How you survive the coldest place on Earth - Nadia Frontier

翻译人员: Jacky He 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

The vast, white ice surface of Antarctica

南极洲广阔无垠的雪白冰面

stretches for over 3 million square kilometers:

覆盖 300 多万平方公里：

empty, desolate, and almost completely silent.

景象空旷、荒凉，且近乎死寂。

But appearances can be deceiving.

但表象往往不代表全部，

On the coast of this expanse,

在这片广阔区域的海岸上，

just a few meters beneath the ice lies a multicolored constellation of life.

冰层下几公尺处 就隐藏着丰富的生命群。

This remarkably diverse realm is home to over 8,000 species of sea denizens

这片极其多样化的空间是 8,000 多种海洋居民的家园；

who rely on an arsenal of otherworldly traits to survive.

它们凭借超凡的本领在此生存。

So how do these species not only live, but thrive,

那么，这些物种是怎么在

in conditions most animals would be unable to bear?

大多生物所无法承受的 条件下存活并繁衍生长的呢？

Antarctic waters are some of the most consistently frigid in the world,

南极水域是世界上最稳定 维持冰冷的水域之一，

hovering below 0 degrees Celsius for a large portion of the year.

常年位于零度以下。

This means burning energy too quickly can be deadly,

这意味着过快地 消耗能量会是致命的，

so survival in this ecosystem looks slow and steady.

因此在个生态系统中 生存似乎不紧不慢。

Freezing temperatures persist even in the summer,

冰冷的温度在夏季中持续，

but this season brings a rare gift: sunlight.

但是这个季节带来了 难得的馈赠：阳光。

For a brief period, it’s abundant,

在短时间内，它是很充足的，

shining through the ice for 24 hours a day.

每天 24 小时照向通透的冰面。

This infusion of energy drives intense coastal phytoplankton blooms,

这类能量的增加导致 沿海浮游植物的迅速繁殖，

transforming the waters into a thick green soup.

将水域染为浓厚的绿色。

Marine life both large and small takes advantage of this bounty,

体型各异的海洋生物 都善加利用这富足的滋养，

including the giant Antarctic isopod.

包括巨型南极等足类动物。

Cousins of the humble pill bug,

作为药虫的表兄，

these crustaceans can reach up to 11 centimeters long,

这些甲壳类动物可长达 11 厘米，

and they never miss the opportunity for a meal.

而且它们从来不会错过用餐的机会。

The scavengers eat a wide variety of prey, including other giant isopods.

这些“清道夫”会捕食各种各样的猎物， 包括其他巨型等足类动物。

And by slowing their metabolisms, they can make this food last,

而通过减缓新陈代谢， 它们可以充分利用这类食物，

with one study showing specimens surviving for 50 days without eating.

一项研究显示，其在 停止进食后可存活 50 天。

Since this adaptation involves careful conservation of energy,

由于这种方法需要谨慎地储存能量，

giant isopods spend most of their time stationary or inching across the seafloor.

巨型等足类动物大段时间是 静态，或是在海底挪动。

Meanwhile, their tiny amphipod relatives celebrate the summer

而它们的小型两栖类亲属

by releasing offspring alongside the algal explosion,

通过在藻类爆炸的 同时释放后代来庆祝夏天，

ensuring their young have an abundance of food.

确保它们的幼儿有充足的食物。

And sea cucumbers carpeting the seafloor hoover up the dense plankton

遍布海底的海参用伸出的触角

with outstretched tentacles,

摄取密集的浮游生物，

producing nutrient-rich feces that nourish nearby life.

产生营养丰富的粪便， 滋养附近的生物。

But this big summer blowout doesn’t last long.

不过，夏季的盛况 不会持续多久。

The first signs of autumn arrive in fine needles of frazil ice.

秋天的第一个征兆是 细微冻粒冰的出现。

These slowly coagulating crystals form a skin across the surface,

这些缓慢凝结的 晶体在水面上形成薄层，

then mix with falling snow before freezing into a thin crust of ice.

随后与落雪融合， 最终结成单薄的冰壳。

The waters get darker and colder.

海水会变得愈加黑暗、冰冷。

And in this swiftly dimming world,

在这个迅速失色的世界中，

a set of long, spiky limbs sidle into view.

一对细长带刺的肢体隐约可见。

With up to six pairs of legs, these giant sea spiders aren’t arachnids,

这些巨型海蜘蛛最多长着六对腿， 不是蛛形纲动物，

but rather a related class of marine arthropod unique to the seafloor.

而是一种与栖息海底节肢动物 相近的、独一无二的蛛形纲。

In addition to housing some of the animal’s organs,

它们的腿除了容纳某些器官，

its legs are covered in tiny holes,

上面还遍布小洞， 这会随着蜘蛛的年龄增长，

which grow more numerous as the spider ages.

而变得越来越多。

These holes will likely help absorb the dissolved oxygen

这些洞大概能有助于吸收

that saturates these freezing southern waters.

冰冻南极水域的饱和溶解氧。

Since oxygen fuels growth,

由于氧气促进生长，

many local species have evolved to take advantage of this abundance,

许多当地物种已经进化出 利用这样密集度的能力，

and it may be one of the reasons that gigantism is so common in this region.

这可能是巨型生物 在该地区如此普遍的原因之一。

Individual sea spiders, for instance, can grow to the size of dinner plates.

例如，单个海蜘蛛 可以长到餐盘般大小。

But soon, these underwater giants will be moving slower than ever.

但再过会儿，这些水下巨人将 移动得比以往任何时候更加缓慢。

As winter settles in, the sea floor becomes even colder.

随着冬天来临， 海底变得更为寒冷。

Waters fall to negative 1.8 degrees Celsius.

水温降至零下 1.8 摄氏度。

On the surface, the thin icy crust thickens into a layer called nilas,

在海面，薄薄的冰壳 会凝固成一层海冰，

and young sea ice starts forming ridges that block out the sun.

积累起来遮挡住阳光。

The ocean begins to mirror the still landscape above it.

海面开始折射周围静象的景观。

Antarctic sea cucumbers and urchins go into dormancy for months,

南极海参和海胆会数月停留在休眠期，

and their metabolic rates fall to the slowest on Earth.

它们的新陈代谢率 降到地球上最慢的程度。

Antarctic limpets continue feeding,

南极帽贝继续进食，

but at such a gradual pace that they're largely still surviving

但节奏如此缓慢， 它们基本上仍依靠夏季的

on energy reserves from the summer.

能量储备生存。

Tiny crustaceans survive off the traces of algae

微小的甲壳类动物靠它们家园冰顶上

growing on their home’s icy ceiling,

生长的零星藻类生存，

raising their young in these expansive winter nurseries.

在这些辽阔的冬季窝巢里培育幼体。

But this seemingly endless winter won't last forever.

但是这个看似无尽的冬天 不会永远持续下去。

As spring comes, light slowly begins to trickle back down through the ice.

随着春天的到来， 光线慢慢地穿过冰层。

And week by week, bit by bit,

一周周过去，一点点地，

this underwater world will begin waking up

这个海底世界会开始苏醒，

to begin its delicate, slow-motion dance once again.

再次跳起它那支灵巧的慢动作舞蹈。