My glacier cave discoveries - Eddy Cartaya

翻译人员: shuishui yu 校对人员: QI YU

So how many of you

have ever been in a cave before?

在座的各位有谁曾经去过洞穴呢？

Okay, a few of you.

When you think of a cave,

好吧，有几个

most of you think of a tunnel

当提到洞穴的时候，

大多数人想到的是一个穿过坚硬岩石的隧道

going through solid rock.

In fact, that's how most caves are.

的确，大多数洞穴是这样的

Around this half of the country,

在这国家

大多数的洞穴都是由石灰岩构成的

most of your caves are made of limestone.

Back where I'm from,

most of our caves are made from lava rock

而在我的家乡

大多数洞穴是由火山岩构成的

because we have a lot of volcanoes out there.

因为在那儿有很多火山

But the caves I want to share with you today

但今天我想要和大家展示的洞穴，

are made completely of ice,

却完全是由冰构成的

specifically glacier ice

确切的说是由形成于俄勒冈州的最高山-胡德山的冰川构成

as formed in the side of the tallest mountain

in the state of Oregon

called Mount Hood.

Now, Mount Hood's only one hour's drive

胡德山距波特兰市仅一个小时车程

from Portland,

the largest city in Oregon

波特兰是俄勒冈州最大的城市

where over two million people live.

有200多万人口

Now, the most exciting thing

对洞穴探险者来说，

for a cave explorer

最令人兴奋的事情就是，

is to find a new cave

发现一个新的洞穴，

and be the first human to ever go into it.

并且成为第一个踏进这个洞穴的人

The second most exciting thing

for a cave explorer

第二件令人兴奋的事是，

is to be the first one to make a map of a cave.

成为第一个绘制洞穴地图的人

Now, these days,

但现在这年头

with so many people hiking around,

大家都喜欢到处探险

it's pretty hard to find a new cave,

要找到一个新的洞穴还是挺难的

so you can imagine how excited

所以可想而知，

we were to find three new caves

当我们在波特兰这个俄勒冈州最大城市的范围内

within sight of Oregon's largest city

找到了三个新洞穴，

and realize that they have never been explored

并且意识到从未有人进去勘察或者绘制过地图时，

or mapped before.

我们有多么的兴奋了！

It was kind of like being an astronaut

这有点像在做宇航员在做的事

because we were getting to see things

因为我们能够亲眼看到人所未见

and go places

that no one had ever seen or gone before.

并且踏足于人所为止的地方

So, what is a glacier?

那到底什么是冰川呢？

Well, those of you that have ever seen

见过或者摸过雪的人都知道，

or touched snow,

雪花非常轻

you know that it's really light

because it's just a bunch of tiny ice crystals

因为它们只是由一些微小的冰晶聚合在一起，

clumped together

and it's mostly air.

而其中大部分都是空气

If you squish a handful of snow

如果你把一团雪用力揉成一个雪球，

to make a snowball,

it gets really small, hard, and dense.

它会变的又小又硬，密度很大

Well, in a mountain like Hood

在胡德山，每年会有大概超过20英尺的降雪

where it snows over twenty feet a year,

it crushes the air out of it

这么厚的雪层层堆积，

由于重力关系，雪中的空气都被挤压出去

and gradually forms it into hard, blue ice.

逐渐形成了坚硬的蓝色冰层

Now, each year more and more ice

这样年复一年，冰层层叠加

stacks up on top of it

and eventually gets so heavy

这些冰变得越来越重

最终由于自身重力的原因，滑下山去

that it starts to slide down the mountain

under its own weight,

形成了缓慢移动的冰河

forming a slow-moving river of ice.

When an ice pack like that starts to move,

当大量的冰像这样开始移动的时候，

we call it a glacier

被称之为“冰川”

and we give it a name.

通常我们会为这些冰川取个名字

The name of the glacier these caves were formed

我们这次发现洞穴的冰川，

就叫做”桑迪冰川”

is the Sandy Glacier.

（该冰川为桑迪河支流Muddy Fork的源头）

Now, each year as new snow lands on the glacier,

每年冰川上都会有新的降雪

it melts in the summer sun,

这些降雪在夏日时融化，

and it forms little rivers of water

在冰层表面形成了细流

on the flow along the ice

and they start to melt

and bore their way down through the glacier,

这些小水流融化并渗入到冰川下

forming big networks of caves,

从而形成了巨大的洞穴网络

sometimes going all the way down

有时甚至能一路流到冰川底部的基岩

to the underlying bedrock.

Now, the crazy thing about glacier caves

（基层：位于松软的风化层底部的完整岩石）

关于冰川洞穴非常奇特的事情就是，

is that each year new tunnels form,

每年都有新的洞穴通道形成，

different waterfalls pop up

各种不同的水流会出现

or move around from place to place

inside the cave.

甚至会在洞穴的不同地方移动

Warm water from the top of the ice

较温暖的水从冰层顶部一路向下流动

is boring its way down,

and warm air from below the mountain

而热空气却从山底上升进到洞穴中，

actually rises up,

gets into the cave,

从而使得洞穴顶部的冰逐渐融化

and melts the ceilings back taller and taller.

洞穴变得越来越高

But the weirdest thing about glacier caves

而最不可思议的事是，

is that the entire cave is moving

整个冰穴会发生移动

because it's formed inside a block of ice

因为它处于一整块冰块中

the size of a small city

而这个近似于小城市大小的冰块会慢慢滑下山底

that's slowly sliding down the mountain.

Now, this is Brent McGregor,

这是布伦特·麦格雷戈

my cave exploration partner.

我的洞穴探险伙伴

He and I have both been exploring caves a long time

我们两个都有很长一段探险洞穴的经历

and we've been climbing mountains a long time,

并且也有丰富的爬山经验

but neither of us have ever really explored

但我们在此之前从来都没有探险过冰穴

a glacier cave before.

Back in 2011, Brent saw a YouTube video

2011年的时候，布伦特在油管上看到一段几个探险者的视频

of a couple of hikers

that stumbled across the entrance

他们意外发现了一个洞穴的入口

to one of these caves.

There were no GPS coordinates for it,

视频里并没有显示该洞穴的地理坐标

and all we knew was that it was somewhere

我们只知道那洞穴位于桑迪冰川的某处

out on the Sandy Glacier.

所以那年七月我们便出发前往桑迪冰川

So, in July of that year,

we went out on the glacier,

and we found a big crack in the ice.

我们在冰上发现了一条巨大的裂缝

We had to build snow and ice anchors,

我们只能先固定好冰雪锚，

so we could tie off ropes

再把绳子固定在锚上

and repel down into the hole.

从而借助绳子进入到洞里

This is me looking into the entrance crevasse.

这是从裂缝入口朝里看的样子

At the end of this hole,

we found a huge tunnel

在这洞穴的底部

我们发现了一个巨大的通道

going right up the mountain

underneath thousands of tons of glacier ice.

它正好位于山体内，上方是成千上万吨的冰川

We followed this cave back

for about a half mile until it came to an end.

我们沿着洞穴走了大概800米到达尽头

And then with the help of our survey tools,

借助勘测工具

we made a three-dimensional map of the cave

我们从洞穴由内朝外的方向，

on our way back out.

为这个洞穴绘制了一张三维地图

So, how do you map a cave?

那如何绘制一张洞穴地图呢？

Well, cave maps aren't like trail maps or road maps

洞穴地图不同于路线图或者道路图

because they have pits and holes

因为它们有重重叠叠的坑或者孔洞

going to overlapping levels.

To make a cave map,

绘制一张洞穴图

you have to set up survey stations

需要先在洞穴里每隔几米设定一个勘测点

every few feet inside the cave,

然后用激光发射器测量两个勘测点的距离

and you use a laser to measure the distance

between those stations.

And you use a compass and an inclinometer

之后利用指南针和倾斜仪测量洞穴的朝向，

to measure the direction the cave is headed

and measure the slope of the floor and the ceilings.

以及地表和顶部的倾斜的角度

Now, those of you taking trigonometry,

三角测量法便在其中派上用场了

that particular type of math

is very useful for making maps like this

因为你可以通过计算得出高度和距离，

because it allows you to measure

heights and distances

却不用爬上爬下，拉根卷尺到想要测的点

without actually having to go there.

In fact, the more I mapped and studied caves,

实际上，在我绘制和研究越来越多的洞穴地图时

the more useful I found all that math

我越发觉得数学是如此的实用！

that I originally hated in school to be.

虽然我曾经在学校时很讨厌它

So, when you're done surveying,

那么，勘测时获得的所有数据

you take all this data,

you punch it into the computer,

被一个一个输入到电脑中

and you find someone

that can draw really well,

画图的专业人士再通过这些数据把地图绘制出来

and you have them draft up a map

that looks something like this.

像这样

And it will show you both

这张图同时展示了过道的鸟瞰图

a bird's eye view of the passage

as well as a profile view of the passage,

以及侧视图

kind of like an ant farm view.

看上去有点像一个蚂蚁农场

We named this cave Snow Dragon Cave

我们把这个洞穴命名为雪龙穴（Snow Dragon）

because it was like a big dragon

sleeping under the snow.

因为它真的很像一只沉睡在积雪下的大龙

Now, later this summer

这个夏天晚些时候

as more snow melted off the glacier,

当更多的积雪融化后

we found more caves,

我们发现了更多的洞穴

and we realized they were all connected.

从而我们意识到，这些洞穴都是联通的

Not long after we mapped Snow Dragon,

在我们绘制了雪龙穴地图不久之后

Brent discovered this new cave

not very far away.

布伦特在雪龙穴不远处发现了一个新的洞穴

The inside of it was coated with ice

这个新发现的洞穴内部全部被冰覆盖着

so we had to wear big spikes

所以我们得穿上的用于攀岩的钉鞋

in our feet called crampons,

so we could walk around without slipping.

这样走在冰上才不至于滑倒

This cave was amazing!

这个洞穴的景观令人叹为观止！

The ice in the ceiling was glowing blue and green

洞顶部的冰闪耀着蓝色和绿色的光芒

because the sunlight from far above

这是由于外界太阳光穿过冰层时，可见光中大部分光都被吸收

was shining through the ice

and lighting it all up.

只有蓝色和绿色的光能透过冰层，到达我们眼前

Now, we couldn't understand why this cave

was so much colder than Snow Dragon

一开始我们很疑惑为什么这个洞穴比雪龙穴还要冷很多

until we got to the end,

and we found out why.

直到我们走到洞穴的尽头

There was a huge pit or shaft called a moulin

才发现那有一个超级大的深坑，它被称之为“冰川锅穴”

going a 130 feet straight up

它距离冰川表层大约有40米深

to the surface of the glacier.

Cold air from the top of the mountain

was flowing down this hole,

冷空气从山顶流入这个坑洞

blasting through the cave,

流经整个洞穴

freezing everything inside of it.

把洞里所有的东西都冻上了

And we were so excited about finding this new pit,

发现这个坑穴令我们激动不已

we actually came back in January the following year

因此我们决定明年一月再回到这

so we could be the first ones to explore it.

那样我们便能成为第一个发现并探测它的人

It was so cold outside,

由于洞穴外面实在太冷

we actually had to sleep inside the cave.

我们不得不在洞穴里面过夜

Here's our camp on the left side

并把营扎在洞穴入口的左侧

of this entrance room.

The next morning we climbed out of the cave

第二天时我们爬出这个洞穴

and hiked all the way

并一路爬上了冰川顶部

to the top of the glacier

where we finally rigged and repelled this pit

然后安装好攀爬设备，借助绳索首次进入坑穴中

for the very first time.

Brent named this cave Pure Imagination, I think,

布伦特把这个洞穴称为“纯净想象”

because the beautiful sights we saw in there

我想是因为内部的景致美得超出了我们的想象

were beyond what we could have ever imagined.

So, besides really cool ice,

那么除了冰冻的冰外，

what else is inside these caves?

这些洞穴里还有什么呢？

实际上并没有什么生物生活在那里

Well, not too much lives in them

because they're so cold,

and the entrance is actually covered up with snow

因为实在太冷了

而且每年将近有八个月的时间，洞穴都是被白雪覆盖的

for about eight months of the year,

but there are some really cool things in there.

但我们确实发现了一些非常酷的生物

There's weird bacteria living in the water

有一种神奇的细菌能生活在水里

that actually eat and digest rocks

它们通过分解岩石来供能，而从能生存在冰层下

to make their own food

to live under this ice.

In fact, this past summer

这个夏天

scientists collected samples of water and ice

一些科研工作者采集了洞穴里水和冰的样品

specifically to see if things called extremophiles,

主要就是为了研究其中存在的极端微生物

tiny lifeforms that have evolved

一种进化成了能在非常恶劣的环境里生存的物种

to live in a completely hostile conditions,

might be living under the ice,

也许生存在冰层下的这种细菌，

kind of like what they hope to find

会是科研工作者们所希望发现的，

in the polar ice caps of Mars some day.

类似于可能在火星极地冰盖里生存的生物

Another really cool thing

另外一件有趣的事情是，

is that as seeds and birds land

on the surface of the glacier and die,

落在冰川层上的种子和鸟类死亡后

they get buried in the snow

被埋在雪里

and gradually become part of the glacier,

并逐渐成为冰川的一部分，越埋越深

sinking deeper and deeper into the ice.

As these caves form

当这些洞穴逐渐形成

and melt their way up into the ice,

顶部的冰开始融化

埋藏在冰层里的几百上千年前的生物残骸便像雨一样从洞顶落到地面

they make these artifacts rain down from the ceiling

and fall into the cave floor

我们就是这样在洞里发现它们的

where we end up finding them.

For example, this is a nodal first seed we found.

比如这是我们发现的一个多节种子

It's been frozen in ice for over a hundred years,

它已经在冰里埋藏了上百年

and it's just now starting to sprout.

近期才开始发芽

This mallard duck feather was found over 1800 feet

而这根野鸭羽毛是在雪龙穴背后500多米处被发现的

in the back of Snow Dragon Cave.

这只野鸭是很久很久以前在冰川表面死亡的

This duck died on the surface

of the glacier long, long ago,

and its feathers have finally made it down

它的羽毛在落入这个洞穴前，

through over a hundred feet of ice

已经逐渐埋入几百米深的冰层里

before falling inside the cave.

And this beautiful quartz crystal

我们还在雪龙穴里发现这块漂亮的石英晶体

was also found in the back of Snow Dragon.

Even now Brent and I find it hard to believe

直到现在，布伦特和我都很难相信

that all these discoveries

这些奇妙的发现就在我们身边

were essentially in our own backyard,

只是比较隐蔽，还等着我们去发现

hidden away just waiting to be found.

Like I said earlier,

像我之前说的

the idea of discovery

在我们这个忙忙碌碌的世界里，

in this busy world we live in

kind of seems like something

“发现”的意义有点类似于太空旅行

you can only do with space travel now,

但这不是绝对的

but that's not true.

Every year new caves get discovered

每年都有新的洞穴被发现

that no one has ever been in before.

So, it's actually not too late

所以说，对于我们每个人

for one of you to become a discoverer yourself.

成为一个“发现者”从来都不晚

You just have to be willing to look

你只要有兴趣去观察，去探访

and go where people don't often go

那些人迹罕至的地方

and focus your eyes and your mind

聚精会神地去寻找发现

to recognize the discovery when you see it

因为它可能就在你的身边

because it might be in your own backyard.

Thank you very much.

谢谢大家！