Deep Under the Earth's Surface, Discovering Beauty and Science | Francesco Sauro | TED Talks

翻译人员: Hong Li 校对人员: Jianan(Tiana) Zhao

I would like to invite you

我想邀请在座的各位

to come along on a visit

和我一起

to a dark continent.

去探索一片黑暗的大陆。

It is the continent hidden

这片大陆

under the surface of the earth.

隐藏于地表之下。

It is largely unexplored,

大部分地方无人踏足，

poorly understood, and the stuff of legends.

不为人知，充满传奇色彩。

But it is made also of dramatic landscapes

那里有鬼斧神工的奇观，

like this huge underground chamber,

比如这个硕大的地下大厅，

and it is rich with surprising biological and mineralogical worlds.

也充满了令人惊奇的生物和矿物。

Thanks to the efforts of intrepid voyagers in the last three centuries --

多亏三个世纪以来英勇无畏的探险家们——

actually, we know also thanks to satellite technology, of course --

当然，也少不了卫星技术的帮助——

we know almost every single square meter of our planet's surface.

我们几乎对地球表面的 每一寸土地都了如指掌。

However, we know still very little about what is hidden inside the earth.

然而，对于隐藏在地表以下的世界， 我们却知之甚少。

Because a cave landscape, like this deep shaft in Italy, is hidden,

因为这些巨大的洞穴， 像这个位于意大利的深坑，深埋地下，

the potential of cave exploration -- the geographical dimension --

而洞穴考察——从地理学方面而言——的潜力

is poorly understood and unappreciated.

还得不到足够的重视和认可。

Because we are creatures living on the surface,

因为我们是居住在地表的生物，

our perception of the inner side of the planet

我们对于地球内部的看法

is in some ways skewed,

在某些方面是不正确的，

as is that of the depth of the oceans

就如同我们对大洋深处

or of the upper atmosphere.

和近地空间的看法一样。

However, since systematic cave exploration started about one century ago,

尽管如此，由于系统的洞穴勘探 开始于1个世纪前，

we know actually that caves exist in every continent of the world.

我们了解到每一块大陆上都有洞穴存在。

A single cave system, like Mammoth Cave, which is in Kentucky,

单洞穴系统，比如肯塔基州的猛犸洞，

can be as long as more than 600 kilometers.

长度可以绵延超过600公里。

And an abyss like Krubera Voronya, which is in the Caucasus region,

而像位于高加索地区的库鲁伯亚拉洞穴，

actually the deepest cave explored in the world,

是迄今为止发现的最深的洞穴，

can go as far as more than 2,000 meters below the surface.

深度超过2000米。

That means a journey of weeks for a cave explorer.

意味着洞穴探险家要花数周时间才能到底。

Caves form in karstic regions.

（这些是）喀斯特地区形成的洞穴。

So karstic regions are areas of the world

所谓喀斯特地区，是指这些区域，

where the infiltrating water along cracks, fractures,

那里的水顺着岩石缝隙流入地下，

can easily dissolve soluble lithologies,

对可溶性岩石产生溶蚀作用，

forming a drainage system of tunnels, conduits --

形成纵横交错、暗渠遍布的排水系统——

a three-dimensional network, actually.

实际上是一种三维立体网络。

Karstic regions cover almost 20 percent of the continents' surface,

喀斯特地区几乎覆盖了陆地表面的20%，

and we know actually that speleologists in the last 50 years

在过去的50年里，洞穴学家们

have explored roughly 30,000 kilometers of cave passages around the world,

在全世界探索了差不多3万公里的洞穴通道，

which is a big number.

这是个了不起的数字。

But geologists have estimated that what is still missing,

但地质学家估计，那些没被发现的，

to be discovered and mapped,

没有被探明和标注的（洞穴通道），

is something around 10 million kilometers.

差不多还有1000万公里。

That means that for each meter of a cave that we already know,

也就是说，那些已经被发现的洞穴，

that we have explored,

其中被勘探过的每一米，

there are still some tens of kilometers of undiscovered passages.

都对应数十公里尚未被发现的洞穴通道。

That means that this is really an endless continent,

可以说这是一片没有尽头的陆地，

and we will never be able to explore it completely.

我们永远也不可能将它走完。

And this estimation is made without considering other types of caves,

而这一估算还未包括其他种类的洞穴，

like, for example, inside glaciers or even volcanic caves,

比如说，冰川洞穴，或者火山洞穴，

which are not karstic, but are formed by lava flows.

（火山洞穴）不是喀斯特洞穴， 而是由熔岩流动形成的。

And if we have a look at other planets like, for example, Mars,

如果我们将目光转向其他行星，比如火星，

you will see that this characteristic

可以看到这些（地质）特征

is not so specific of our home planet.

并不是地球独有的。

However, I will show to you now that we do not need to go to Mars

当然，我们不用前往火星

to explore alien worlds.

去探索外星人的世界。

I'm a speleologist, that means a cave explorer.

我是一名洞穴学家， 我的工作是勘探洞穴。

And I started with this passion when I was really young

我这个爱好在我很小的时候就形成了，

in the mountains not far from my hometown in North Italy,

当时是在离我家不远， 意大利北部的山区里，

in the karstic regions of the Alps and the Dolomites.

位于阿尔卑斯山和 白云石山的喀斯特地区。

But soon, the quest for exploration brought me to the farthest corner

很快，对于勘探的追求 将我带到了地球最远端，

of the planet, searching for new potential entrances

去搜寻这片未知大陆

of this undiscovered continent.

可能的新入口。

And in 2009, I had the opportunity to visit the tepui table mountains,

2009年，我有幸走访了特普伊桌山，

which are in the Orinoco and Amazon basins.

它位于奥里诺科河和亚马孙河流域。

These massifs enchanted me from the first time I saw them.

看到这些山峦的第一眼就让我陶醉。

They are surrounded by vertical, vertiginous rock walls

它们的四周是陡峭的石壁，垂直于地面，

with silvery waterfalls that are lost in the forest.

银色的瀑布悬于崖上， 最后消失在丛林中。

They really inspired in me a sense of wilderness,

它们用数百万年岁月沉淀的灵气，

with a soul older than millions and millions of years.

让我感受到大自然的原始之力。

And this dramatic landscape inspired among other things

有很多作品受到这一壮丽景象的启发，

also Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" novel in 1912.

比如柯南·道尔在1912年 创作的小说《失落的世界》。

And they are, really, a lost world.

这里的的确确是一个失落的世界。

Scientists consider those mountains as islands in time,

科学家们将这些山脉视为“时间的岛屿”，

being separated from the surrounding lowlands

它们拔地而起，高耸于周围的低地之上，

since tens of millions of years ago.

已有千万年之久。

They are surrounded by up to 1,000-meter-high walls,

四周的峭壁高达千米，

resembling a fortress, impregnable by humans.

形成了人类无法攻破的堡垒。

And, in fact, only a few of these mountains have been climbed

实际上，只有少数的山峰被人类征服过，

and explored on their top.

探索过山顶。

These mountains contain also a scientific paradox:

这些山脉还包含一个科学悖论：

They are made by quartz,

它们是由石英组成，

which is a very common mineral on the earth's crust,

石英是地壳中很常见的一种矿石，

and the rock made up by quartz is called quartzite,

由石英组成的岩石叫石英岩，

and quartzite is one of the hardest and least soluble minerals on earth.

石英岩是地球上最坚硬、 最难被溶蚀的岩石之一。

So we do not expect at all to find a cave there.

因此我们根本没想过 会在那里发现洞穴。

Despite this, in the last 10 years, speleologists from Italy,

尽管如此，在过去十年间， 来自全球各地的洞穴学家，意大利

Slovakia, Czech Republic, and, of course, Venezuela and Brazil,

斯洛伐克，捷克， 当然还有委内瑞拉和巴西，

have explored several caves in this area.

在这个区域发现了许多洞穴。

So how can it be possible?

这怎么可能呢？

To understand this contradiction, we have to consider the time factor,

要理解这一矛盾， 我们必须考虑时间的因素，

because the history of the tepuis is extremely long,

因为特普伊山的历史非常悠久，

starting about 1.6 billion years ago with the formation of the rock,

这些石英岩的形成始于16亿年前，

and then evolving with the uplift of the region 150 million years ago,

1亿5千万年前，随着盘古大陆的分裂，

after the disruption of the Pangaea supercontinent

随着大西洋形成，

and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean.

这些岩石开始逐渐上升。

So you can imagine that the water had tens or even hundreds of millions of years

想象一下，水流拥有 上千万甚至上亿年的时间

to sculpt the strangest forms on the tepuis' surfaces,

来雕塑特普伊山坚硬的表面，

but also to open the fractures and form stone cities, rock cities,

甚至劈开山体，形成石头城，岩中城，

fields of towers which are characterized in the famous landscape of the tepuis.

还有塔林，形成了特普伊山特有的美景。

But nobody could have imagined

但没有人能够想象出

what was happening inside a mountain in so long a time frame.

在如此长的岁月中， 山脉内部到底发生了什么。

And so I was focusing in 2010 on one of those massifs,

于是，在2010年， 我将目光锁定在其中一座山峰，

the Auyán-tepui, which is very famous because it hosts Angel Falls,

阿岩－特普伊山，它因天使瀑布而闻名，

which is the highest waterfall in the world --

天使瀑布是世界最高瀑布，

about 979 meters of vertical drop.

垂直落差达979米。

And I was searching for hints of the existence of cave systems

通过（分析）卫星图像， 我寻找洞穴系统

through satellite images,

存在的迹象，

and finally we identified an area of collapses of the surface --

最终我发现一个区域有地表坍塌的现象——

so, big boulders, rock piles --

也就是说，大块的、成堆的岩石——

and that means that there was a void below.

这表明，底下是空的。

It was a clear indication that there was something inside the mountain.

毫无疑问，山体中间有些东西。

So we did several attempts to reach this area,

于是，我们数次尝试前往这一区域，

by land and with a helicopter,

通过陆路和直升机，

but it was really difficult because -- you have to imagine

这一过程非常艰难，要知道，

that these mountains are covered by clouds most of the year, by fog.

这些山脉终年被云雾覆盖。

There are strong winds,

风力很大，

and there are almost 4,000 millimeters of rainfall per year,

年降水量高达4000毫米，

so it's really, really difficult to find good conditions.

因此找到合适的时机 （攀登）真是非常困难。

And only in 2013 we finally landed on the spot

直到2013年我们才最终抵达这一地点，

and we started the exploration of the cave.

开始探索底下的洞穴。

The cave is huge.

这个洞穴非常巨大。

It's a huge network under the surface of the tepui plateau,

是一个庞大的洞穴网络， 位于特普伊高原地表以下，

and in only ten days of expedition,

在短短的十天时间里，

we explored more than 20 kilometers of cave passages.

我们探索了超过20公里的洞穴通道。

And it's a huge network of underground rivers,

那里地下河纵横交错，

channels, big rooms, extremely deep shafts.

沟渠遍布，石室众多， 还有非常深的岩井。

So it's really an incredible place.

真是一个神奇的地方。

And we named it Imawarì Yeuta.

我们将其命名为“伊玛瓦利 耶尔塔”。

That means, in the Pemón indigenous language, "The House of the Gods."

在佩蒙土著语里的意思是“众神的居所”。

You have to imagine that indigenous people have never been there.

要知道，土著人从未去过那里。

It was impossible for them to reach this area.

他们不可能抵达那个区域。

However, there were legends about the existence

然而，当地的确有传说，

of a cave in the mountain.

关于山中洞穴的存在。

So when we started the exploration,

因此，当我们开始探索时，

we had to explore with a great respect,

我们心怀敬畏之心，

both because of the religious beliefs of the indigenous people,

不仅因为当地土著居民的宗教信仰，

but also because it was really a sacred place,

还因为这确实是个神圣的地方，

because no human had entered there before.

因为之前从未有人类踏足过。

So we had to use special protocols

因此我们制定了特别的规程

to not contaminate the environment with our presence,

避免我们的探索对环境造成污染，

and we tried also to share with the community,

同时，我们也尝试将发现成果，

with the indigenous community, our discoveries.

与当地社会分享 。

And the caves represent, really, a snapshot of the past.

这些洞穴能让我们一窥历史的样貌。

The time needed for their formation

这些洞穴形成的时间，

could be as long as 50 or even 100 million years,

长达5千万甚至1亿年，

which makes them possibly the oldest caves that we can explore on earth.

也许是我们在地球上 能找到的最古老的洞穴。

What you can find there is really evidence of a lost world.

你在那里真的能找到 失落世界存在的证据。

When you enter a quartzite cave,

当你进入一个石英岩洞穴时，

you have to completely forget what you know about caves --

你不得不将以往对洞穴的 了解都抛在脑后——

classic limestone caves or the touristic caves

我说的是典型的石灰岩洞穴， 或者说观光洞穴，

that you can visit in several places in the world.

你在世界上很多地方都可以找到。

Because what seems a simple stalactite here

因为这样一个看起来普通的钟乳石，

is not made by calcium carbonate, but is made by opal,

不是是由碳酸钙组成的， 而是蛋白石，

and one of those stalactites can require tens of millions of years to be formed.

而一个这样的钟乳石 需要上千万年的时间才能形成。

But you can find even stranger forms, like these mushrooms of silica

还有些形状更奇怪的， 比如这些由二氧化硅形成的蘑菇，

growing on a boulder.

生长在岩石之上。

And you can imagine our talks when we were exploring the cave.

大家可以想象下， 当我们发现这些时有多激动。

We were the first entering and discovering those unknown things,

我们是首次进入（这个洞穴） 和发现这些未知物体的人，

things like those monster eggs.

比如这些像怪兽蛋的物体。

And we were a bit scared because it was all a discovery,

我们有点点害怕， 因为不知道会找到什么，

and we didn't want to find a dinosaur.

我们可不想碰到恐龙。

We didn't find a dinosaur.

当然，恐龙并未出现。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Anyway, actually, we know that this kind of formation,

好吧，实际上，经过一些研究之后，

after several studies,

我们弄明白了这种结构，

we know that these kinds of formations are living organisms.

我们发现这些物体是活着的有机体。

They are bacterial colonies using silica to build mineral structures

它们是细菌聚落， 使二氧化硅形成矿物结构，

resembling stromatolites.

就像叠层石一样。

Stromatolites are some of the oldest forms of life that we can find on earth.

叠层石是我们在地球上 能找到的最古老的生命形式之一。

And here in the tepuis,

在特普伊山地区（这个洞穴中），

the interesting thing is that these bacteria colonies have evolved

有意思的是，这些细菌聚落，

in complete isolation from the external surface,

在与外界隔离的情况下完成了进化，

and without being in contact with humans.

而且从未与人类接触过。

They have never been in contact with humans.

完全与世隔绝。

So the implications for science are enormous,

在这里可能会产生 科学上的很多新发现，

because here you could find, for example, microbes

因为在这里你有可能找到

that could be useful to resolve diseases in medicine,

能治疗某些疾病的微生物，

or you could find even a new kind of material with unknown properties.

或者有可能发现 具有未知特性的新材料。

And, in fact, we discovered in the cave a new mineral structure for science,

事实上，我们的确在洞中 发现了一种新的矿物结构，

which is rossiantonite, a phosphate-sulfate.

叫做rossiantonite， 它是一种磷硫酸矿物。

So whatever you find in the cave, even a small cricket,

所以无论你在洞中发现了什么， 即便是一只小蟋蟀，

has evolved in the dark in complete isolation.

它也在这黑暗的与世隔绝之地完成了进化。

And, really, everything that you can feel in the cave are real connections

说真的，你在洞中所感受到的，

between the biological and the mineralogical world.

是生物世界和矿物世界的真实联系。

So as we explore this dark continent

因此，当我们在探索这片黑暗的大陆时，

and discover its mineralogical and biological diversity and uniqueness,

在不断发现它在矿物学 和生物学上的多样性和独特性时，

we will find probably clues about the origin of life on our planet

我们很有可能找到 地球生命起源的线索，

and on the relationship and evolution of life

弄清楚生命进化

in relationship with the mineral world.

与矿物世界之间的联系。

What seems only a dark, empty environment

看似漆黑一片，空无一物的环境，

could be in reality a chest of wonders

有可能充满奇迹

full of useful information.

包含许多有用的信息。

With a team of Italian, Venezuelan and Brazilian speleologists,

我们组建了一支由意大利、委内瑞拉 和巴西的洞穴学家组成的队伍，

which is called La Venta Teraphosa,

名叫“La Venta Teraphosa”，

we will be back soon to Latin America,

我们将很快返回拉丁美洲，

because we want to explore other tepuis in the farthest areas of the Amazon.

因为我们要前往亚马孙流域深处 探索其他的特普伊山。

There are still very unknown mountains,

（那里）还有很多未被探索过的山脉，

like Marahuaca, which is almost 3,000 meters high above sea level,

比如马拉瓦卡山，海拔将近3000米，

or Aracà, which is in the upper region of Rio Negro in Brazil.

还有阿拉卡山，位于巴西内格罗河上游。

And we suppose that we could find there even bigger cave systems,

我们认为可以在那里 发现更大规模的洞穴系统，

and each one with its own undiscovered world.

而每一个洞穴里 都藏有一个未知的世界。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Bruno Giussani: Thank you, Francesco. Give me that to start so we don't forget.

布鲁诺·吉萨尼：谢谢，弗朗西斯科。 给我们带来一个这么难忘的演讲。

Francesco, you said we don't need to go to Mars to find alien life,

弗朗西斯科，你刚才说到， 我们不用去火星寻找外星生命，

and indeed, last time we spoke, you were in Sardinia

实际上，上次咱们 见面的时候，你在撒丁岛，

and you were training European astronauts.

训练欧洲的宇航员。

So what do you, a speleologist, tell and teach to the astronauts?

作为一个洞穴学家， 你具体教宇航员什么东西呢？

Francesco Sauro: Yeah, we are -- it's a program of training

弗朗西斯科·绍罗：没错，是在撒丁岛， 这项训练不仅针对欧洲宇航员，

for not only European, but also NASA, Roskosmos, JAXA astronauts, in a cave.

还有来自美国、俄罗斯、 日本的航空航天机构的宇航员。

So they stay in a cave for about one week in isolation.

他们要在洞穴中与世隔绝地待一星期。

They have to work together in a real, real dangerous environment,

他们必须在十分危险的环境中开展合作，

and it's a real alien environment for them because it's unusual.

对他们而言那就是外星环境， 因为那里非同寻常。

It's always dark. They have to do science. They have a lot of tasks.

周围总是漆黑一片，而他们要开展科研工作， 完成各种各样的任务。

And it's very similar to a journey to Mars

这一情况跟前往火星，

or the International Space Station.

或者前往国际空间站很类似。

BG: In principle. FS: Yes.

BG：从理论上讲（很类似）。 FS：没错。

BG: I want to go back to one of the pictures

BG：我想再看一张图片，

that was in your slide show,

刚刚在你的幻灯片里出现过，

and it's just representative of the other photos --

我觉得它很有代表性

Weren't those photos amazing? Yeah?

这些照片都非常美？对吗？

Audience: Yeah!

观众：没错！

(Applause)

（掌声）

FS: I have to thank the photographers from the team La Venta,

FS：这要感谢La Venta团队里的摄影师，

because all of those photos are from the photographers.

这些美丽的照片都是出自他们之手。

BG: You bring, actually, photographers with you in the expedition.

BG：你们的探险队伍里还有摄影师。

They're professionals, they're speleologists and photographers.

他们是专业人士， 既是洞穴学家，又是摄影师。

But when I look at these pictures, I wonder: there is zero light down there,

但是我在看这些照片的时候， 我在想，洞里面几乎没有任何光线，

and yet they look incredibly well-exposed.

而这些照片看起来曝光得非常好。

How do you take these pictures?

是怎么做到的？

How do your colleagues, the photographers, take these pictures?

你的同事们，那些摄影师， 他们是怎么拍出来的？

FS: Yeah. They are working in a darkroom, basically,

FS：没错。他们基本上 像是在暗房里工作，

so you can open the shutter of the camera

你可以打开相机的快门

and use the lights to paint the environment.

利用光线来拍摄周围的环境。

BG: So you're basically --

BG：就像这样——

FS: Yes. You can even keep the shutter open for one minute

FS：没错。你可以将快门打开， 甚至一分钟那么久

and then paint the environment.

然后拍摄周围的环境。

The final result is what you want to achieve.

最后就能得到你想要的效果。

BG: You spray the environment with light and that's what you get.

BG：你用光线来拍摄环境， 就能得到这些照片。

Maybe we can try this at home someday, I don't know.

也许哪天我们可以在家试试。

（笑声）

(Laughter)

BG：弗朗西斯科，谢谢。 FS：谢谢。

BG: Francesco, grazie. FS: Grazie.

(Applause)

（掌声）