my grandfather told me a legend

身為利馬的小男孩，

of the Spanish conquest of Peru.

爺爺曾告訴我

Atahualpa, emperor of the Inca, had been captured and killed.

西班牙人征服秘魯的傳說。

Pizarro and his conquistadors had grown rich,

印加國王阿塔瓦爾帕， 被俘虜並遭到殺害。

and tales of their conquest and glory had reached Spain

皮澤洛和他帶領的征服者得到財富。

and was bringing new waves of Spaniards, hungry for gold and glory.

他們的事蹟與榮耀傳回西班牙，

They would go into towns and ask the Inca,

吸引一波波渴望 黃金和榮譽的西班牙人。

"Where's another civilization we can conquer? Where's more gold?"

他們湧到城鎮問印加人：

And the Inca, out of vengeance, told them,

「哪裡還有我們能征服的文明？ 哪裡還有更多的黃金？」

"Go to the Amazon.

於是印加人出於報復，告訴他們：

You'll find all the gold you want there.

「去亞馬遜吧。

In fact, there is a city called Paititi -- El Dorado in Spanish --

你會找到你想要的黃金。

made entirely of gold."

那裡有一個叫帕蒂蒂的城市， 西班牙語叫做 El Dorado，

The Spanish set off into the jungle,

完全是由黃金打造而成。」

but the few that return come back with stories,

西班牙人於是出發前往叢林，

stories of powerful shamans,

但只有幾個人回來， 他們帶回了許多故事。

of warriors with poisoned arrows,

傳說那裡有強大的薩滿巫師，

of trees so tall they blotted out the sun,

手持毒箭的戰士，

spiders that ate birds, snakes that swallowed men whole

樹林高聳成蔭，蔽不見日，

and a river that boiled.

有吃鳥的蜘蛛， 可以吞掉一整個人的蛇，

All this became a childhood memory.

和一條沸騰的河流。

And years passed.

這些故事，成為我的童年回憶。

I'm working on my PhD at SMU,

時光流逝，

trying to understand Peru's geothermal energy potential,

現在我在南衛理公會大學 攻讀博士學位，

when I remember this legend,

試著了解秘魯的地熱潛能。

and I began asking that question.

我記起這個傳說，

Could the boiling river exist?

開始思考這個問題：

I asked colleagues from universities,

那沸騰的河流真的存在嗎？

the government,

我問過很多大學的同行、

oil, gas and mining companies,

政府部門、

and the answer was a unanimous no.

石油、天然氣及煤礦公司，

And this makes sense.

答案一致是否定的。

You see, boiling rivers do exist in the world,

這言之有理。

but they're generally associated with volcanoes.

你知道，世界上確實有 沸騰的河流，

You need a powerful heat source

但通常跟火山有關。

to produce such a large geothermal manifestation.

只有強勁的熱力源頭

And as you can see from the red dots here, which are volcanoes,

才能產生這麼大的地熱現象。

we don't have volcanoes in the Amazon,

你們可以看到這些紅點代表火山。

nor in most of Peru.

亞馬遜流域沒有火山，

So it follows: We should not expect to see a boiling river.

而大部分的秘魯地區也沒有。

Telling this same story at a family dinner,

由此看來，我們不可能 見到一條沸騰的河流。

my aunt tells me,

一次家庭聚餐，我提到這個故事，

"But no, Andrés, I've been there. I've swum in that river."

我的姑姑告訴我：

(Laughter)

「但是安德烈，我以前去過那裡， 還在河裡游泳過。」

Then my uncle jumps in.

（笑聲）

"No, Andrés, she's not kidding.

這時叔叔插嘴說：

You see, you can only swim in it after a very heavy rain,

「安德烈，她不是在開玩笑。

and it's protected by a powerful shaman.

你要知道只有在豪雨之後， 你才能在這條河裡游泳。

Your aunt, she's friends with his wife."

有一位強大的薩滿 保䕶著這條河。

(Laughter)

你的姑姑就是他妻子的友人。」

"¿Cómo?" ["Huh?"]

（笑聲）

You know, despite all my scientific skepticism,

"¿Cómo?" （蛤？）

I found myself hiking into the jungle, guided by my aunt,

儘管我對此的科學根據存疑，

over 700 kilometers away from the nearest volcanic center,

我發現自己跟著姑姑的指引， 深入叢林，

and well, honestly, mentally preparing myself

而最近的火山中心 遠在 700 公里之外。

to behold the legendary "warm stream of the Amazon."

坦白說，我有心理準備，

But then ...

看到傳說中的「亞馬遜暖水流」。

I heard something,

但是隨即，

a low surge

我聽到一些聲音。

that got louder and louder

初時一陣低湧，

as we came closer.

後來我們走近時

It sounded like ocean waves constantly crashing,

聲音越來越大。

and as we got closer, I saw smoke, vapor, coming up through the trees.

好像海浪持續打在岸上。

And then, I saw this.

我們接近時，煙霧與水汽 穿過樹林而來。

I immediately grabbed for my thermometer,

接著我看見了這個。

and the average temperatures in the river

我立刻拿出溫度計，

were 86 degrees C.

當時河的平均溫度

This is not quite the 100-degree C boiling

是攝氏 86 度。

but definitely close enough.

還不到沸點的攝氏 100 度，

The river flowed hot and fast.

但絕對夠接近了。

I followed it upriver and was led by, actually, the shaman's apprentice

這條河流又燙又湍急，

to the most sacred site on the river.

薩滿的學徒帶我 順著河往上游前行，

And this is what's bizarre --

到了河流最神聖的地方。

It starts off as a cold stream.

超乎尋常的是，

And here, at this site,

源頭的水流是冷的，

is the home of the Yacumama,

直到這個地點，

mother of the waters, a giant serpent spirit

傳說中蛇神 (Yacumama) 之家，

who births hot and cold water.

這條巨蛇之靈是所有水流之母，

And here we find a hot spring,

孕育了熱水和冷水。

mixing with cold stream water underneath her protective motherly jaws

在這裡，我們發現了一道 混合著冷水流的溫泉，

and thus bringing their legends to life.

就在巨蛇母親保護著的下頜。

The next morning, I woke up and --

就像是傳說成真。

(Laughter)

到了第二天早上，我一覺醒來…

I asked for tea.

（笑聲）

I was handed a mug, a tea bag

我想要一杯茶，

and, well, pointed towards the river.

有人給我一個馬克杯和茶包，

To my surprise, the water was clean and had a pleasant taste,

然後指著那條河。

which is a little weird for geothermal systems.

讓我感到意外的是， 河水很乾淨，有很好的味道，

What was amazing

這對於地熱系統來說不太尋常。

is that the locals had always known about this place,

神奇的是，

and that I was by no means the first outsider to see it.

當地人一直都知道這地方，

It was just part of their everyday life.

而我肯定不是第一個知道的外人。

They drink its water.

這不過是他們生活的一部分，

They take in its vapor.

喝河流的水、

They cook with it,

吸入那

clean with it,

利用河水煮食、

even make their medicines with it.

清潔洗淨，

I met the shaman,

甚至用它來製藥。

and he seemed like an extension of the river and his jungle.

我和那位薩滿見面，

He asked for my intentions

他像是這條河流 與這片樹林的一部分。

and listened carefully.

他問我為何而來，

Then, to my tremendous relief --

並且仔細聽我回答。

I was freaking out, to be honest with you --

然後，讓我如釋重負的是

a smile began to snake across his face, and he just laughed.

──坦白說，我原本非常緊張──

(Laughter)

一抹微笑像蛇爬過他的面孔， 然後他笑了。

I had received the shaman's blessing to study the river,

（笑聲）

on the condition that after I take the water samples

我得到薩滿的祝福來硏究這條河，

and analyze them in my lab,

只要我取得的河水樣本

wherever I was in the world,

在實驗室分析過後，

that I pour the waters back into the ground

無論我在世界哪裡，

so that, as the shaman said,

都要把水再灑回到地上，

the waters could find their way back home.

薩滿說，

I've been back every year since that first visit in 2011,

這樣河水才能找到回家的路。

and the fieldwork has been exhilarating,

自從 2011 年第一次探訪以來， 我每年都回去。

demanding and at times dangerous.

實地考察令人振奮，

One story was even featured in National Geographic Magazine.

過程艱辛，有時甚至危險。

I was trapped on a small rock about the size of a sheet of paper

國家地理雜誌曾為 其中一個故事做過專題，

in sandals and board shorts,

當時我被一塊紙張大小的石頭卡住了，

in between an 80 degree C river

身上只穿著沙灘褲和涼鞋。

and a hot spring that, well, looked like this, close to boiling.

我那時身處在攝氏 80 度的河流

And on top of that, it was Amazon rain forest.

和一道溫泉之間， 就像這樣，接近沸騰。

Pshh, pouring rain, couldn't see a thing.

在這之上的是亞馬遜雨林，

The temperature differential made it all white. It was a whiteout.

滂沱大雨，伸手不見五指。

Intense.

溫差讓周圍變得白濛濛，簡直是雪盲。

Now, after years of work,

真令人緊張。

I'll soon be submitting my geophysical and geochemical studies for publication.

如今，經過多年的考察，

And I'd like to share, today, with all of you here, on the TED stage,

不久我會發表相關的 地球物理與化學硏究成果。

for the first time, some of these discoveries.

今天我想在 TED 的講臺上 與你們分享，

Well, first off, it's not a legend.

我第一次公開的部分發現。

Surprise!

首先，這些故事不是傳說。

(Laughter)

想不到吧！

When I first started the research,

（笑聲）

the satellite imagery was too low-resolution to be meaningful.

最初我進行研究時，

There were just no good maps.

衛星影像的解析度非常低， 根本幫不上忙，

Thanks to the support of the Google Earth team,

可以說是沒有地圖可言。

I now have this.

多謝 Google 地球團隊，

Not only that, the indigenous name of the river, Shanay-timpishka,

我現在有了這樣的畫面。

"boiled with the heat of the sun,"

此外，河流之名 Shanay-timpishka 的原意是

indicating that I'm not the first to wonder why the river boils,

「以太陽之熱沸騰」，

and showing that humanity has always sought to explain

顯然我並非第一個 好奇河水為何沸騰的人，

the world around us.

也顯示人類向來在想辦法解釋

So why does the river boil?

我們身處的世界。

(Bubbling sounds)

所以，那條河是怎麼沸騰的？

It actually took me three years to get that footage.

（水沸騰聲）

Fault-fed hot springs.

其實我花了三年才得到這段影片。

As we have hot blood running through our veins and arteries,

地殼裂縫的溫泉，

so, too, the earth has hot water running through its cracks and faults.

就如我們身體

Where these arteries come to the surface, these earth arteries,

同樣地，地球也有熱流 穿過它的裂縫和斷層。

we'll get geothermal manifestations:

當動脈接近地殼， 這些大地的動脈，

fumaroles, hot springs and in our case, the boiling river.

會展現地熱的特質：

What's truly incredible, though, is the scale of this place.

火山噴氣孔、溫泉， 以及我們看到的，沸騰的河流。

Next time you cross the road, think about this.

真正驚人的地方， 是這裡的範圍有多大。

The river flows wider than a two-lane road

下次過馬路時，你可以想想看。

along most of its path.

這條河多數的流域

It flows hot for 6.24 kilometers.

寬度超過兩線道。

Truly impressive.

長達 6.24 公里都是滾燙的水。

There are thermal pools larger than this TED stage,

真令人敬畏。

and that waterfall that you see there

那裡有比這個 TED 講臺 還大的熱水池，

is six meters tall --

你現在看到的瀑布，

and all with near-boiling water.

有六公尺高，

We mapped the temperatures along the river,

而且全部都是接近沸騰的河水。

and this was by far the most demanding part of the fieldwork.

我們記錄了河水各處的溫度，

And the results were just awesome.

這是實地考察最難的部分。

Sorry -- the geoscientist in me coming out.

我們得到的結果實在太棒了。

And it showed this amazing trend.

對不起， 我的地球科學家本性又來了。

You see, the river starts off cold.

結果顯示很驚人的變化。

It then heats up, cools back down, heats up, cools back down,

你看河水最先是冷的，

heats up again, and then has this beautiful decay curve

接著加熱、冷卻、再加熱、再冷卻，

until it smashes into this cold river.

再加熱，產生這個漂亮的衰減曲線，

Now, I understand not all of you are geothermal scientists,

直到它匯流進冷水河裡。

so to put it in more everyday terms:

我了解不是每個人都是地熱學家，

Everyone loves coffee.

所以用一般的說法形容：

Yes? Good.

每個人都喜歡咖啡，

Your regular cup of coffee, 54 degrees C,

是吧？很好。

an extra-hot one, well, 60.

通常一杯咖啡的溫度是攝氏 54 度。

So, put in coffee shop terms,

熱一點的是 60 度。

the boiling river plots like this.

所以用咖啡店的說法，

There you have your hot coffee.

沸水河的圖示，像是這樣。

Here you have your extra-hot coffee,

這裡你得到一杯熱咖啡，

and you can see that there's a bit point there

這裡你得到一杯很燙的咖啡，

where the river is still hotter than even the extra-hot coffee.

你可以看到在某些區段

And these are average water temperatures.

河流比很燙的咖啡還燙。

We took these in the dry season to ensure the purest geothermal temperatures.

這些是平均水溫。

But there's a magic number here that's not being shown,

我們在旱季做測量， 以確保貼近地熱的溫度。

and that number is 47 degrees C,

另外有一個魔法數字， 還沒有提到。

because that's where things start to hurt,

這數字是是攝氏 47 度。

and I know this from very personal experience.

高過這個溫度，有受傷的危險。

Above that temperature, you don't want to get in that water.

我從親身的經歷學到這一點。

You need to be careful.

超過這個溫度， 你不會想要進到河裡去。

It can be deadly.

你要非常小心，

I've seen all sorts of animals fall in,

有可能會致命。

and what's shocking to me, is the process is pretty much the same.

我看過各式各樣的動物掉進去，

So they fall in and the first thing to go are the eyes.

讓我驚訝的是， 牠們被煮熟的過程都差不多。

Eyes, apparently, cook very quickly. They turn this milky-white color.

當牠們掉入熱水後， 第一個變化的是眼睛。

The stream is carrying them.

顯然，眼睛很容易熟， 馬上就變成乳白色。

They're trying to swim out, but their meat is cooking on the bone

流水承載著牠們，

because it's so hot.

動物試圖要游出來， 但高溫切骨，

So they're losing power, losing power,

實在太燙了。

until finally they get to a point where hot water goes into their mouths

所以牠們漸漸失去動力， 漸漸失去動力，

and they cook from the inside out.

直到熱水淹進嘴巴，

(Laughter)

牠們就從裡到外被煮熟了。

A bit sadistic, aren't we?

（笑聲）

Jeez.

我們都有點虐待傾向，是吧？

Leave them marinating for a little longer.

天啊。

What's, again, amazing are these temperatures.

把這些先放一邊。

They're similar to things that I've seen on volcanoes all over the world

回到這個，驚人的高溫，

and even super-volcanoes like Yellowstone.

類似的情況 在世界各處的火山都可見到，

But here's the thing:

甚至是黃石公園這樣的超級火山。

the data is showing that the boiling river exists

但特別的地方是：

independent of volcanism.

這些資料顯示，這條沸水河的存在

It's neither magmatic or volcanic in origin,

獨立於火山活動。

and again, over 700 kilometers away from the nearest volcanic center.

它的起源既不是岩漿，也不是火山，

How can a boiling river exist like this?

它離最近的火山可是有 700 公里遠。

I've asked geothermal experts and volcanologists for years,

怎麼會有這樣的一條沸水河存在呢？

and I'm still unable to find another non-volcanic geothermal system

過去幾年來，我問過 地熱和火山專家，

of this magnitude.

仍無法在另一個 非火山的地熱系統裡，

It's unique.

找到同樣等級的系統。

It's special on a global scale.

它獨一無二，

So, still -- how does it work?

是世界級的特別。

Where do we get this heat?

那麼，這是怎麼發生的？

There's still more research to be done

熱能從哪裡來？

to better constrain the problem and better understand the system,

我們的研究還沒有結束，

but from what the data is telling us now,

尚待進一步釐清問題， 了解這個系統。

it looks to be the result of a large hydrothermal system.

但從目前的資料來看，

Basically, it works like this:

看起來這是由一個廣大的 熱液系統所造成。

So, the deeper you go into the earth, the hotter it gets.

簡單來說，

We refer to this as the geothermal gradient.

越深入地心，溫度就越燙。

The waters could be coming from as far away as glaciers in the Andes,

我們把這種現象稱為地溫梯度。

then seeping down deep into the earth

水流可能來自遙遠的 安第斯山脈冰川，

and coming out to form the boiling river

再往下滲透深入到地球

after getting heated up from the geothermal gradient,

回到地表形成這條沸水河，

all due to this unique geologic setting.

熱力來自地溫梯度，

Now, we found that in and around the river --

一切源於這種獨特的地質背景。

this is working with colleagues

在河中，以及其週邊， 我們有一些發現。

from National Geographic, Dr. Spencer Wells,

透過許多夥伴的努力，

and Dr. Jon Eisen from UC Davis --

包括國家地理雜誌的韋爾斯博士，

we genetically sequenced the extremophile lifeforms

和加州大學戴維斯分校的 喬恩·艾森博士。

living in and around the river, and have found new lifeforms,

我們將各種嗜極端生物 做基因體定序，

unique species living in the boiling river.

這些生物生長在河流的四周， 我們也發現新生物，

But again, despite all of these studies, all of these discoveries and the legends,

是住在沸水河的獨特物種。

a question remains:

但同樣的，這所有研究、發現， 和傳說的背後，

What is the significance of the boiling river?