The dangers of a noisy ocean -- and how we can quiet it down | Nicola Jones

翻译人员: Jiasi Hao 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

This is the sound of orcas off the coast of Vancouver.

这是虎鲸的声音， 来自温哥华的海岸。

(Whale chirps and squeaks)

（虎鲸发出的声音）

They make these fantastic sounds not just to communicate,

它们发出这些奇妙的声音 不只是为了交流，

but also sometimes to echolocate,

有时也是为了利用回声定位，

to find their way around and to find food.

帮助它们寻找方向和食物。

But that can be tricky sometimes,

但这有时候没那么简单，

because, well, here is the sound of a ship passing by,

因为，你听，这是在水下记录

recorded underwater.

一艘船驶过的声音。

(Screeching oscillating sound)

（尖锐震动的声音）

You know, when we think about marine pollution,

提到海洋污染时，

I think we usually think about plastics.

我们通常想到的是塑料，

Maybe toxic chemicals,

可能是有毒化学物质，

or even ocean acidification from climate change.

或甚至是由气候变化导致的海洋酸化。

As a science journalist who often writes about environmental issues,

作为一名经常撰写 有关环境问题的科学记者，

those are the things that have passed my desk

这些都是过去 10 多年间

over the past 10 years or so.

出现在我书桌上的话题。

But as I recently realized

然而最近，

when I was writing a feature for the science journal "Nature,"

我为《自然》科学杂志撰稿时，

noise is another important kind of pollution.

才了解到噪声其实是 另一种非常重要的

One that often gets ignored.

且经常被忽视的污染种类。

You know, maybe you've heard of the dark-skies movement,

你可能也听说过“黑夜运动” （Dark-skies Movement），

which aimed to raise awareness of the issue of light pollution

该运动旨在提高 人们对于光污染问题的意识，

and create pockets of unilluminated night,

并且创造出不同范围的无照明之夜，

so that people and animals

让人类和动物

could enjoy more natural cycles of light and dark, night and day.

更能享受光与暗、 昼与夜的自然周期。

Well, in much the same way,

现在也有人用差不多的方法

there are people now raising awareness

提高人们

of the issue of noise pollution

对于噪声污染的意识

and trying to create pockets of quiet in the ocean,

并且尝试在大海里创造出些许宁静，

so that marine life can enjoy a more natural soundscape.

让那些海洋生物 能够享受更自然的声景。

This is important.

这很重要。

Noise isn't just an irritation.

噪声不仅是一种烦扰，

It can cause chronic stress,

噪声可以造成慢性压力，

or even physical injury.

或甚至实体伤害。

It can affect marine life's ability to find food and mates

噪声也可以影响海洋生物 寻找食物和配偶，

and to listen out for predators and more.

以及发现掠夺者之类的能力等等。

Think of all the sounds we inject into the ocean.

想想我们注入海里的所有声音。

Perhaps one of the most dramatic is the seismic surveys

可能最具戏剧性之一的是 用来寻找石油和天然气的

used to look for oil and gas.

地震勘探。

Air guns produce loud blasts,

气枪产生的巨大声响

sometimes every 10 to 15 seconds,

有时每隔 10 - 15 秒响一次，

for months on end.

持续数月才会停止。

And they use the reflections of these sounds

人们用这些声音的回响

to map the ground beneath.

来绘制海底下方的地图。

It can sound like this.

声音听起来像这样。

(Explosion sounds)

（爆破声）

Then, there's the sound of the actual drilling for oil and gas,

之后，还有实际动工 开采石油和天然气的声音，

the construction of things like offshore wind farms,

离岸建造风力发电场的声音，

sonar

声纳，

and of course, the nearly constant drone from more than 50,000 ships

当然还有来自全球 超过五万商业船队派出的

in the global merchant fleet.

几乎不断的嗡嗡的声音。

Now the natural ocean itself isn't exactly quiet.

自然界的海洋本身并不安静，

If you put your head under the water,

如果你把头埋入水中，

you can hear cracking ice, wind, rain,

你可以听到冰裂声、风声、雨声、

singing whales, grunting fish,

鲸鱼歌唱、鱼儿咕噜吐泡，

even snapping shrimp.

甚至是蟹虾夹钳的声音。

Altogether, that can create a soundscape

根据你所在的时间和地点而不同，

of maybe 50 to 100 decibels,

所有这些声音加起来，

depending on where and when you are.

可以产生大概 50 - 100 分贝的声景。

But mankind's addition to that has been dramatic.

但是人类对此声景 造成的额外影响十分巨大。

It's estimated that shipping has added three decibels of noise to the ocean

据估计，在最近几十年中，

every 10 years in recent decades.

船舶运输业每 10 年 为海洋增加了 3 分贝的噪音。

That might not sound like a lot,

这听起来可能不多，

but decibels are on a logarithmic scale,

但是分贝是一个经过对数处理的单位，

like the Richter scale for earthquakes.

类似于地震单位里氏。

So a small number can actually represent a large change.

所以一个小数字实际意味着巨大改变。

Three decibels means a doubling of noise intensity in the ocean.

3 分贝意味着海洋中噪声强度的加倍。

A doubling.

加倍。

And that's only an estimate,

而这还只是一个估测，

because no one is actually keeping track of how noisy the ocean is

因为没人能实时追踪世界范围海洋的

all around the world.

噪音到底有多大。

There is a body called the International Quiet Ocean Experiment,

有一个组织叫国际安静海洋实验项目，

and one of their missions

他们其中的一项任务

is to try and plug the hole in that data.

就是尝试并填补数据漏洞。

So for example, last year,

比如去年，

they managed to convince the Global Ocean Observation System

他们设法说服全球海洋观测系统

to start including noise

开始把噪音指标，

as one of their essential variables for monitoring,

与其他被检测的变量， 如温度和盐度等，

alongside things like temperature and salinity.

纳入监控的重要指标之一。

We do know some things.

我们确实知道一些东西。

We know that sonar can be as loud, or nearly as loud,

我们知道声纳近乎可以堪比

as an underwater volcano.

海底火山的声音。

A supertanker can be as loud as the call of a blue whale.

一艘超级油轮可以 与蓝鲸的叫声相提并论。

The noises we add to the ocean come in all different frequencies

我们向海洋中增加的噪音 来自不同的频率，

and can travel great distances.

也能传播很远的距离。

Seismic surveys off the East Coast of the United States

美国东海岸的地震勘探

can be heard in the middle of the Atlantic.

在大西洋中部依旧可以被听见。

In the 1960s, they did an experiment

在 1960 年代，有人做了一项实验：

where they set off a loud noise off the coast of Perth, Australia,

他们在澳大利亚珀斯海湾外 制造一声巨响，

and they detected it as far away as Bermuda,

远至百慕大他们依旧可以检测到该巨响，

20,000 kilometers away.

那是两万公里外的地方。

So what does all this sound like to marine life,

那么这声响对于海洋生物来说如何？

what do they hear?

它们会听到什么？

It's kind of difficult to describe.

这很难形容。

Sound travels further, faster in water than it does in air,

相比空气，声音在水中 传播得更快、更远，

and it also packs a different punch.

而且它们所蕴含的能量也不同。

So sound of the same pressure will have a different intensity

不论你在空气中 还是在水下测量噪声，

whether you measure it in the air or underwater.

同样压力下的噪声有着不同的强度。

Then there's the fact that whales don't have ears exactly like human ears.

有那么一个事实—— 鲸鱼没有类似人类的耳朵，

Creatures like zooplankton

如浮游生物等生物，

don't even have what you would consider to be ears.

甚至没有所谓你认为是耳朵的结构。

So what does this mean,

所以这意味着什么？

what is the impact on all this marine life?

噪音对所有这些 海洋生物的影响又如何？

Perhaps the easiest thing for scientists to assess

对科学家来说， 可能最容易评估的指标

is the effect of acute noise,

就是尖锐噪音的影响，

really loud sudden blasts

即可能造成物理伤害或听力损伤的

that might cause physical injury or hearing loss.

非常响亮且突然的巨响。

Beaked whales, for example, can go into panicked dives

比如喙鲸，暴露于巨响的噪音时，

when exposed to loud noises,

会惊慌失措地猛然下潜，

which may even give them a condition similar to the bends.

因此它们甚至要承受一种 类似于浅水减压病的身体状况。

In the 1960s, after the introduction of more powerful sonar technologies,

在 1960 年代， 在更加强劲的声纳技术问世后，

the number of incidents of mass whale strandings of beaked whales

大规模鲸鱼搁浅事件发生的数量

went up dramatically.

急剧上升。

And it's not just marine mammals,

这不仅仅是海洋哺乳动物，

fish, if they stray too close to the source of a loud sound,

还有鱼类，如果它们 距离高分贝声源太近，

their fish bladders may actually explode.

它们的鱼囊可能会爆炸。

The airgun blasts from seismic surveys

地震勘探的气枪爆破

can mow down a swath of zooplankton,

可以杀死一片浮游生物，

the tiny creatures near the base of the food chain,

它们是接近于食物链底端的微生物，

or can deform scallop larvae while they're developing.

或是导致发育中的扇贝幼虫畸形。

Well, what about chronic noise,

那么，长期的噪音又如何呢？

the more pervasive issue of raising background noise

例如，运输等 发出的背景噪音越来越大

from things like shipping?

所引起的更普遍的问题。

That can mask or drown out the natural soundscape.

长期噪音有可能会把 大自然的声景覆盖或淹没。

Some whales have responded to this by literally changing their tune,

有些鲸鱼也因此改变了它们的声调，

a little bit like people shouting to be heard in a noisy nightclub.

有点像人们在吵闹的夜店 为了别人能听到自己，相互喊叫。

And some fish will spend more time patrolling their borders

有些鱼会花更长的时间在边境巡逻，

and less time caring for their young,

而更少的时间照顾它们的孩子，

as if they're on high alert.

好像它们正处于高度戒备状态。

Chronic noise can affect people too, of course.

长期噪音当然 也可以对人类造成影响。

Studies have shown that people living near busy airports

研究表明，居住在繁忙机场

or really busy highways

或是高速公路周边的人们，

may have elevated levels of cardiovascular disease.

可能有更高的可能性 患有心血管疾病。

And students living under busy flight paths

居住在飞行航道下方的学生

may do worse on some educational tests.

可能有着较差的教育学术表现。

And even while I was researching this subject,

甚至在我针对这个课题进行研究时，

they were actually blasting out about three meters of solid granite

在我家庭办公室对面的工地，

from the lot across from my home office

有人为了腾出空间盖新房子，

to make room for a new house,

正爆破三米厚的实心花岗岩，

and the constant jittering of the rock hammer

不停晃动下砸的石锤

was driving me completely insane.

把我搞得完全抓狂。

And whenever the workers stopped for a moment,

只要工人停下施工一小会儿，

I could feel my shoulders relax.

我就会觉得如释重负。

This effect has been seen in whales, too.

这一影响也被发现于鲸鱼中。

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11,

在 911 恐怖袭击发生后，

international shipping largely ground to a halt for a little while

美国东海岸大部分的国际运输

in the waters off the East Coast of the United States.

停滞了一段时间。

And in that lull,

在那段时间，

researchers noticed that endangered right whales in that region

研究人员发现 那片海域濒危灭绝的露脊鲸

had fewer chemical markers of stress in their feces samples.

粪便样本中的压力化学指标有所降低。

As one researcher I spoke to likes to say,

就像我曾交流过的 一位研究人员喜欢说的那样：

"We were stressed, but the whales weren't."

“我们紧张得不行， 但鲸鱼们却压力释放了。”

Now you have to remember,

现在你要记住，

we have evolved to be a visual species.

我们已经进化为拥有视觉的物种。

We really rely on our eyes.

我们非常依赖我们的眼睛。

But marine life relies on sound

但是海洋生物对于声音的依赖

the way that we rely on sight.

如同我们对视觉的依赖。

For them, a noisy ocean

对它们来说，喧闹的海洋

may be as befuddling and even dangerous

可能就如同浓雾之于我们一样，

as a dense fog is for us.

令人迷惑，且甚至危险。

And maybe sometimes that just means being a little more stressed,

可能有时候这只是 意味着多一些的压力，

maybe sometimes it means spending a little less time with the kids.

也许有时候这意味着 少花一点时间陪伴孩子。

Maybe some species can adapt.

或者一些物种能够适应环境。

But some researchers worry that for endangered species

但一些研究人员担心那些濒危物种

already on the brink,

已经处于危险边缘，

noise may be enough to push them over the edge.

光光噪音，可能已足够 将它们推向悬崖边缘。

So take, for example, the southern resident killer whales

比如在我家乡温哥华附近

that live in the waters off my hometown of Vancouver.

海域生活的南方虎鲸。

There are only 75, maybe 76, animals left

现在它们的种群数量

in this population.

大概只剩下 75 ，可能 76 头。

And they're facing a lot of challenges.

而且它们正面临很多挑战。

There are chemical pollutants in these waters,

它们生活的水域充斥着化学污染，

and they are running low on the salmon that they really rely on for food.

它们赖以生存的食物， 鲑鱼，也数量不足，

And then there's noise.

再加上现在的噪音。

When researchers studied these and similar killer whales,

当研究人员研究这些 以及其它类似的虎鲸时，

they found that they spend between 18 and 25 percent less time

他们发现在船声很大的情况下，

feeding in the presence of loud boat noise.

虎鲸进食时间缩短了 18 - 25%。

And that's a lot for a species that's already struggling

这对于已经难以找到 足够食物的虎鲸来说，

to find enough food to thrive.

更是雪上加霜。

The good news, as I heard from all the researchers I spoke to,

好消息是，所有我 交谈过的研究人员都说，

is that you can do something relatively easily about ocean noise.

针对海洋噪音你可以实行 一些相对简单的举措。

Unlike the wicked problems of climate change

不像是气候变化和海洋酸化

and ocean acidification,

这些灾害性的话题，

you can just dial down the knob on ocean noise

你只要把海洋噪音降低，

and see almost immediate impacts.

几乎可以立杆见影。

So for example, in 2017,

例如在 2017 年，

the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority

温哥华菲沙港口局

started asking ships to simply slow down

开始建议即将要通过哈罗海峡的

when going through the Haro Strait,

船只减速行驶。

where the southern resident killer whales are feeding in late summer.

那里是南方虎鲸在夏末捕食进食的地方。

Slower ships are quieter ships.

船只减速之后，噪音也会降低，

And because it's Canada, you can just ask,

而且因为那是加拿大， 用告知的方式即可，

it can be voluntary.

告知也属于自愿性质。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

In that 2017 trial, most of the ships complied,

在 2017 年的政策试点下， 大部分船只都采纳了这一建议，

adding about half an hour to their travel time,

旅行时间增加了半小时，

and reducing noise by about 1.2 decibels

噪音降低了 1.2 分贝，

or 24 percent of noise intensity.

或是 24% 噪声强度。

This year, they decided to extend the length of time

今年，他们决定增加 船只减速行驶的时间

and the area over which they're asking ships to slow down.

和扩大船只减速行驶的海域范围。

So hopefully that has a positive impact for these whales.

所以希望这一举措 对那些鲸鱼们有积极的影响。

In 2017, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority

在 2017 年，温哥华菲沙港口局

also introduced discounts in docking fees

为物理设计能让航行更加安静的船只

for ships that are physically designed to be quieter.

给予折扣码头停泊费。

You know, weirdly, a lot of the noise from a ship like this

奇怪的是，这种船发出的很多噪音

comes from the popping of tiny bubbles off the back of its propeller.

都是从螺旋桨后打出的气泡造成的。

And you can simply design a ship to do less of that

而且你能很轻而易举地设计出 一艘螺旋桨不会制造如此多气泡的

and to be quieter.

相较安静的船。

The International Maritime Organization has published a huge list of ways

国际海事组织 发布了一张大表，上面列举了

that boats can be made quieter.

各种可以让船只减少制造噪音的方式。

And they also have a target

他们也有另一个目标：

of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from global shipping

在 2050 年， 全球运输业的二氧化碳排放量

by 50 percent by 2050.

能减少 50% 。

And the great news is that these two things go hand in hand.

很棒的一个消息是 这两件事情可以并肩同行。

On the whole, a more efficient ship is a quieter ship.

整体上来说，更高效的船只 也是更安静的船只。

People have also invented quieter ways of hammering in the giant posts

人们也已经发明了更加安静的方式 来敲击巨型风力涡轮机

needed for giant wind turbines, like this one,

所需的巨型支柱，像这样的，

and gentler ways of doing seismic surveys.

而且更加温和的方式进行地震勘探。

And there are some incentives for using quieter technologies.

也有很多奖励机制， 鼓励使用较为安静的技术。

The European Union, for example,

比如欧盟，

has a healthy marine system directive for 2020.

出台了 2020 年 健康海洋系统战略指令。

And one of the ways that they define a healthy marine system

他们对一个健康海洋系统 其中一个定义是

is by how much noise is going in those waters.

有多少噪音进入到那些水域中。

But on the whole, most waters remain completely unregulated

但总体来说，大多数水域

when it comes to ocean noise.

还依旧没有受到海洋噪音的管控。

But again, most of the scientists I spoke to

可再次，我交谈过的大部分科学家说，

said that there's real momentum right now in policy circles

政策制定者们现在已经行动起来

to pay attention to this issue

开始关心这个问题了，

and maybe do something about this issue.

甚至可能为此进行一些努力。

We already know enough to say that quieter seas are healthier seas.

我们已经足够了解可以说， 更安静的也是更健康的海洋。

But now scientists are really scrambling to come up with the details.

但现在科学家们正在钻研细节。

Just how quiet do we need to be?

我们到底需要有多安静？

And where are the best places to make quiet or preserve quiet?

哪些水域是最佳的降低噪音 或是保持安静的地点？

And how best can we hush our noise?

我们应该用什么最佳方式来压低噪音？

And you know, I'm not trying to tell you

你知道，我不是尝试在告诉你

that noise is the biggest environmental problem on the planet

噪音是我们地球或甚至是海洋中

or even in the ocean.

最大的环境问题。

But the point is that humankind has a lot of impacts

但重点是，人类对我们的生态环境系统

on our environmental system.

有着巨大的影响。

And these impacts don't act in isolation.

这些影响并非单独作用，

They act together, and they multiply.

而是共同作用，它们会有成倍效应。

So even for the ones that are not so obvious,

所以即使是不怎么明显的影响，

we really need to pay attention to them.

我们也需要注意。

I'll tell you about one last experiment,

我会再给你们讲最后一个实验，

just because it's so beautiful.

因为它真的太美好了。

So Rob Williams,

罗伯 · 威廉姆斯（Rob Williams），

one of the researchers who works on southern resident killer whales,

研究南方虎鲸的其中一名研究人员，

also does some work in Bali.

他也在巴厘岛做了一些工作。

And there, they celebrate a Hindu tradition

在那里，他们庆祝 一个印度教的节日

called nyepi, or a day of silence.

叫安宁日（Nyepi)，或是宁静日。

And this day, apparently, is very strictly observed.

这天，显然， 一切都被非常严格的遵守。

No planes take off from the airport,

没有飞机从机场起飞，

no boats go out fishing,

没有渔船出海打鱼，

the tourists are gently led off the beach back into their hotel rooms.

沙滩上的游客们被缓慢地 带回自己的酒店房间。

And Rob Williams put some hydrophones in the water there

之后罗伯 · 威廉姆斯 把水听器放进海里

to see what the impact was,

看其影响如何，

and it was dramatic.

结果发现影响巨大。

Sound levels dropped by six to nine decibels,

海洋声音水平降低了 6 - 9 分贝，

about the same as in the waters after 9/11.

和 911 事件后的海洋声音水平差不多。

For an "acoustic prospector" like Williams,

威廉姆斯自称为“声音勘探者”，

which is what he calls himself,

对他来说，

this silence is golden.

这种寂静如金子般珍贵。

Now he and other researchers can go back to this place

现在，他和其他的研究人员 可以回到这个地方

and see what the fish choose to do

看看鱼类们会在这额外的

with all this additional acoustic real estate.

安宁日选择做些什么。

(Soft bubbling)

（轻轻吐泡声）

I like to think of them having their own holiday,

我会想象鱼儿有了自己的假期，

feasting and finding mates.

可以大吃大喝并寻找伴侣。

Celebrating their own spot of calm

庆祝着在喧闹世界中，

in an otherwise noisy world.

属于自己的一方宁静天地。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）