Arctic Ocean Depths Teeming with Life
The remotest depths of the
Arctic ocean are surprisingly full of life, including previously unknown species
of jellyfish and worms, a scientific team which just finished exploring the area
said on Friday.
The scientists, led by the University
of Alaska, used robot submarines and sonar to probe an isolated 12,470-foot
(3,800-meter) basin off Canada's Arctic coast where they fear species could be
at risk from global warming.
"We were surprised by the
abundance and the diversity of life in this environment. Even at a depth of
3,000 meters we found animals on the sea floor, we found sea cucumbers ... and
all kinds of jellyfish and crustaceans," said Rolf Gradinger of the
University of Alaska, the chief scientist on the voyage.
"Some of the species that we saw
are completely new to science, they have not been described in any area of the
earth so far," he told reporters on a conference call. The species are a
jellyfish and three kinds of benthic bristle worms.
The team also found unexpectedly high
numbers of cod as well as the first squid, octopus and flea-like crustaceans
ever seen in an icy environment.
Scientists from the United States,
Canada, Russia and China spent 30 days on the U.S. icebreaker Healy as part of a
$1 billion, 10-year global Census of Marine Life funded by governments,
companies and private donors.
The Healy returned on Tuesday with
thousands of specimens from the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas and the Canada Basin,
a vast bowl walled by steep ridges and covered with ice.
The team said the data would help
measure the impact of climate change and, should polar caps continue receding,
the damage done by increased energy exploitation, fishing and shipping.
"This is a benchmark and we hope
that in the next 10, 20 or 30 years these kinds of studies will be repeated to
see whether any kinds of changes have occurred in the composition and the
abundance of animal life," said Gradinger.
一个刚刚结束了北冰洋探测之旅的国际科学家小组日前表示，在北冰洋深处海域竟然活跃着生命体，其中还包括一些以前人们所不知道的水母和小虫等。
据路透社日前报道，这个由美国阿拉斯加大学领导的科学家小组使用水下机器人和声波定位仪，对加拿大北极沿岸一个深达12470英尺（3800米）的孤立盆地进行了探测。科学家担心全球变暖的趋势会威胁到这里的生物种类，而让他们意想不到的是，这里竟然存在着为数众多且种类繁杂的海洋生物体。
这次探测活动的主要负责人、美国阿拉斯加大学的科学家罗尔夫·格拉丁戈表示，在这种环境下，生物数量如此之多、种类如此繁杂让科学家们都感到非常惊讶。即使在深达3000米的水中，仍能发现生活在海底的动物，比如海黄瓜等……另外，科学家还发现了各种各样的水母和甲壳类动物，其中还包括一些全新的生物种类。迄今为止，人们还没有在地球上的其它地方发现这些生物的踪迹。
新发现的生物种类包括1种水母和3种深海刚毛虫。同时，研究小组还在这里出乎意料地发现了大量的鳕鱼、鱿鱼、章鱼和跳蚤一样的甲壳类动物。
报道说，来自美国、加拿大、俄罗斯和中国的科学家乘坐着美国碎冰船赫利号（Healy）在该地区进行了为期30天的探测活动。这是耗资10亿美元、历时10年的“全球海洋生物人口普查”研究项目的一部分。该项目的资金出自各国政府、企业和一些私人捐赠人。
赫利号于上周二（7月26日）满载着上千份从北冰洋楚科奇海、波弗特海和加拿大盆地获得的生物标本返回。该科学家小组表示，这些资料将帮助人们衡量气候变化所带来的影响，南北极是否还将继续后退，以及大规模能源开采、捕鱼和航运所引发的不利影响等。
对此，格拉丁戈表示：“我们将此作为一个基准点，希望在未来的10年、20年或者30年中，这种类型的研究能够不断探究海洋生物都发生了哪些组成和数量上的变化。”
（王高山）
|