How I found a mythical boiling river in the Amazon | Andrés Ruzo

譯者: Lucia Huang 審譯者: Marssi Draw

As a boy in Lima,

身為利馬的小男孩，

my grandfather told me a legend

爺爺曾告訴我

西班牙人征服秘魯的傳說。

of the Spanish conquest of Peru.

Atahualpa, emperor of the Inca, had been captured and killed.

印加國王阿塔瓦爾帕， 被俘虜並遭到殺害。

Pizarro and his conquistadors had grown rich,

皮澤洛和他帶領的征服者得到財富。

and tales of their conquest and glory had reached Spain

他們的事蹟與榮耀傳回西班牙，

and was bringing new waves of Spaniards, hungry for gold and glory.

吸引一波波渴望 黃金和榮譽的西班牙人。

They would go into towns and ask the Inca,

他們湧到城鎮問印加人：

"Where's another civilization we can conquer? Where's more gold?"

「哪裡還有我們能征服的文明？ 哪裡還有更多的黃金？」

And the Inca, out of vengeance, told them,

於是印加人出於報復，告訴他們：

"Go to the Amazon.

「去亞馬遜吧。

You'll find all the gold you want there.

你會找到你想要的黃金。

In fact, there is a city called Paititi -- El Dorado in Spanish --

那裡有一個叫帕蒂蒂的城市， 西班牙語叫做 El Dorado，

made entirely of gold."

完全是由黃金打造而成。」

The Spanish set off into the jungle,

西班牙人於是出發前往叢林，

but the few that return come back with stories,

但只有幾個人回來， 他們帶回了許多故事。

stories of powerful shamans,

傳說那裡有強大的薩滿巫師，

of warriors with poisoned arrows,

手持毒箭的戰士，

of trees so tall they blotted out the sun,

樹林高聳成蔭，蔽不見日，

spiders that ate birds, snakes that swallowed men whole

有吃鳥的蜘蛛， 可以吞掉一整個人的蛇，

and a river that boiled.

和一條沸騰的河流。

All this became a childhood memory.

這些故事，成為我的童年回憶。

And years passed.

時光流逝，

I'm working on my PhD at SMU,

現在我在南衛理公會大學 攻讀博士學位，

trying to understand Peru's geothermal energy potential,

試著了解秘魯的地熱潛能。

when I remember this legend,

我記起這個傳說，

and I began asking that question.

開始思考這個問題：

Could the boiling river exist?

那沸騰的河流真的存在嗎？

I asked colleagues from universities,

我問過很多大學的同行、

the government,

政府部門、

oil, gas and mining companies,

石油、天然氣及煤礦公司，

and the answer was a unanimous no.

答案一致是否定的。

And this makes sense.

這言之有理。

You see, boiling rivers do exist in the world,

你知道，世界上確實有 沸騰的河流，

but they're generally associated with volcanoes.

但通常跟火山有關。

You need a powerful heat source

只有強勁的熱力源頭

to produce such a large geothermal manifestation.

才能產生這麼大的地熱現象。

And as you can see from the red dots here, which are volcanoes,

你們可以看到這些紅點代表火山。

we don't have volcanoes in the Amazon,

亞馬遜流域沒有火山，

nor in most of Peru.

而大部分的秘魯地區也沒有。

So it follows: We should not expect to see a boiling river.

由此看來，我們不可能 見到一條沸騰的河流。

Telling this same story at a family dinner,

一次家庭聚餐，我提到這個故事，

my aunt tells me,

我的姑姑告訴我：

"But no, Andrés, I've been there. I've swum in that river."

「但是安德烈，我以前去過那裡， 還在河裡游泳過。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Then my uncle jumps in.

這時叔叔插嘴說：

"No, Andrés, she's not kidding.

「安德烈，她不是在開玩笑。

You see, you can only swim in it after a very heavy rain,

你要知道只有在豪雨之後， 你才能在這條河裡游泳。

and it's protected by a powerful shaman.

有一位強大的薩滿 保䕶著這條河。

Your aunt, she's friends with his wife."

你的姑姑就是他妻子的友人。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

"¿Cómo?" ["Huh?"]

"¿Cómo?" （蛤？）

You know, despite all my scientific skepticism,

儘管我對此的科學根據存疑，

I found myself hiking into the jungle, guided by my aunt,

我發現自己跟著 姑姑的指引，深入叢林，

over 700 kilometers away from the nearest volcanic center,

而最近的火山中心 遠在 700 公里之外。

and well, honestly, mentally preparing myself

坦白說，我有心理準備，

to behold the legendary "warm stream of the Amazon."

看到傳說中的「亞馬遜暖水流」。

But then ...

但是隨即，

I heard something,

我聽到一些聲音。

a low surge

初時一陣低湧，

that got louder and louder

後來我們走近時

as we came closer.

聲音越來越大。

It sounded like ocean waves constantly crashing,

好像海浪持續打在岸上。

and as we got closer, I saw smoke, vapor, coming up through the trees.

我們接近時，煙霧與水汽 穿過樹林而來。

And then, I saw this.

接著我看見了這個。

I immediately grabbed for my thermometer,

我立刻拿出溫度計，

and the average temperatures in the river

當時河的平均溫度

were 86 degrees C.

是攝氏 86 度。

This is not quite the 100-degree C boiling

還不到沸點的攝氏 100 度，

but definitely close enough.

但絕對夠接近了。

The river flowed hot and fast.

這條河流又燙又湍急，

I followed it upriver and was led by, actually, the shaman's apprentice

薩滿的學徒帶我 順著河往上游前行，

to the most sacred site on the river.

到了河流最神聖的地方。

And this is what's bizarre --

超乎尋常的是，

It starts off as a cold stream.

源頭的水流是冷的，

And here, at this site,

直到這個地點，

is the home of the Yacumama,

傳說中蛇神 (Yacumama) 之家，

mother of the waters, a giant serpent spirit

這條巨蛇之靈是所有水流之母，

who births hot and cold water.

孕育了熱水和冷水。

And here we find a hot spring,

在這裡，我們發現了一道 混合著冷水流的溫泉，

mixing with cold stream water underneath her protective motherly jaws

就在巨蛇母親保護著的下頜。

and thus bringing their legends to life.

就像是傳說成真。

The next morning, I woke up and --

到了第二天早上，我一覺醒來……

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I asked for tea.

我想要一杯茶，

I was handed a mug, a tea bag

有人給我一個馬克杯和茶包，

and, well, pointed towards the river.

然後指著那條河。

To my surprise, the water was clean and had a pleasant taste,

讓我感到意外的是， 河水很乾淨，有很好的味道，

which is a little weird for geothermal systems.

這對於地熱系統來說不太尋常。

What was amazing

神奇的是，

is that the locals had always known about this place,

當地人一直都知道這地方，

and that I was by no means the first outsider to see it.

而我肯定不是第一個知道的外人。

It was just part of their everyday life.

這不過是他們生活的一部分，

They drink its water.

喝河流的水、

They take in its vapor.

吸入那𥚃的蒸氣、

They cook with it,

利用河水煮食、

clean with it,

清潔洗淨，

even make their medicines with it.

甚至用它來製藥。

I met the shaman,

我和那位薩滿見面，

and he seemed like an extension of the river and his jungle.

他像是這條河流 與這片樹林的一部分。

He asked for my intentions

他問我為何而來，

and listened carefully.

並且仔細聽我回答。

Then, to my tremendous relief --

然後，讓我如釋重負的是

I was freaking out, to be honest with you --

──坦白說，我原本非常緊張──

a smile began to snake across his face, and he just laughed.

一抹微笑像蛇爬過他的面孔，

然後他笑了。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I had received the shaman's blessing to study the river,

我得到薩滿的祝福來硏究這條河，

on the condition that after I take the water samples

只要我取得的河水樣本

and analyze them in my lab,

在實驗室分析過後，

wherever I was in the world,

無論我在世界哪裡，

that I pour the waters back into the ground

都要把水再灑回到地上，

so that, as the shaman said,

薩滿說，

the waters could find their way back home.

這樣河水才能找到回家的路。

I've been back every year since that first visit in 2011,

自從 2011 年第一次探訪以來， 我每年都回去。

and the fieldwork has been exhilarating,

實地考察令人振奮，

demanding and at times dangerous.

過程艱辛，有時甚至危險。

One story was even featured in National Geographic Magazine.

國家地理雜誌曾為 其中一個故事做過專題，

I was trapped on a small rock about the size of a sheet of paper

當時我被一塊 紙張大小的石頭卡住了，

in sandals and board shorts,

身上只穿著沙灘褲和涼鞋。

in between an 80 degree C river

我那時身處在攝氏 80 度的河流

and a hot spring that, well, looked like this, close to boiling.

和一道溫泉之間， 就像這樣，接近沸騰。

And on top of that, it was Amazon rain forest.

在這之上的是亞馬遜雨林，

Pshh, pouring rain, couldn't see a thing.

滂沱大雨，伸手不見五指。

The temperature differential made it all white. It was a whiteout.

溫差讓周圍變得白濛濛， 簡直是雪盲。

Intense.

真令人緊張。

Now, after years of work,

如今，經過多年的考察，

I'll soon be submitting my geophysical and geochemical studies for publication.

不久我會發表相關的 地球物理與化學硏究成果。

And I'd like to share, today, with all of you here, on the TED stage,

今天我想在 TED 的講臺上 與你們分享，

for the first time, some of these discoveries.

我第一次公開的部分發現。

Well, first off, it's not a legend.

首先，這些故事不是傳說。

Surprise!

想不到吧！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

When I first started the research,

最初我進行研究時，

the satellite imagery was too low-resolution to be meaningful.

衛星影像的解析度非常低， 根本幫不上忙，

There were just no good maps.

可以說是沒有地圖可言。

Thanks to the support of the Google Earth team,

多謝 Google 地球團隊，

I now have this.

我現在有了這樣的畫面。

Not only that, the indigenous name of the river, Shanay-timpishka,

此外，河流之名 Shanay-timpishka 的原意是

"boiled with the heat of the sun,"

「以太陽之熱沸騰」，

indicating that I'm not the first to wonder why the river boils,

顯然我並非第一個 好奇河水為何沸騰的人，

and showing that humanity has always sought to explain

也顯示人類向來在想辦法解釋

the world around us.

我們身處的世界。

So why does the river boil?

所以，那條河是怎麼沸騰的？

(Bubbling sounds)

（水沸騰聲）

It actually took me three years to get that footage.

其實我花了三年才得到這段影片。

Fault-fed hot springs.

地殼裂縫的溫泉，

As we have hot blood running through our veins and arteries,

就如我們身體𥚃 有熱騰騰的血液經過靜脈和動脈，

so, too, the earth has hot water running through its cracks and faults.

同樣地，地球也有熱流 穿過它的裂縫和斷層。

Where these arteries come to the surface, these earth arteries,

當動脈接近地殼， 這些大地的動脈，

we'll get geothermal manifestations:

會展現地熱的特質：

fumaroles, hot springs and in our case, the boiling river.

火山噴氣孔、溫泉， 以及我們看到的，沸騰的河流。

What's truly incredible, though, is the scale of this place.

真正驚人的地方， 是這裡的範圍有多大。

Next time you cross the road, think about this.

下次過馬路時，你可以想想看。

The river flows wider than a two-lane road

這條河多數的流域

寬度超過兩線道。

along most of its path.

It flows hot for 6.24 kilometers.

長達 6.24 公里都是滾燙的水。

Truly impressive.

真令人敬畏。

There are thermal pools larger than this TED stage,

那裡有比這個 TED 講臺 還大的熱水池，

and that waterfall that you see there

你現在看到的瀑布，

is six meters tall --

有六公尺高，

and all with near-boiling water.

而且全部都是接近沸騰的河水。

We mapped the temperatures along the river,

我們記錄了河水各處的溫度，

and this was by far the most demanding part of the fieldwork.

這是實地考察最難的部分。

And the results were just awesome.

我們得到的結果實在太棒了。

Sorry -- the geoscientist in me coming out.

對不起，

我的地球科學家本性又來了。

And it showed this amazing trend.

結果顯示很驚人的變化。

You see, the river starts off cold.

你看河水最先是冷的，

It then heats up, cools back down, heats up, cools back down,

接著加熱、冷卻、再加熱、再冷卻，

heats up again, and then has this beautiful decay curve

再加熱，產生這個漂亮的衰減曲線，

until it smashes into this cold river.

直到它匯流進冷水河裡。

Now, I understand not all of you are geothermal scientists,

我了解不是每個人都是地熱學家，

so to put it in more everyday terms:

所以用一般的說法形容：

Everyone loves coffee.

每個人都喜歡咖啡，

Yes? Good.

是吧？很好。

Your regular cup of coffee, 54 degrees C,

通常一杯咖啡的溫度是攝氏 54 度。

an extra-hot one, well, 60.

熱一點的是 60 度。

So, put in coffee shop terms,

所以用咖啡店的說法，

the boiling river plots like this.

沸水河的圖示，像是這樣。

There you have your hot coffee.

這裡你得到一杯熱咖啡，

Here you have your extra-hot coffee,

這裡你得到一杯很燙的咖啡，

and you can see that there's a bit point there

你可以看到在某些區段

where the river is still hotter than even the extra-hot coffee.

河流比很燙的咖啡還燙。

And these are average water temperatures.

這些是平均水溫。

We took these in the dry season to ensure the purest geothermal temperatures.

我們在旱季做測量， 以確保貼近地熱的溫度。

But there's a magic number here that's not being shown,

另外有一個魔法數字， 還沒有提到。

and that number is 47 degrees C,

這數字是是攝氏 47 度。

because that's where things start to hurt,

高過這個溫度，有受傷的危險。

and I know this from very personal experience.

我從親身的經歷學到這一點。

Above that temperature, you don't want to get in that water.

超過這個溫度， 你不會想要進到河裡去。

You need to be careful.

你要非常小心，

It can be deadly.

有可能會致命。

I've seen all sorts of animals fall in,

我看過各式各樣的動物掉進去，

and what's shocking to me, is the process is pretty much the same.

讓我驚訝的是， 牠們被煮熟的過程都差不多。

So they fall in and the first thing to go are the eyes.

當牠們掉入熱水後， 第一個變化的是眼睛。

Eyes, apparently, cook very quickly. They turn this milky-white color.

顯然，眼睛很容易熟， 馬上就變成乳白色。

The stream is carrying them.

流水承載著牠們，

They're trying to swim out, but their meat is cooking on the bone

動物試圖要游出來，但高溫切骨，

because it's so hot.

實在太燙了。

So they're losing power, losing power,

所以牠們漸漸失去動力， 漸漸失去動力，

until finally they get to a point where hot water goes into their mouths

直到熱水淹進嘴巴，

and they cook from the inside out.

牠們就從裡到外被煮熟了。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

A bit sadistic, aren't we?

我們都有點虐待傾向，是吧？

Jeez.

天啊。

Leave them marinating for a little longer.

把這些先放一邊。

What's, again, amazing are these temperatures.

回到這個，驚人的高溫，

They're similar to things that I've seen on volcanoes all over the world

類似的情況在世界各處的 火山都可見到，

and even super-volcanoes like Yellowstone.

甚至是黃石公園這樣的超級火山。

But here's the thing:

但特別的地方是：

the data is showing that the boiling river exists

這些資料顯示，這條沸水河的存在

independent of volcanism.

獨立於火山活動。

It's neither magmatic or volcanic in origin,

它的起源既不是岩漿，也不是火山，

and again, over 700 kilometers away from the nearest volcanic center.

它離最近的火山可是有 700 公里遠。

How can a boiling river exist like this?

怎麼會有這樣的一條沸水河存在呢？

I've asked geothermal experts and volcanologists for years,

過去幾年來，我問過 地熱和火山專家，

and I'm still unable to find another non-volcanic geothermal system

仍無法在另一個 非火山的地熱系統裡，

of this magnitude.

找到同樣等級的系統。

It's unique.

它獨一無二，

It's special on a global scale.

是世界級的特別。

So, still -- how does it work?

那麼，這是怎麼發生的？

Where do we get this heat?

熱能從哪裡來？

There's still more research to be done

我們的研究還沒有結束，

to better constrain the problem and better understand the system,

尚待進一步釐清問題， 了解這個系統。

but from what the data is telling us now,

但從目前的資料來看，

it looks to be the result of a large hydrothermal system.

看起來這是由一個廣大的 熱液系統所造成。

Basically, it works like this:

簡單來說，

So, the deeper you go into the earth, the hotter it gets.

越深入地心，溫度就越燙。

We refer to this as the geothermal gradient.

我們把這種現象稱為地溫梯度。

The waters could be coming from as far away as glaciers in the Andes,

水流可能來自遙遠的 安第斯山脈冰川，

then seeping down deep into the earth

再往下滲透深入到地球

and coming out to form the boiling river

回到地表形成這條沸水河，

after getting heated up from the geothermal gradient,

熱力來自地溫梯度，

all due to this unique geologic setting.

一切源於這種獨特的地質背景。

Now, we found that in and around the river --

在河中，以及其週邊， 我們有一些發現。

this is working with colleagues

透過許多夥伴的努力，

from National Geographic, Dr. Spencer Wells,

包括國家地理雜誌的韋爾斯博士，

and Dr. Jon Eisen from UC Davis --

和加州大學戴維斯分校的 喬恩·艾森博士。

we genetically sequenced the extremophile lifeforms

我們將各種嗜極端生物 做基因體定序，

living in and around the river, and have found new lifeforms,

這些生物生長在河流的四周， 我們也發現新生物，

unique species living in the boiling river.

是住在沸水河的獨特物種。

But again, despite all of these studies, all of these discoveries and the legends,

但同樣的，這所有研究、 發現，和傳說的背後，

a question remains:

仍留下一個問題：

What is the significance of the boiling river?

沸騰河流為什麼重要？

What is the significance of this stationary cloud

這片常年雲霧繚繞，

隱蔽在叢林深處的一方寸土， 為什麼重要？

that always hovers over this patch of jungle?

And what is the significance

一個兒時傳說的細節， 為什麼重要？

of a detail in a childhood legend?

To the shaman and his community, it's a sacred site.

對薩滿和他的村落而言， 這是一塊聖地；

To me, as a geoscientist,

對我，一個地質學家而言，

it's a unique geothermal phenomenon.

這是獨一無二的地熱現象；

But to the illegal loggers and cattle farmers,

但對非法伐木者和養牛戶而言，

it's just another resource to exploit.

這僅是另一個可剝削的資源。

And to the Peruvian government, it's just another stretch

對秘魯政府，它只是另一個

of unprotected land ready for development.

未經保護的土地，等著被開發。

My goal is to ensure that whoever controls this land

我的目標是確保 無論誰控制了這塊土地，

understands the boiling river's uniqueness and significance.

都能了解沸騰河流的 獨特性與重要性。

Because that's the question,

因為，那就是我們討論

one of significance.

關於重要性的提問。

And the thing there is,

對於世間萬物，

we define significance.

我們定義了事物的重要性，

It's us. We have that power.

那是我們，我們有這個力量，

We are the ones who draw that line

我們是做出決定的那群人，

between the sacred and the trivial.

決定事物是神聖亦或微不足道。

And in this age,

在這個時代，

where everything seems mapped, measured and studied,

看似萬物都已被標上地圖、 測量，以及研究過了。

in this age of information,

在這個資訊的時代，

I remind you all that discoveries are not just made

我想提醒各位，所謂的探索，

in the black void of the unknown

不只發生在黑暗虛無的未知當中，

but in the white noise of overwhelming data.

也發生在生活的嘈雜 與鋪天蓋地的資料中。

There remains so much to explore.

世上還有很多待發掘的事物。

We live in an incredible world.

我們住在一個不可思議的世界。

So go out.

所以出走吧！

Be curious.

抱著好奇心。

Because we do live in a world

因為我們生活的這個世界，

where shamans still sing to the spirits of the jungle,

薩滿仍為叢林裡的神靈唱歌，

where rivers do boil

那裡真的有沸騰的河流，

and where legends do come to life.

那裡的傳說會走進真實人生。

Thank you very much.

謝謝各位。

(Applause)

（掌聲）