What ocean microbes reveal about the changing climate | Angelicque White

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Krystian Aparta

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Melody Tang

I'm a biological oceanographer.

我是生物海洋學家。

I have the absolute privilege of studying microbial lives

我擁有研究太平洋的 微生物生命的這份殊榮。

in the Pacific Ocean.

So we'll talk about microbes in a minute,

我們馬上就會來談微生物，

但我想要先讓大家對地點、 規模有點概念。

but I first want to give you a sense of place,

a sense of scale.

The Pacific Ocean is our largest, deepest ocean basin.

太平洋是我們最大、 最深的海洋盆地。

It covers 60 million square miles.

它的範圍有六千萬平方英里。

If you took all the continents and you put them together

如果把所有的大陸都拿來 拼成盤古大陸 2.0，

in a little Pangaea 2.0,

they'd fit snug inside the Pacific, with room to spare.

你可以很輕鬆把它放入 太平洋中，空間還有剩。

It's a massive ecosystem,

它是個很大的生態系統，

from the blues of the open ocean to the green of the continental margins.

從大洋的藍色， 到大陸邊緣的綠色。

In this place,

在這個地方，

I get to study the base of the food web:

我可以研究食物網的基礎：

plankton.

浮游生物。

Now, in my research,

在我的研究中，

and really in the field of microbial oceanography as a whole,

同時也是在微生物海洋學的 整個領域當中，

there's a theme that has emerged,

有一個新興的主題，

and that theme is "change."

那個主題就是「改變」。

These microbial ecosystems are changing in real and measurable ways,

這些微生物生態系統的改變 是真實的、可測量的，

and it is not that hard to see it.

而且不難看見。

Oceans cover 70 percent of our planet,

地球表面有 70% 被海洋覆蓋，

so ocean change is planetary change,

所以，海洋改變就是地球改變，

and it all starts with microbes.

且一切改變都始於微生物。

Now, I have two vignettes to share with you,

我有兩個小插曲要跟各位分享，

and these are meant to be love stories to microbes.

對微生物來說，它們 本來應該是愛情故事。

But I'll be honest that there's an aspect of it

但，我要老實說，在某個層面上，

that's just a total bummer,

可能你會覺得很掃興。

and, beware, focus on the love.

注意，把焦點放在愛上面。

Right? That's where I'm coming from.

好嗎？那才是我要談的。

So the first thing to know

所以，要知道的第一點是：

is that the forests of the sea are microbial.

海洋中的森林就是微生物。

And what I mean by that is that, by and large,

我這麼說的意思是，大體上，

plants in the open ocean are microscopic,

海洋中的植物只能 從顯微鏡裡看到。

and they are much more abundant than we realize.

它們的數量比我們 所知道的還要大量。

So I'm going to show you some mug shots of these organisms

我要給各位看的是

我這些年來收集的 一些有機體的特寫照片。

that I've collected over the years.

These are the lowest rungs of the ocean food web.

它們是海洋食物網的最底層。

These are tiny plants and animals

它們是微小的植物和動物，

that come in a variety of shapes and sizes and colors and metabolisms.

有各種不同的形狀、大小、 顏色、新陳代謝。

There are hundreds of thousands in a single milliliter of seawater.

在一毫升海水中就有數十萬個。

You are definitely swimming with them when you're in the ocean.

當你在海洋中時， 它們絕對和你一起游泳。

They produce oxygen, they consume CO2,

它們產生氧氣，消耗二氧化碳，

and they form the base of the food web

它們是食物網的基礎，

on which every other form of ocean life is reliant.

所有其他形式的海洋生命 都賴以生存。

Now, I've spent about 500 days of my scientific life at sea,

我的科學人生中有大約 五百天的時間是花在海洋上的，

and a lot more in front of a computer or in the lab,

更多時間則花在 電腦前或實驗室中，

so I feel compelled to tell you some of their stories.

所以我覺得我一定要 告訴各位一些它們的故事。

Let's start in the Pacific Northwest.

咱們從太平洋西北地區開始。

This place is green. It is beautiful.

這個地方是綠色的。很美麗。

These are blooms of phytoplankton that you can see from space

從太空可以看見 這些浮游植物藻華，

along the West Coast of the United States.

延著美國西岸沿岸分佈。

It's an incredibly productive ecosystem.

這是個非常有生產力的生態系統。

This is where you go to salmon fish, halibut fish, whale watch.

在這裡可以釣鮭魚、 釣大比目魚、賞鯨。

It's a beautiful part of our country.

我們國家的這部分十分美麗。

And here, for 10 years, among other things,

我在這裡花了十年的時間， 做的其中一件事情是，

I studied the uplifting topic of harmful algal blooms.

我研究有害藻華 這個讓人振奮的主題。

These are blooms of toxin-producing phytoplankton

這些是會產生毒性的 浮游植物藻華，

that can contaminate food webs and accumulate in shellfish and fish

可能會污染食物網， 並在甲殼類和魚類體內堆積，

that are harvested for human consumption.

之後被人類捕獲食用。

We were trying to understand why they bloom, where they bloom,

我們想要試圖了解為什麼 會發生藻華、在哪裡發生、

when they bloom,

何時發生，

so we could manage these harvests

這樣我們才能管理捕獲，

and protect human health.

以保護人類健康。

Now, the problem is the ocean's a moving target

問題是，海洋是個移動的目標，

and, much like some people in our lives, toxicity varies among the plankton.

如同我們生活中的一些人，

浮游生物中的毒性也各有不同。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Alright?

對吧？

So, to get around these challenges,

為了解決這些困難，

we combined satellite remote sensing

我們結合了衛星遙測

with drones and gliders,

與無人機和滑翔機，

regular sampling of the surf zone

經常在碎波帶抽樣，

and a lot of time at sea

並花很多時間坐小船待在 奧勒崗海岸外的海上。

in small boats off the Oregon coast.

And I don't know if many of you have had the opportunity to do that,

我不知道在座有多少人 有機會做這種事，

but it is not easy.

但這並不輕鬆。

[Even oceanographers get seasick]

〔就連海洋學家也會暈船〕

Here's some poor students.

這些是可憐的學生。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I've hidden their faces to protect their identities.

我把他們的臉埋起來 以保護他們的身分。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

This is a challenging place.

這地方很有挑戰性。

So this is hard-won data I'm about to talk about, OK?

所以我要談的是 辛苦得來的資料，好嗎？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So by combining all of our data with our collaborators,

把我們的資料和我們的 合作夥伴結合之後，

we had 20-year time series of toxins and phytoplankton cell counts.

我們得到了關於毒素和浮游植物 細胞數目的二十年時間序列資料。

And that allowed us to understand the patterns of these blooms

這些資料讓我們了解 這些藻華的模式，

and to build models to predict them.

並建立模型來預測藻華。

And what we found

我們發現，

was that the risk of harmful algal blooms was tightly linked to aspects of climate.

有害藻華的風險和氣候面向 有很密切的關聯性。

Now when I say "climate," I don't mean weather day-to-day,

我說的「氣候」並不是天天 改變的天氣，而是長期的改變。

I mean long-term changes.

These oscillations that you may have heard of --

各位可能聽過這些振盪——

the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, El Niño --

太平洋十年振盪，聖嬰現象——

they usually bring warm, dry winters to this region,

它們通常會為這個區域 帶來溫暖、乾燥的冬季，

but they also reduce the strength of the California Current,

但它們也會降低 加利福尼亞洋流的強度，

which runs from the north to the south along the Pacific Northwest,

該洋流延著太平洋 西北地區從北向南流，

and they warm the coastal ocean.

將沿岸海洋暖化。

These are the reds you're seeing in this plot,

就是這張圖上標示紅色的區域，

warm anomalies,

溫暖異常，是太平洋十年期 振盪強正相位指標。

strong positive indices of the PDO.

And when we have these changes in circulation

當環流發生這些改變，

and changes in temperature,

溫度發生改變，

the risk of harmful algal blooms is increased,

產生有害藻華的風險就會增加，

but also salmon recruitment has decreased,

但鮭魚捕獲量也會減少，

and we see intrusions of invasive species like green crab.

我們看見侵略性物種 如青蟹的入侵。

So these are ecological and economic impacts of climate.

這些是氣候帶來的 生態及經濟衝擊。

Now, if our models are right,

如果我們的模型正確，

the frequency and severity of these events are only going to get worse,

這些事件的頻率和嚴重性 只會越來越糟，

right along with these warm anomalies.

這些溫暖異常也是一樣。

And, to illustrate that,

讓我來說明這一點，

2014 was probably one of the worst harmful algal blooms in Oregon history.

2014 年可能是奧勒崗史上 有害藻華狀況最嚴重的一年。

It was also the hottest year in the modern climate record at that time,

該年也是當時的現代 氣候記錄中最熱的一年，

that is until 2015,

直到 2015 年，

2016,

2016 年，

2017, 2018.

2017 年，2018 年。

In fact, the five hottest years in the modern climate record

事實上，現代氣候 記錄中最熱的五年

have been the last five.

就是過去五年。

That bodes really well for harmful algal blooms

那是個兆頭，預示了 有害藻華的出現

and poorly for ecosystem health.

以及生態系統健康的惡化。

Now, you may not care about shellfish,

你可能不在乎甲殼類動物，

but these changes impact economically important fisheries,

但這些改變衝擊到 在經濟上十分重要的漁業，

like crab and salmon,

比如螃蟹和鮭魚，

and they can impact the health of marine mammals like whales.

牠們可能會衝擊到 海洋哺乳類的健康，如鯨魚，

And that might matter a little bit more.

那可能就更重要些了。

That might resonate.

你們可能有共鳴。

So, there's your doomsday tale for the margins of the Pacific.

所以，這就是太平洋 邊緣的世界末日故事。

Actually, these are really resilient ecosystems.

事實上，這些生態系統極具韌性。

They can absolutely bounce back if we give them a chance.

如果我們給它們機會， 它們絕對會重振旗鼓。

The point is not to ignore the changes that we're seeing,

重點是不要忽視 我們所看到的改變，

which brings me to my second vignette.

這就要帶到第二個插曲了。

I have since moved to the most remote island chain on our planet,

我之後搬到了地球上 最偏僻的島鏈上，

the Hawaiian Islands,

夏威夷群島，

where I'm the new lead of a program called the Hawaiian Ocean Time-series.

我在那裡接手主導一個計畫， 叫做夏威夷海洋時間序列。

And this is a program that for 31 years

這個計畫，三十一年來，

has made this monthly pilgrimage to a spot called Station ALOHA.

每月都會到一個叫做 「阿囉哈站」的地方朝聖。

It's in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,

它位於太平洋中部的

一個廣闊的渦流系統的中心，

in the center of this vast, swirling system of currents

that we call the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

這個渦流系統我們稱之為 北太平洋亞熱帶渦旋。

It's our largest ocean ecosystem.

它是我們最大的海洋生態系統，

It's four times the size of the Amazon rain forest.

面積是亞馬遜雨林的四倍。

It is warm, in a good way.

它是溫暖的，是好的溫暖。

It is blue water,

水是藍的，

it's absolutely the type of place you want to dive in and swim.

絕對是你會想要去 潛水、游泳的地方。

You cannot do that off of research boats,

但你不能就這樣跳下研究船，

because, you know, sharks. Google it.

因為，有鯊魚。 你 Google 就知道。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

This is a beautiful place.

這是個美麗的地方。

And here, since October of 1988,

在這裡，從 1988 年十月起，

generations of researchers have made these monthly pilgrimages.

世世代代的研究者 就會每月來朝聖。

We study the biology, the chemistry, the physics of the open ocean.

我們會研究大洋的 生物學、化學、物理學。

We've measured the temperature from the surface to the seafloor.

我們測量了從海面到海底的溫度。

We've tracked the currents, traced the waves.

我們追蹤了洋流、追蹤了海浪。

People have discovered new organisms here.

在這裡，有人發現新的有機體。

People have created vast genomic libraries

在這裡，有人創造了基因庫，

that have revolutionized

為我們對於海洋微生物 多樣性的看法帶來革命。

what we think about the diversity of marine microorganisms.

It's not just a place of discovery,

這不只是個發現之地，

but the important part about time series

時間序列很重要的一部分

are that they provide us a sense of history,

在於它們能提供我們 對於歷史、情境的概念。

a sense of context.

And in 30 years of data,

在三十年的資料中，

it's allowed us to separate the seasonal change

我們得以將季節性的 改變分離出來，

and see the emergence of humanity's fingerprints

看到人類留在大自然中的 足跡漸漸浮現。

on the natural world.

There's another iconic time series in Hawaii,

在夏威夷還有另一個 很有代表性的時間序列，

and that is the Keeling Curve.

那就是基林曲線。

I hope you have all seen this.

希望大家都看過它。

This time series has documented the rapid increase in carbon dioxide

這個時間序列記載了大氣中

in the atmosphere.

二氧化碳快速增加。

It's not just the number, it's the rate of increase.

不只是數字增加，速率也在增加。

The rate of carbon dioxide increase in our atmosphere

在大氣中，二氧化碳的增加速率

is unprecedented for our planet.

是地球上前所未見。

And that has consequences for our oceans.

那對我們的海洋會造成影響。

In fact, oceans absorb about 90 percent of the heat that's generated

事實上，溫室氣體排放所造成的熱，

有 90% 被海洋吸收，

by greenhouse gas emissions

and about 40 percent of the carbon dioxide.

二氧化碳則有 40% 被海洋吸收。

And we have been able to measure that at Station ALOHA.

我們在阿囉哈站可以測量這些值。

Each one of these dots is a cruise.

每一個點就是一次航行。

It represents people's lives over 30 years trying to make these measurements,

它代表三十多年來試圖 做這些測量的人的生活，

and it took 30 years to be able to see this.

花了三十年的時間， 才能看見這張圖。

CO2 rises in the atmosphere,

大氣中的二氧化碳上升，

CO2 rises in the ocean.

海洋中的二氧化碳上升。即紅線。

That's the red line.

A consequence of that

造成的後果

is a fundamental change in the chemistry of seawater,

就是海水的化學性質 發生了根本的改變，

a decline in pH --

酸鹼值下降——

pH is on a log scale,

酸鹼值用的是對數尺度，即藍線。

here's your blue line.

So we've seen a 30 percent decline in pH in the surface ocean

在這個時間序列中，我們可以看到

海洋表面的酸鹼值下降了 30%。

in this time series.

Now that has impacts for organisms that need to feed, build shells,

會受到影響的包括需要覓食、 建造甲殼的有機體，

that changes growth rates, metabolic interactions,

那會改變生長率、代謝交互作用，

and it doesn't just impact plankton --

且不只會影響到浮游生物——

it impacts ecosystems as large as coral reefs.

也會影響到像珊瑚礁 這麼大的生態系統。

Now one of the things we've been able to show in this time series

在這個時間序列中我們 能夠呈現的其中一項資訊

is this is just skimming the surface.

就是這只是掠過表面而已。

Increases in CO2 and a decline in pH

二氧化碳的增加和酸鹼值的下降

are measured over the top 500 meters of the water column.

是在水體的最上面 五百公尺中測量的。

I really find that to be profound.

我真的覺得那很深刻。

This is genuinely one of the most remote places on our planet,

這真的是地球上 最偏僻的地方之一，

and we've impacted the top 500 meters of the water column.

我們已經影響到了 水體的上面五百公尺。

Now, these two things --

這兩樣東西——

harmful algal blooms, ocean acidification --

有害的藻華、海洋酸化——

that's not all, of course.

當然，不只這些。 其他的各位都聽過了：

You've heard of the rest:

sea-level rise, eutrophication, melting of the polar ice caps,

海平面上升、優養化、 極地冰帽融化、

expansion of oxygen minimum zones, pollution, loss of biodiversity,

最少含氧區擴張、污染、

失去生物多樣性、過度捕撈。

overfishing.

It's hard for me to get a grad student --

我很難讓一個研究生——

you can see this pitch is a difficult one, right?

各位可以看得出來 這個演講很難做，對吧？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Sighs)

（嘆氣）

Again, I think these systems, these microbial ecosystems,

我認為這些系統， 這些微生物生態系統，

are immensely resilient.

極具韌性。

We just cannot go too far down this path.

我們只是不能太過火。

I personally believe that sustained observation of our oceans and our planet

我個人相信，持續觀察 我們的海洋和地球

is the moral imperative for our generation of scientists.

是我們這個世代的科學家 在道德上必需要做的事。

We are bearing witness

我們在見證

to the changes that are being inflicted upon our natural communities,

我們的大自然被迫造成的改變，

and by doing so,

且，藉由這麼做，

it provides us the opportunity to adapt and enact global change,

我們便有機會

可以適應並進行全球性的改變，

if we're willing.

只要我們願意。

So the solutions to these problems are multitiered.

這些問題的解決方案是多層次的。

It involves a portfolio of solutions,

要結合各種解決方案、

local change,

地方性的改變，

but all the way up to voting for people who will protect our environment

一路到投票給願意保護

全球環境的人。

on a global scale.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Let's bring it back to the love.

咱們再回來談愛。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Microbes matter.

微生物是重要的。

These organisms are small,

這些有機體很小、

abundant, ancient,

很充足、很古老、

and they are critical to sustaining our population and our planet.

若要讓人類及地球能 永續生存，它們是關鍵。

Yet we are on track to double our carbon dioxide emissions

但，依目前的軌道， 在接下來的五十年

in the next 50 years,

二氧化碳排放會加倍，

so the analogy that I use for that

所以我常用一個比喻，

is like we are eating like we're still in our 20s,

就像是我們在二十幾歲時，

完全沒在考慮後果的進食方式——

assuming there will be no consequences --

but I'm a woman in her 40s,

但我是四十多歲的女人，

I know there are consequences for my fuel consumption. Right?

我知道依我目前消耗的燃料 是會造成後果的。對吧？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

These oceans are very much alive.

這些海洋是活的。

These ecosystems have not collapsed.

這些生態系統還沒有崩壞。

Well, except for the Arctic, we can talk about that.

嗯，北極圈除外， 那是我們可以另外再談的。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But the sustained observations that I've shared with you today,

但，今天我和各位 分享的持續觀察，

the work of generations of scientists,

數世代的科學家所做的努力，

are pointing us to take better care of our oceans

都在指示我們要 多照顧我們的海洋，

and to nurture the microbes that sustain us.

並培植我們賴以維生的微生物。

And on that note,

總之，

I want to end with a quote from one of my heroes,

珍盧布琴柯是我的偶像之一，

我想用引述她的話來作結。

Jane Lubchenco.

And this slide is appropriate.

這張投影片很適合。

Jane has said that the oceans are not too big to fail,

珍說過，海洋並沒有 大到無法辜負，

nor are they too big to fix,

也沒有大到無法修復，

but the oceans are too big to ignore.

但它大到無法忽視。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）