed across it plenty of times. And drilled for oil in it. And managed to

是的，儘管我們已航行、遠渡重洋無數次，在海中探鑽油田、甚至

create reality shows about fishing in it.

錄製捕魚實境秀，

But, from glowing oceans to massive deep-sea creatures, and underwater ecosystems with

但是，從閃閃發亮的海洋到大型深海生物，水中生態

thousands of undiscovered, basically-alien species -- we still have a lot to learn about it.

涵蓋成千上萬與世隔絕的陌生物種 -- 我們對他們仍一知半解。

Probably more than any place on Earth, the ocean is full of fascinating stuff that we

海洋或許是比地球上任何地方還充滿更多

just don’t know.

我們並不了解且令人神往的事物。

Not yet.

還未了解。

[Music Playing]

（音樂）

Number One: What’s the ocean floor like?

問題一：海床長什麼樣子？

Fact is, we still don’t know exactly what the ocean floor looks like in most places.

事實上是，我們還尚未完全了解大部分海床長什麼樣子。

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that 95% of the ocean's bottom remains

美國國家海洋暨大氣總署說，95%海床的樣貌

unseen by humans.

仍是未知。

As a result, we have a way better picture of the surfaces of other planets than we do of

結果便是，我們擁有了其他星球表面的清晰照片，

most of the seafloor.

卻對自己的海床一知半解。

In 2014, a team of scientists created a map of the seafloor using data from satellites

在2014年，一個科學團隊運用具備特殊感測器，叫雷達高度計，

equipped with special sensors called radar altimeters.

所蒐集的衛星資料創造了一海床地圖。

These instruments could precisely measure the distance from the satellite to the surface

這些儀器可以精確測量從衛星直到海底

of the ocean below.

的距離。

Essentially, any large mountains or canyons on the ocean floor have a slight gravitational

基本上，海底任何大型山脈或峽谷對於海面都會造成

effect on the ocean surface, creating bumps and dips, respectively.

輕微的重力效應，分別產生海湧和沉降海流。

These variations are of course too subtle to be detected by human eyes, but they can be measured

肉眼無法看出這些差異，但精準的衛星高度計

by these ultra-precise satellite altimeters -- and, after adjusting for the effect of

能夠量測。調整了因海浪和

waves and tides, tell scientists what’s on the seafloor.

潮汐產生的效應之後，科學家便能知道海床的樣貌。

This map spans the entire ocean floor, which is awesome, and we’re all glad that it exists,

這個地圖描繪了整個海床，非常棒，我們也很開心有這個地圖

but it only has a resolution of about 5 kilometers, which is pretty low.

但這只有大約5公里的解析度，其實是非常的低。

By comparison, most of the surface of Mars, Venus, and the Moon have been mapped to resolutions

相較之下，大多火星、金星和月球的表面都已經有

of 100 meters or less.

被製作成解析度至100公尺或更小的地圖了。

So, if we want to know what’s going on down there and really explore the ocean, detecting

所以，若我們想了解深海的一切並實際探索海洋、探測

life, specific mineral formations, or wrecks, we’re gonna need a better map.

生命、研究礦物形成、或找到船的殘骸，我們需要一個更完善的地圖。

Number Two: What’s under the seafloor?

問題二：海床底下是什麼？？

OK, probably thinking that you know what’s down there: rock.

好的，也許你正想說你知道答案：是岩石。

Yes. But not just rock.

是的。但不只是岩石。

In 2015, scientists reported that they had drilled down about 2 and a half kilometers

在2015年，科學家報導指出他們探鑽日本海岸旁的

below the seafloor off the coast of Japan, and discovered living microbes.

海床下方約深2.5公里處發現了活的微生物。

There were only about 10 to 10,000 microorganisms in a cubic centimeter of sediment that they

在他們研究的地區那裡的沈積物中發現了每立方公分有10到1萬個微生物體

studied, compared to like billions that you’d find in the same amount of dirt from your

相較於在你家後院中，相同體積的泥土裡，就可以找到十億個以上的

garden.

微生物。

But still: There's life down there, even in the intense heat and pressure many kilometers

但是，那裡仍是有生命的：就算是海洋底部下方

below where the ocean stops.

好幾公里，極熱又極高壓力的地方仍是如此。

And the genomes of these under-sea microbes showed that they were actually more similar

而由那些海底下的微生物基因譜可以看出它們其實比起

to the kind you’d find in forest soil, rather than the ones in seafloor sediments.

海床上沈積物的微生物，與永凍土裡找到的微生物是更加相近的。

So it’s possible that these microbes are descendants of terrestrial ones from 20 million

這些微生物很有可能為兩千萬年前生活在陸地上的後代，

years ago, that just adapted when their habitat began to get buried way beneath the ocean.

當棲息地沉降到海洋之下後演變成今日的樣貌。

So, who knows what other kinds of life could exist in deep marine sediments, or what

所以，誰曉得在這樣深的海洋沈積物裡，有哪些生命存在著，或者它們

they could tell us about what life on Earth used to be like?

能夠告訴我們地球過去曾經的樣貌是怎樣的呢？

Number Three: Brine pools.

第三點：鹵水池。

We’ve all seen lakes and rivers on land, but what about lakes that are … underwater?

我們全都看過在陸地上的湖泊和河流，但有看過湖泊在...海水底下的嗎？

Sounds a little bit unreal, like maybe it’s from a Sponge Bob episode but these features actually exist

聽起來有點不太真實，可能像是從海綿寶寶影集中出現的場景，但這些事物如假包換

-- pockets of seawater that have a different composition than the surrounding ocean: because

-- 這是由於有一區域的海水具有與周圍海洋不同的組成成分而形成：原因是

they’re super salty.

它們超級鹹！

They’re known as brine pools, and they seem to have formed when layers of salt from evaporated

它們被稱之為鹵水池。幾百萬年前，海水蒸發形成一層層的鹽，

oceans millions of years ago got buried under layers of sediment.

析出後被掩埋到底下變成沈積物。

Seawater can reach these deposits and mix with the salt, forming a dense brine that

海水能夠接觸到這些沈積物並與鹽巴混和，形成一區濃度很高的鹵水域

flows out of the seafloor, sometimes filled with oils or methane gas.

從海床流出，有時它們會充滿油或者甲烷氣體。

Some brine pools, like those found deep in the Gulf of Mexico, are four times as salty

有些鹵水池，像是墨西哥灣深處找到的那些一樣，是周圍海水

as the ocean water around it.

鹽份濃度的四倍。

And the brine is so dense that submersibles can even “float” on top of it, like a

而這鹵水也是濃到那些原本密度大於水，能夠沉到水中的東西確「飄浮」在它上面，

boat on a lake.

就像一艘湖面上的船一般。

All of this salt makes brine pools lethal to larger animals.

這裡頭大量的鹽巴讓鹵水池對大部分動物而言是致命的。

But colonies of halophilic -- or salt-loving -- microorganisms can flourish there, usually

但嗜鹽 -- 或喜愛鹽份的 -- 的微生物聚落能夠使那裏充滿養分，通常

in much higher concentrations than the nearby normal seawater.

比附近正常濃度海水的區域要高出許多。

Some pools are even lined with mussels that have symbiotic bacteria in their gills, which

有些鹵水池甚至長滿了貽貝，而那些貽貝的鰓中充滿了共生細菌，

use the methane in the brine to make energy for the mussels.

會用鹵水池中的甲烷替貽貝製造能量

But there’s a ton that we don’t know about these weird underwater salt lakes -- like

但是我們仍對這個怪異的海底鹽湖充滿了不解之謎 -- 像是

how brine pools can be so different from each other -- and why some have mussels and others

不同的鹵水池間為何差異如此的大 -- 還有為什麼某些有貽貝活在其中而有些其他的卻

don’t -- and even how many there are!

沒有 -- 或甚至總共有多少個鹵水池存在我們也不得而知！

Number Four: Milky seas.

第四點：銀河般的海。

Also known as mareel, this is a phenomenon in which thousands of square kilometers

也被熟知為海上磷光，這是一個蔓延幾千平方公里的

of the ocean’s surface glow a brilliant whitish-blue.

海面發出白-藍色的光澤的現象。

It lasts for such a short time, and there have been so few recorded sightings, that

這存在的時間很短暫，而與那相關的目擊紀錄少之又少，

these glowing seas were thought to be a myth made up by crazy sailors…

我們一直以為這閃閃發光的海是發瘋的水手編造出來的故事...

… until 2005 -- when a group of researchers was studying satellite pictures of a swath

...直到2005年，一群研究人員發現了一些1995年拍攝的印度洋

of the Indian Ocean from 1995.

衛星照片。

These pictures showed an area of about 15,000 kilometers-square, around the size of Connecticut,

這些照片涵蓋了1.5萬平方公里的海域約，等同康乃迪克州的大小的區域

glowing for 3 nights.

連續三個晚上都閃閃發亮。

It was the first scientific evidence of the phenomenon, but the glowing waters are still

這是這個現象的第一個科學證據，但是這發光的水域

not very well understood.

仍然存在許多未知。

Some have suggested that the glow is caused by a mass of tiny dinoflagellates

有人認為光亮來自於很多細小的甲藻

called Noctiluca scintillans known as “sea sparkles”

名叫夜光藻，也被熟知為「海上閃光」

for the way they glow when disturbed.

名字由來是因為它們在海上受到擾動時會發出光亮而來。

These protists are what cause the picturesque glittering waves along coastlines in some

這些原生生物就是造成在世界上某些地區的海岸線沿線閃閃發亮的

parts of the world.

海浪的景致。

But the 2005 study found that it was “unlikely, if not impossible” that the short-lived

但2005年的研究指出，這些生命週期極短的發亮甲藻

glowing of dinoflagellates was what scientists had been seeing from space.

「並非不可能，但不太可能」是太空衛星所拍攝到的。

The prevailing theory these days is that milky seas are caused by massive colonies of bioluminescent

近日，最常見的理論便是銀河海是由大規模的生物螢光細菌的聚落

bacteria that are growing on top of an algal bloom.

在藻華現象發生時在海面上閃閃發光造成的。

But we’re still not sure how or why these ephemeral masses of bacteria gather, glow, and disappear.

但對於為何短時間內會有大量細菌聚集、發亮，然後消失，我們仍無正解。

Number Five: The 52 hertz whale.

地五個：52 赫茲鯨魚。

You’d think we would know a lot about whales.

你一定以為我們對鯨魚瞭若指掌。

I mean, they’re big, and we have their skeletons, and we can observe their migratory patterns.

對，他們身形龐大，而我們擁有它們整副骨骼的標本，且我們能夠觀察到他們的遷徙模式。

But one thing we still have a lot more to learn about is their songs -- from why some whales

但，還有一件事情值得我們去探索的，是它們所唱的歌 -- 從為什麼某些鯨魚

make them, to how an animal without vocal cords … or lips … manages to make song-like sounds.

會發出這樣的聲音，到對於一個沒有聲帶 ... 或嘴唇 ... 如何做到發出像是唱歌的聲音。

And then there’s this question -- what whale is producing the 52 hertz song, and why?

然後還有這個問題：何種鯨魚唱了52赫茲的歌，然後為何要唱呢？

This whale song was first noted by a technician on December 7th, 1992 in the Northeast Pacific Ocean.

「鯨魚之歌」早在1992年12月7日時，一個技工在東北太平洋地區發現這個現象。

It sounded like a blue whale, but blue whale cries usually are somewhere between 15 and

它聽起來像是藍鯨，但是藍鯨叫聲的頻率波段通常落在15

20 hertz in pitch.

至20赫茲的音調之間。

So, blue whales in the Pacific typically sound like this:

好，典型太平洋藍鯨的叫聲聽起來像這樣：

[Blue Whale Cry Playing]

（藍鯨叫聲播放中）

But this whale song, played at the same speed, sounded like this:

但這個鯨魚之歌，以相同速度播放，聽起來像是這樣：

[52 Hertz Song Playing]

（52赫茲之歌播放中）

This high-pitch noise seemed to be unique to one animal -- a whale that became known

這如此高音調的噪音似乎由一種特殊的動物發出 -- 被稱之為

as 52 Blue.

五二鯨魚。

This raises a lot of questions, and we have to know more about whales to be able to answer

這引發許多問題，而我們需要知道更多關於這種鯨魚的知識，才能夠回答那些問題的

some of them, like, why does this one whale sound different? And can others even hear it?

其中一部分，像是，為什麼這種鯨魚發出不同的聲音？和其他鯨魚聽的見嗎？

And if they can hear it, do they understand?

要是它們聽的見，那它們聽得懂嗎？

Some people latched onto to the idea that 52 Blue is a lonely whale crying out to others

有些人認為五二鯨魚很孤獨地發出這種頻率聲音，其實其他的

that might not hear it or wouldn’t call back.

鯨魚也許根本聽不見或者無法回應。

But several scientists have rejected this lonely narrative, and think that other whales

但是許多的科學家不同意這「孤獨說」，而覺得其他鯨魚

may be able to understand its call, even if they can’t make that call themselves.

也許聽的懂這種呼叫，即時它們可能自己本身發不出那種聲音。

Also, 52 blue seems to migrate independently from any other whales.

同時，五二藍鯨似乎會脫離其他鯨魚獨自地遷徙。

But its migratory patterns do look kind of like those of blue whales -- scientists

但它的遷徙模式跟其他的藍鯨看起來是差不多的 -- 科學家們

have been tracking it up and down the North Pacific from Alaska to Mexico for years now.

上上下下地從阿拉斯加追蹤到墨西哥，橫跨整個北太平洋。

So some researchers think it might have some malformation that has changed how it sings,

所以許多研究人員認為，是某種突變改變了他們的叫聲

or maybe it’s even a hybrid between a blue whale and another species.

亦有可能是藍鯨和其他品種的混種

Whether or not it’s a lonely whale, 52 Blue is an oddity that people seem to love.

不管它是否孤單，五二鯨魚是一個人們似乎很喜愛的奇特生物。

Number Six: Upsweep.

第六個：Upsweep

Now, ocean sounds are practically their own field of study, NOAA has been monitoring

現在，海洋之聲已經自成一門研究領域。NOAA已經監測

acoustics in the ocean for decades now.

海裡的聲音好幾十年了。

Instead of microphones, which are used to collect sound in air, NOAA uses hydrophones

在空氣中搜集聲音需要用到麥克風；而NOAA

to record underwater sounds.

使用水聽器在水底下監測聲音。

Mostly, these hydrophones are used to listen to the ambient sound of the ocean, to see

這些水聽器大多被用來監聽海洋裡的背景聲音，

how humans might interfere with it, and to listen for things like earthquakes and whale calls.

並觀察人類活動對聲音的干擾、並聽測地震和鯨魚所發出的聲音等。

And sometimes, they record things that are hard to explain, at least for a while.

有時候甚至會錄到難以解釋的聲音現象—至少一時半刻很難解釋清楚。

In 1997, for example, there was what was known as The Bloop, an extremely loud, low-frequency

舉例來說在1997年，有個叫做 The Bloop的低頻、巨大聲響

sound heard by hydrophones some 5,000 kilometers apart.

被相距5,000公里遠的水聽器偵測到。

Oceanographers recently determined that it was the result of an icequake -- the cracking

近來，海洋學家一致判定是冰震所造成的——冰河

and collapse of glaciers into the ocean, in this case on the coast of Antarctica.

崩列、分解墜入海洋時發出的聲音。上述提到的例子發生於北極海海岸。

But there’s another mystery sound from the ocean, known as Upsweep.

但是有另一個謎樣的聲音從海洋發出，叫做 Upsweep。

Recorded in August 1991, it sounds like a repeating “boop” that picks up at the

在1991年八月被觀察、記錄到，聽起來像是一個重複的"boop"聲，最後會有

end -- sweeping up -- kind of like the “red alert” sound effect you hear on spaceships

一個 -- 向上拉高的 -- 一種像是你在科幻電影中太空船上可以聽見的「紅色警戒」

in sci-fi movies.

發佈的那種音效。

But instead of trying to describe it, I could just play it for you.

但我直接播放影片給你們看好了，就不用費勁心思描述了。

[Boop Playing]

（Boop聲音播放中）

Since 1991, this sound has been heard regularly in the Pacific Ocean, and it seems to be seasonal,

1991年起，太平洋很常出現這個聲音，且這似乎有季節性的，

usually becoming more common in spring and fall.

通常好發於春天、秋天。

Researchers have tracked the sound to a part of the Pacific that has lots of volcanic

研究人員在太平洋上追蹤這些聲響，發現有這些聲音出現的地方，有著許多火山

and seismic activity, which seem to be important clues.

和地殼的活動，似乎是重要的線索。

But according to NOAA, “the origin of the sound is unresolved.”

但根據美國國家海洋暨大氣總署，「這聲音的來源仍是未知的。」

Number Seven: Why are deep-sea creatures so huge?

第七點：為何深海生物是如此巨大？

From the Kraken to sea dragons, all of our favorite mythical sea monsters are gigantic.

從挪威海怪到海龍，我們喜愛的海怪傳說裡的生物全都非常巨大。

And the fact is, in real life, many deep-sea creatures are unusually huge.

而事實上是，在真實生活中，許多深海生物都非比尋常地巨大。

This phenomenon is called deep-sea gigantism.

這個現象稱為深海巨型化現象。

But what drives it is … you guessed it! … unknown!

但是什麼造成這個現象的...你猜猜！...還是未知！

In the deep sea, and especially near the polar oceans, some animals seem to get really huge

在深海處，且尤其是靠近極圈海域，某些動物似乎長得十分巨大

-- like colossal squids, giant isopods, and Japanese spider crabs.

-- 像是大王酸漿魷，大王具足蟲，和日本蜘蛛蟹。

Scientists aren’t sure why, but they do have some guesses.

科學家不確定這是為何，但他們有許多猜測。

There’s Bergmann’s Rule, for example, which suggests that temperature may influence

動物學中有個伯格曼法則，舉個例子，它就是說溫度會影響到它們生長成如此龐大的

gigantism.

體型。

This might be because larger animals have less surface area relative to volume, so they

這或許是因為大型動物的表面積較體積小，因此以質量來說

radiate less heat based on their mass and stay warmer in colder climates.

它們體熱向外輻射的總量就相對少一些，也因此能夠待在較寒冷的氣候中還能保暖。

And then there’s Klieber’s Law, which states that more massive animals generally

還有一個克萊伯定律，是描述一般而言許多龐大的動物

have lower metabolic rates -- and therefore need less high-quality food --- to survive.

的基礎代謝率比較低 -- 也因此就不需要太多的高熱量食物 -- 來維生。

Still other theories suggest that gigantism may help organisms resist increased pressure

但是有其它的理論指出巨型體型可能會幫助這些生物體對抗深海

of the deep sea.

下面逐漸增加的壓力。

But we don’t really have conclusive biological reasons why these giant creatures exist.

但我們不真的認為有生物上確切定論的充分理由來解釋為什麼存在這些巨大的生物。

So, the ocean is just full o’ mysteries, maybe because it’s so huge and dark and deep.

所以，海洋如此充滿驚奇，也許是因為它的深、廣和光線難以到達所致。

But just so you know that we’re not hyping you -- we’re not saying that these 7 topics

但你知道我們並沒有在說服你什麼 -- 我們沒有說這七個主題

are things that Science Can’t Explain.

全是科學無法解釋的。

Instead, you should just think of them as reminders of how much we still have to learn about

取而代之的，這彷彿提醒著我們：

the ocean.

我們對海洋的理解依舊只是冰山一角。

As our technology improves, and our access to the ocean takes us to new depths, we’ll

隨著科技進步，我們能到達的海域深度一定會加深，我們將

be able to see and hear and sample more stuff than we ever have before.

能夠看到和聽到海洋裡更多前所未聞的事物。

So in time, these puzzles will be solved, and new creatures will be discovered, and

所以時間會解開這些謎團、甚至發現新物種，

our understanding of our planet, and the life on it, will be that much … deeper.

我們對於自己所在的行星，和其上的生物體，也會有更深一層地...認識。

Thank you for watching this SciShow List Show, and thanks especially to all of our patrons

謝謝你收看這 SciShow List Show，特別要感謝我們在Patreon上的贊助者

on Patreon who make this show possible. If you want to help us keep making shows like this, you can go to

有他們才可能有這集的節目。如果你想要幫助我們持續製作這樣的影片，你可以上

patreon.com/scishow­. And don’t forget to go to youtube.com/scishow and subscribe!

patreon.com/scishow。也別忘了去訂閱 youtube.com/scishow 喔！