Eddy Cartaya: My glacier cave discoveries

譯者: Samson Zhong 審譯者: Jen-Huei Wu

So how many of you have ever been in a cave before?

你們當中有多少人曾入洞穴?

Okay, a few of you.

好！不算多！

When you think of a cave, most of you think

想到洞穴，多數人想到的是

of a tunnel going through solid rock,

貫穿堅石的隧道

and in fact, that's how most caves are.

多數的確是那樣没錯

Around this half of the country,

我國東半部這帶

most of your caves are made of limestone.

洞穴多是石灰岩構成

Back where I'm from, most of our caves are made of lava rock,

但在我的故鄉，則是熔岩穴為主

because we have a lot of volcanoes out there.

因我們那有很多火山

But the caves I want to share with you today are made

不過今天我要介紹的洞穴

completely of ice, specifically glacier ice

則完全是冰，精確地講是冰川

that's formed in the side of the tallest mountain

由奥勒岡州最高峰胡德山(Mount Hood)

in the state of Oregon, called Mount Hood.

山側冰河形成

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

此山舆奧勒岡州最大城波特蘭(Portland)

the largest city in Oregon,

僅有I小時車程的距離

where over two million people live.

而該城人口超過200萬人

Now the most exciting thing for a cave explorer

不過最讓洞穴探險家興奮的

is to find a new cave

是發掘新洞穴

and be the first human to ever go into it.

並成為第一個進去的人

The second most exciting thing for a cave explorer

其次是

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

成為首位繪製該洞穴地圖的人

Now these days, with so many people hiking around,

近年來因附近總有許多人遠足

it's pretty hard to find a new cave,

已很難發現新洞穴了

so you can imagine how excited we were

所以你們應該可想見

to find three new caves

發現3處新洞穴時，我們有多興奮

within sight of Oregon's largest city

洞穴地點就在波特蘭最大城市的視野内

and realize that they had never been explored

而且當時尙未有人對這些洞穴進行探查

or mapped before.

或繪製地圖

It was kind of like being an astronaut,

這經驗有點像太空人

because we were getting to see things and go places

因為我們去了無人踏足之處

that no one had ever seen or gone to before.

見世人未見之景

So what is a glacier?

來談冰河到底是什麼吧

Well, those of you who have ever seen or touched snow,

在座見過或摸過雪的

you know that it's really light,

都知道雪輕飄飄的

because it's just a bunch of tiny ice crystals clumped together, and it's mostly air.

因雪由許多小冰晶聚合而成且大多是氣體

If you squish a handful of snow to make a snowball,

如果抓一把雪捏成雪球

it gets really small, hard and dense.

雪球就會縮小、變硬且密實

Well, on a mountain like Hood, where it snows

像胡德山這樣

over 20 feet a year,

年降雪量逾20英尺

it crushes the air out of it

雪中的氣體被擠壓排出

and gradually forms it into hard blue ice.

逐成藍色堅冰

Now each year, more and more ice stacks up on top of it,

年復一年，冰層越疊越多

and eventually it gets so heavy

而冰的重量也越來越重

that it starts to slide down the mountain

最終在本身重量作用下

under its own weight,

冰層開始沿著山體向下滑動

forming a slow-moving river of ice.

形成一條流速緩慢的由冰構成的河

When ice packed like that starts to move,

像這些疊起來的冰開始移動時

we call it a glacier, and we give it a name.

我們稱之為冰河，我們也為它取名字

The name of the glacier these caves are formed in

形成這些洞穴的冰河

is the Sandy Glacier.

叫做珊帝冰河（Sandy Glacier）

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

每年都有新的雪落在冰河上

it melts in the summer sun,

在夏日陽光照射下融化

and it forms little rivers of water on the flow along the ice,

沿冰形成涓涓細流

and they start to melt and bore their way down through the glacier,

順著冰河，支流融冰陷落

forming big networks of caves,

形成廣袤的洞穴網絡

sometimes going all the way down to the underlying bedrock.

有時可直探冰河岩床

Now the crazy thing about glacier caves

冰河洞穴最特殊之處

is that each year, new tunnels form.

就是每年都有新的隧道生成

Different waterfalls pop up or move around

洞穴中不時有瀑布突然出現

from place to place inside the cave.

或變换位置

Warm water from the top of the ice

溫暖的水流自冰層頂部

is boring its way down,

鑿穿而下

and warm air from below the mountain

而山脈底層溫暖的空氣

actually rises up, gets into the cave,

順勢而上吹入洞穴

and melts the ceilings back taller and taller.

將洞頂的冰層削薄

But the weirdest thing about glacier caves

不過冰河洞穴最詭異之處

is that the entire cave is moving,

是整個洞穴都在移位

because it's formed inside a block of ice

這是因為洞穴是在一塊

the size of a small city

像小城市那麼大的冰中形成的

that's slowly sliding down the mountain.

然後緩慢地滑下山

Now this is Brent McGregor,

這是布倫特.馬格力格（Brent McGregor）

my cave exploration partner.

他是我的洞穴探險伙伴

He and I have both been exploring caves a long time

我們探勘洞穴的資歷都很深

and we've been climbing mountains a long time,

登山方面也是

but neither one of us had ever really explored a glacier cave before.

不過當時我們都缺乏 冰河洞穴的探險經驗

Back in 2011, Brent saw a YouTube video

2011年時，布倫特在YouTube看到

of a couple of hikers that stumbled across the entrance to one of these caves.

一群登山者意外發現冰河洞穴的影片

There were no GPS coordinates for it,

當時沒有GPS定位資料

and all we knew was that it was somewhere

我們只知道那是

out on the Sandy Glacier.

珊帝冰河的某個地方

So in July of that year, we went out on the glacier,

所以那年7月便前往珊帝冰河

and we found a big crack in the ice.

在那發現一條巨大的裂缝

We had to build snow and ice anchors

我們得安装冰錨，綁上繩索

so that we could tie off ropes and rappel down into the hole.

以垂降的方式進洞

This is me looking into the entrance crevasse.

這張照片是我從裂縫口往內看

At the end of this hole, we found a huge tunnel

我們在洞底發現一條巨大隧道

going right up the mountain

從重達數千噸的冰河冰層下

underneath thousands of tons of glacier ice.

穿山而上

We followed this cave back for about a half mile

當時我們沿著洞穴往內走半英里

until it came to an end,

直到一處盡頭

and then with the help of our survey tools

之後借助探測工具

we made a three-dimensional map of the cave

讓我們得以在回程路上

on our way back out.

繪出一張該洞穴的立體地圖

So how do you map a cave?

如何繪製洞穴地圖呢?

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

有別於登山路徑或道路地圖，洞穴地圖

because they have pits and holes going to overlapping levels.

在於同一水平面上有坑道交疊

To make a cave map, you have to set up

為了製作洞穴地圖，在洞内

survey stations every few feet inside the cave,

每隔幾英尺就要設置測量站

and you use a laser to measure the distance between those stations.

再以雷射丈量站間距離總長

Then you use a compass and an inclinometer

然後再以羅盤和測斜儀

to measure the direction the cave is headed

測量洞穴走向

and measure the slope of the floor and the ceilings.

地面和天花板的坡度

Now those of you taking trigonometry,

你們所學的三角函數

that particular type of math is very useful

那種數學對地圖繪製來說

for making maps like this

非常實用

because it allows you to measure heights and distances

因為不用在場

without actually having to go there.

就可測得高度和距離

In fact, the more I mapped and studied caves,

說真的，隨著畫過地圖研究的洞穴越來越多

the more useful I found all that math

我越發現作學生時非常討厭的

that I originally hated in school to be.

那些數學其實很實用

So when you're done surveying,

當地形調查告一段落

you take all this data and you punch it into a computer

取得資料輸入電腦後

and you find someone that can draw really well,

找個繪圖高手

and you have them draft up a map

讓他們繪製

that looks something like this,

像這樣的草圖

and it'll show you both a bird's-eye view of the passage

就有通道的俯視圖

as well as a profile view of the passage,

還有剖面圖了

kind of like an ant farm view.

看起來像蟻穴剖面圖

We named this cave Snow Dragon Cave

我們把這個洞穴叫做雪龍洞

because it was like a big dragon sleeping under the snow.

因它來就像一條沉眠雪下的巨龍

Now later this summer, as more snow melted off the glacier,

今夏稍晚積雪消融時

we found more caves, and we realized they were all connected.

我們發現更多洞穴都彼此相通

Not long after we mapped Snow Dragon,

就在我們繪製雪龍洞地圖後不久

Brent discovered this new cave not very far away.

布蘭特在該地附近發現新洞穴

The inside of it was coated with ice,

其內壁覆蓋著冰

so we had to wear big spikes on our feet called crampons

所以我們得穿上叫「冰爪」的釘鞋

so we could walk around without slipping.

走動時才不致打滑

This cave was amazing.

這洞穴很奇妙！

The ice in the ceiling was glowing blue anad green

天花板的覆冰散發藍綠光暈

because the sunlight from far above

因為陽光從遠處上方射入

was shining through the ice and lighting it all up.

光線穿透並照亮冰層

And we couldn't understand why this cave

但我們當時不能理解

was so much colder than Snow Dragon

為何這洞穴比雪龍洞還冷呢？

until we got to the end and we found out why.

直到洞底我們才發現原因

There was a huge pit or shaft called a moulin

有一條通稱「冰臼」的巨型坎井從那兒

going 130 feet straight up to the surface of the glacier.

筆直通往上方130英尺外的冰河表面

Cold air from the top of the mountain

山頂的冷空氣就從冰臼傾瀉而下

was flowing down this hole and blasting through the cave,

猛烈地吹進來

freezing everything inside of it.

凍結洞內的一切

And we were so excited about finding this new pit,

發現冰臼令我們非常振奮

we actually came back in January the following year

隔年一月就重返故地

so we could be the first ones to explore it.

以便搶先探索

It was so cold outside,

洞外冷得要命

we actually had to sleep inside the cave.

我們只得睡在洞裡

There's our camp on the left side of this entrance room.

洞口左邊就是我們當時的營地

The next morning, we climbed out of the cave

次日早晨我們爬出洞穴

and hiked all the way to the top of the glacier,

一口氣攻上冰河頂端

where we finally rigged and rappelled this pit

當我們終於安好線索，便從那垂降

for the very first time.

那是我們首次進洞

Brent named this cave Pure Imagination,

布蘭特給這個洞起名為「幻境」

I think because the beautiful sights we saw in there

我想這是因為當時我們所見的美景

were beyond what we could have ever imagined.

已經超乎想像

So besides really cool ice, what else is inside these caves?

那冰河洞穴裡 除了酷炫的冰，還有什麼呢？

Well not too much lives in them because they're so cold

因嚴寒，洞內生物不多

and the entrance is actually covered up with snow

加上一年有八個月

for about eight months of the year.

洞口都是冰封的

But there are some really cool things in there.

裡面仍有許多令人驚艷的事物

There's weird bacteria living in the water

像水中就有奇特的細菌

that actually eat and digest rocks

以啃食消化岩石

to make their own food

作為食物來源

to live under this ice.

牠們就活在這片冰河下

In fact, this past summer, scientists collected

今夏科學家

samples of water and ice

還對當地的水和冰進行抽樣

specifically to see if things called extremophiles,

好觀察這些叫作「嗜極生物」

tiny lifeforms that are evolved to live in completely hostile conditions,

為了適應極劣環境下而演化的微生物

might be living under the ice,

真能在冰河底下生存

kind of like what they hope to find on the polar icecaps of Mars someday.

就好比科學家也希望有朝一日 能在火星的冰帽上有類似發現

Another really cool things is that,

還有一件事很奇特

as seeds and birds land on the surface of the glacier and die,

當種子和鳥類降落冰河表面死後

they get buried in the snow

因有冰雪覆蓋

and gradually become part of the glacier,

逐成冰河的一部分

sinking deeper and deeper into the ice.

在冰裡越陷越深

As these caves form and melt their way up into the ice,

就在冰河洞穴成型 並消融頂部冰層的時候

they make these artifacts rain down from the ceiling

讓這些遺跡紛紛掉落在洞穴地上

and fall onto the cave floor, where we end up finding them.

最後在那裡被我們找到

For example, this is a noble fir seed we found.

像這張照片中我們找到的高冷杉種子

It's been frozen in the ice for over 100 years,

被冰封了100多年

and it's just now starting to sprout.

現在才開始發芽

This mallard duck feather

這根野鴨羽毛是在雪龍洞

was found over 1,800 feet in the back of Snow Dragon Cave.

1,800多英尺的深處找到的

This duck died on the surface of the glacier long, long ago,

很久以前，這隻鴨子死在冰河表面

and its feathers have finally made it down through over 100 feet of ice

羽毛在冰層中下沉了100英尺

before falling inside the cave.

最後掉進洞裡

And this beautiful quartz crystal

這塊美不勝收的石英結晶

was also found in the back of Snow Dragon.

也是在雪龍洞深處尋獲

Even now, Brent and I find it hard to believe

即使現在，布蘭特和我仍難以置信

that all these discoveries were essentially in our own backyard,

這些東西都是在我們附近發現的

hidden away, just waiting to be found.

就藏在那，只等著被發現

Like I said earlier, the idea of discovering

就像剛提到的

in this busy world we live in

想在我們所處的繁忙世界裡有所發現

kind of seems like something you can only do with space travel now,

好像只有太空旅行辦得到

but that's not true.

但並非如此

Every year, new caves get discovered

每年都發現

that no one has ever been in before.

無人進入過的新洞穴

So it's actually not too late for one of you

因此對在座的任何一位來說

to become a discoverer yourself.

你們都能成為發現者

You just have to be willing to look

只要你願意到人跡罕至的地方

and go where people don't often go

走走看看

and focus your eyes and your mind

專注你的視線與思緒

to recognize the discovery when you see it,

這樣尋覓之物出現時才能一下認出

because it might be in your own backyard.

因這些東西可能近在咫尺

Thank you very much.

感謝大家!

(Applause)

(掌聲)