ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Laura Robinson - Ocean scientist
Dr. Laura Robinson's scientific mission is to document and understand the processes that govern climate.

Why you should listen

Dr. Laura Robinson's research the processes that govern climate on time scales ranging from the modern day back through hundreds of thousands of years. To do this research, Robinson uses geochemical techniques, with an emphasis on radioactive elements including uranium series isotopes and radiocarbon. These elements are particularly valuable as they have a wide range of decay rates and geochemical properties and can be analyzed in geologic materials such as corals, marine sediments and seawater.

Through a combination of field work and lab work, Robinson has been tackling questions relating to: timing of Pleistocene climate change events; palaeoclimate reconstructions; deep-sea coral paleo-biogeography; impact of weathering on the ocean and climate; biomineralization; development of new geochemical proxies for past climate conditions; chemical tracers of ocean circulation.

Robinson describes the inspiration behind her work:

“When I finished my PhD, I moved to California to work with Professor Jess Adkins at Caltech on a project using deep-sea corals. Before that time, like many people, I did not know that corals lived in the deep ocean. The first thing I did was prepare for a research cruise to the North Atlantic. We took the research submarine 'Alvin' out to undersea mountains and were able to collect fossil corals from the seafloor. The start of my work in the Southern Ocean came from analysis of a single coral specimen from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington DC. They loaned us the sample, and we found that it was about 16,000 years old, just right for looking at the middle of the last global deglaciation. Being able to access and work on these specimens is a fantastic way of starting a science project. We published a paper on that sample, and then, together with a coral biologist, I wrote a proposal to fund specific expeditions to the Southern Ocean, and to the Equatorial Atlantic to gain a wider view of how the Atlantic Ocean behaved during major climate transitions.

I love the research as it combines field work, lab work and collaborations with all kinds of people including scientists, engineers as well as the ships' crews. In terms of scientists, I work with biologists, oceanographers, chemists, geologists, habitat specialists and a whole range of people who have technical expertise across these fields.”

Learn more about Robinson's current expidition in the Southern Ocean. 

More profile about the speaker
Laura Robinson | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxBrussels

Laura Robinson: The secrets I find on the mysterious ocean floor

Laura Robinson: Os segredos que descubro no misterioso fondo mariño

Filmed:
1,759,346 views

A centos de metros baixo a superficie do océano, Laura Robinson explora as escarpadas ladeiras dos montes submarinos. Anda á procura de corais de miles de anos de idade para analizalos nun reactor nuclear e descubrir como cambia o océano. Estudando a historia da Terra, Robinson espera descubrir pistas sobre o que podería acontecer no futuro.
- Ocean scientist
Dr. Laura Robinson's scientific mission is to document and understand the processes that govern climate. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Well, I'm an ocean chemist.
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Son química mariña.
Estudo as propiedades químicas
actuais dos océanos.
00:14
I look at the chemistry
of the ocean today.
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00:16
I look at the chemistry
of the ocean in the past.
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E as propiedades químicas
dos océanos no pasado.
Para observar o pasado,
00:19
The way I look back in the past
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utilizo restos fósiles de corais
de augas profundas.
00:21
is by using the fossilized remains
of deepwater corals.
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Detrás de min tedes unha imaxe
dun destes corais.
00:24
You can see an image of one
of these corals behind me.
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Foi recollido cerca da Antártida,
a miles de metros de profundidade.
00:27
It was collected from close to Antarctica,
thousands of meters below the sea,
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00:31
so, very different
than the kinds of corals
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Moi distinto, polo tanto,
do tipo de corais
que se cadra tivestes a sorte de atopar
se fostes de vacacións ao trópico.
00:33
you may have been lucky enough to see
if you've had a tropical holiday.
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00:37
So I'm hoping that this talk will give you
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Con esta charla espero ofrecervos
unha visión do océano
en catro dimensións.
00:39
a four-dimensional view of the ocean.
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Dúas dimensións, como as desta
fermosa imaxe, que representa
00:41
Two dimensions, such as this
beautiful two-dimensional image
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a temperatura superficial do mar.
00:45
of the sea surface temperature.
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Tomouse vía satélite, polo que ten
unha resolución espacial altísima.
00:47
This was taken using satellite,
so it's got tremendous spatial resolution.
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00:51
The overall features are extremely
easy to understand.
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Os trazos xerais son moi doados
de entender.
As rexións ecuatoriais están máis quentes
porque reciben máis luz solar.
00:54
The equatorial regions are warm
because there's more sunlight.
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00:58
The polar regions are cold
because there's less sunlight.
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As rexións polares están frías
porque reciben menos luz.
Iso permite que se formen grandes
capas de xeo na Antártida
01:01
And that allows big icecaps
to build up on Antarctica
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e no extremo do hemisferio norte.
01:04
and up in the Northern Hemisphere.
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01:06
If you plunge deep into the sea,
or even put your toes in the sea,
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Se nos mergullamos no mar a gran
profundidade, ou só metemos o pé,
notamos máis frío canto máis
descendemos,
01:09
you know it gets colder as you go down,
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e iso ocorre sobre todo porque as augas
profundas do abismo oceánico
01:11
and that's mostly because the deep waters
that fill the abyss of the ocean
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proceden das frías rexións polares
onde a densidade da auga é alta.
01:15
come from the cold polar regions
where the waters are dense.
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01:19
If we travel back in time
20,000 years ago,
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Se retrocedésemos no tempo
uns 20.000 anos,
a Terra tería un aspecto
moi distinto.
01:22
the earth looked very much different.
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Este debuxo representa unha das
diferenzas máis importantes
01:24
And I've just given you a cartoon version
of one of the major differences
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que veríamos se retrocedésemos
todo ese tempo.
01:28
you would have seen
if you went back that long.
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As capas de xeo eran moito maiores.
01:30
The icecaps were much bigger.
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Cubrían gran parte do continente
e estendíanse polo océano.
01:32
They covered lots of the continent,
and they extended out over the ocean.
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O nivel do mar era 120 metros
máis baixo.
01:35
Sea level was 120 meters lower.
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Os niveis de dióxido de carbono
eran moi inferiores aos actuais.
01:38
Carbon dioxide [levels] were very
much lower than they are today.
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01:42
So the earth was probably about three
to five degrees colder overall,
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Así que a temperatura media da Terra era
entre tres e cinco graos máis baixa,
e moitísimo máis baixa
nas rexións polares.
01:45
and much, much colder
in the polar regions.
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01:49
What I'm trying to understand,
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O que trato de entender,
coma outros colegas meus,
01:51
and what other colleagues of mine
are trying to understand,
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é como pasamos daquelas
condicións climáticas frías
01:54
is how we moved from that
cold climate condition
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ás condicións máis cálidas
das que gozamos hoxe.
01:56
to the warm climate condition
that we enjoy today.
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01:59
We know from ice core research
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Sabemos pola análise de mostras de xeo
que a transición destas condicións frías
a outras máis cálidas
02:01
that the transition from these
cold conditions to warm conditions
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non foi gradual, como cabería predicir
polo lento aumento da radiación solar.
02:04
wasn't smooth, as you might predict
from the slow increase in solar radiation.
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02:10
And we know this from ice cores,
because if you drill down into ice,
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Sabémolo polas mostras de xeo,
porque, ao perforar o xeo,
atopamos bandas anuais, como
podedes observar neste iceberg.
02:13
you find annual bands of ice,
and you can see this in the iceberg.
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Son esas capas azuis e brancas.
02:16
You can see those blue-white layers.
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Os gases quedan atrapados no xeo,
polo que podemos medir o CO2 --
02:18
Gases are trapped in the ice cores,
so we can measure CO2 --
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por iso sabemos que había
menos CO2 no pasado--
02:22
that's why we know CO2
was lower in the past --
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e a composición química do xeo
dinos a temperatura
02:24
and the chemistry of the ice
also tells us about temperature
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02:27
in the polar regions.
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das rexións polares.
02:29
And if you move in time
from 20,000 years ago to the modern day,
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Se avanzamos dende
hai 20.000 anos ata hoxe,
vemos que a temperatura aumentou.
02:32
you see that temperature increased.
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Non aumentou de xeito gradual.
02:34
It didn't increase smoothly.
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02:36
Sometimes it increased very rapidly,
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Ás veces aumentaba moi rápido,
logo estabilizábase,
02:38
then there was a plateau,
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logo aumentaba rápido.
02:39
then it increased rapidly.
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Era distinta nas dúas rexións polares,
02:40
It was different in the two polar regions,
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e o CO2 tamén aumentou a tiróns.
02:42
and CO2 also increased in jumps.
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02:46
So we're pretty sure the ocean
has a lot to do with this.
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Así que estamos convencidos de que
o océano ten moito que ver.
02:49
The ocean stores huge amounts of carbon,
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O océano almacena cantidades enormes
de carbono,
02:52
about 60 times more
than is in the atmosphere.
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60 veces máis do que hai
na atmosfera.
02:54
It also acts to transport heat
across the equator,
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Tamén intervén no transporte de calor
dun lado ao outro do ecuador,
02:58
and the ocean is full of nutrients
and it controls primary productivity.
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e está cheo de nutrientes e controla
a produtividade primaria.
03:02
So if we want to find out
what's going on down in the deep sea,
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Así que se queremos saber o que pasa
nas profundidades do mar,
03:05
we really need to get down there,
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temos que baixar alí,
03:06
see what's there
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ver o que hai
03:07
and start to explore.
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e comezar a explorar.
Estas son imaxes espectaculares obtidas
nun monte submarino
03:09
This is some spectacular footage
coming from a seamount
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a un quilómetro de profundidade
en augas internacionais
03:12
about a kilometer deep
in international waters
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03:14
in the equatorial Atlantic, far from land.
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na zona ecuatorial do Atlántico,
lonxe de terra firme.
03:17
You're amongst the first people
to see this bit of the seafloor,
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Sodes dos primeiros en ver
este anaco de fondo mariño,
03:20
along with my research team.
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xunto co meu equipo.
03:23
You're probably seeing new species.
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Igual estades vendo especies novas.
03:25
We don't know.
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Non o sabemos.
03:26
You'd have to collect the samples
and do some very intense taxonomy.
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Habería que recoller as mostras e facer
unha análise taxonómica rigorosa.
03:29
You can see beautiful bubblegum corals.
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Aquí vedes o fermoso
Paragorgia arborea.
03:31
There are brittle stars
growing on these corals.
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Nestes corais viven ofiuras.
03:34
Those are things that look
like tentacles coming out of corals.
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Son esas cousas con forma de tentáculo
que saen dos corais.
03:37
There are corals made of different forms
of calcium carbonate
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Corais de distintas formas
de carbonato de calcio
viven no basalto deste enorme
monte submarino,
03:40
growing off the basalt of this
massive undersea mountain,
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e o material escuro que se ve
son corais fosilizados,
03:43
and the dark sort of stuff,
those are fossilized corals,
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03:46
and we're going to talk
a little more about those
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dos que imos falar un pouco máis
03:49
as we travel back in time.
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ao retrocedermos no tempo.
03:51
To do that, we need
to charter a research boat.
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Para iso temos que fretar
un barco de investigación.
03:53
This is the James Cook,
an ocean-class research vessel
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Este é o James Cook, un buque
oceánico de investigación
atracado en Tenerife.
03:56
moored up in Tenerife.
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03:57
Looks beautiful, right?
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Precioso, non si?
03:59
Great, if you're not a great mariner.
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Fantástico, se un non é
un gran mariño.
04:01
Sometimes it looks
a little more like this.
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En ocasións ten máis ben
estoutro aspecto.
04:04
This is us trying to make sure
that we don't lose precious samples.
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Estes somos nós tratando de non
perder mostras moi valiosas.
04:07
Everyone's scurrying around,
and I get terribly seasick,
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Todos á carreira, e eu
maréome moitísimo,
04:10
so it's not always a lot of fun,
but overall it is.
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así que non sempre é divertido,
aínda que en xeral, si.
Para dedicarse a isto hai que ser
moi bos cartógrafos.
04:13
So we've got to become
a really good mapper to do this.
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04:15
You don't see that kind of spectacular
coral abundance everywhere.
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Non se atopa en calquera sitio esa
espectacular abundancia de coral.
É global e está a gran profundidade,
04:19
It is global and it is deep,
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pero hai que buscala nos lugares
adecuados.
04:22
but we need to really find
the right places.
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Acabamos de ver un mapamundi,
no que sinalamos
04:25
We just saw a global map,
and overlaid was our cruise passage
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a travesía do ano pasado.
04:28
from last year.
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04:29
This was a seven-week cruise,
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Foron sete semanas de viaxe,
e este é o mapa que nós fixemos
04:31
and this is us, having made our own maps
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04:33
of about 75,000 square kilometers
of the seafloor in seven weeks,
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en sete semanas duns 75.000
quilómetros cadrados de fondo mariño,
unha porción diminuta do fondo do mar.
04:37
but that's only a tiny fraction
of the seafloor.
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04:40
We're traveling from west to east,
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Desprazámonos de oeste a leste,
sobre unha zona da que un mapa
a gran escala non mostraría nada,
04:41
over part of the ocean that would
look featureless on a big-scale map,
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aínda que algúns destes montes teñen
o tamaño do Everest.
04:45
but actually some of these mountains
are as big as Everest.
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Cos mapas que facemos a bordo,
04:48
So with the maps that we make on board,
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obtemos unha resolución duns 100 metros,
04:50
we get about 100-meter resolution,
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o que abonda para decidir
onde despregar o equipo,
04:52
enough to pick out areas
to deploy our equipment,
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pero non permite ver gran cousa.
04:55
but not enough to see very much.
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Para facer isto precisamos
dispositivos con control remoto
04:57
To do that, we need to fly
remotely-operated vehicles
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que se desprazan a uns cinco metros
do fondo.
05:00
about five meters off the seafloor.
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Dese xeito podemos obter mapas
cunha resolución dun metro
05:02
And if we do that, we can get maps
that are one-meter resolution
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a miles de metros de profundidade.
05:05
down thousands of meters.
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Este é un deses dispositivos remotos,
05:07
Here is a remotely-operated vehicle,
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un vehículo de máxima precisión.
05:09
a research-grade vehicle.
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Dispón de grandes focos
na parte superior,
05:12
You can see an array
of big lights on the top.
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cámaras de alta definición,
brazos robóticos,
05:14
There are high-definition cameras,
manipulator arms,
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e múltiples caixiñas e cousas
para gardar as mostras.
05:17
and lots of little boxes and things
to put your samples.
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05:21
Here we are on our first dive
of this particular cruise,
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Esta era a nosa primeira inmersión
nesta expedición concreta.
Estámonos mergullando.
05:24
plunging down into the ocean.
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Imos rápido para que
outros barcos non afecten
05:26
We go pretty fast to make sure
the remotely operated vehicles
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aos nosos dispositivos
con control remoto.
05:29
are not affected by any other ships.
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Imos descendendo,
05:31
And we go down,
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e estas son as cousas que se ven.
05:32
and these are the kinds of things you see.
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Estas son esponxas de augas profundas,
a escala dun metro.
05:34
These are deep sea sponges, meter scale.
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05:38
This is a swimming holothurian --
it's a small sea slug, basically.
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Aquí vemos unha holoturia nadando --
en esencia, unha pequena lesma mariña.
Esta está a cámara lenta.
05:43
This is slowed down.
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05:44
Most of the footage I'm showing
you is speeded up,
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A maioría das imaxes que amoso
están aceleradas,
porque todo isto leva moito tempo.
05:46
because all of this takes a lot of time.
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05:49
This is a beautiful holothurian as well.
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Esta é outra fermosa holoturia.
05:52
And this animal you're going to see
coming up was a big surprise.
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E o animal que ides ver agora
foi unha gran sorpresa.
Nunca vira algo así e colleunos
a todos un pouco por sorpresa.
05:55
I've never seen anything like this
and it took us all a bit surprised.
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Levabamos unhas 15 horas traballando
e estabamos algo sobreexcitados
05:59
This was after about 15 hours of work
and we were all a bit trigger-happy,
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e de repente este monstro
pasou a rolos por diante de nós
06:03
and suddenly this giant
sea monster started rolling past.
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Chámase pirosoma, ou tamén
tunicado colonial.
06:05
It's called a pyrosome
or colonial tunicate, if you like.
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06:08
This wasn't what we were looking for.
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Non era isto o que buscabamos.
Nós andabamos á procura
de corais de augas profundas.
06:10
We were looking for corals,
deep sea corals.
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06:14
You're going to see a picture
of one in a moment.
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Ides ver deseguida
unha imaxe dun destes.
É pequeno, duns cinco centímetros de alto.
06:16
It's small, about five centimeters high.
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Está composto de carbonato de calcio
e vemos os seus tentáculos,
06:19
It's made of calcium carbonate,
so you can see its tentacles there,
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que se moven coa corrente.
06:22
moving in the ocean currents.
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06:25
An organism like this probably lives
for about a hundred years.
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Un organismo coma este vive
probablemente uns cen anos.
Ao medrar, vai tomando substancias
químicas do océano.
06:28
And as it grows, it takes in
chemicals from the ocean.
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E a cantidade destas substancias
06:31
And the chemicals,
or the amount of chemicals,
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depende da temperatura, do pH
06:34
depends on the temperature;
it depends on the pH,
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e dos nutrientes.
06:36
it depends on the nutrients.
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Se logramos entender como se integran
estas substancias no esqueleto,
06:38
And if we can understand how
these chemicals get into the skeleton,
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podemos voltar, recoller
espécimes fósiles
06:41
we can then go back,
collect fossil specimens,
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e reconstruír como era
o océano no pasado.
06:44
and reconstruct what the ocean
used to look like in the past.
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Aquí estamos recollendo ese coral
cun sistema de baleiro,
06:47
And here you can see us collecting
that coral with a vacuum system,
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para poñelo nun recipiente de mostras.
06:50
and we put it into a sampling container.
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Debo engadir que o facemos
con moitísimo coidado.
06:53
We can do this very
carefully, I should add.
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06:55
Some of these organisms live even longer.
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Algúns destes organismos viven
aínda máis tempo.
Esta é unha foto dun coral negro
chamado leiopathes.
06:57
This is a black coral called Leiopathes,
an image taken by my colleague,
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Foi tomada por un colega, Brendan Roark,
en Hawaii, a 500 metros de profundidade.
07:01
Brendan Roark, about 500
meters below Hawaii.
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Catro mil anos é moito tempo.
07:04
Four thousand years is a long time.
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07:06
If you take a branch from one
of these corals and polish it up,
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Se collemos unha póla dun
destes corais e a pulimos,
isto son uns 100 microns.
07:10
this is about 100 microns across.
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07:12
And Brendan took some analyses
across this coral --
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Brendan analizou varias seccións
deste coral
--pódense ver as marcas--
07:15
you can see the marks --
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e puido demostrar que en realidade
se trata de franxas anuais,
07:17
and he's been able to show
that these are actual annual bands,
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de modo que mesmo a 500 metros
de profundidade
07:20
so even at 500 meters deep in the ocean,
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os corais poden rexistrar
cambios estacionais.
07:22
corals can record seasonal changes,
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430028
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o cal é bastante espectacular.
07:24
which is pretty spectacular.
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432820
1732
Pero 4.000 anos non abonda para chegar
ao punto máximo da última glaciación.
07:26
But 4,000 years is not enough to get
us back to our last glacial maximum.
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Que facemos entón?
07:30
So what do we do?
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Pois imos por estes espécimes fósiles.
07:31
We go in for these fossil specimens.
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07:34
This is what makes me really unpopular
with my research team.
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Por isto non lle caio moi ben
ao meu equipo.
Cando nos mergullamos,
07:37
So going along,
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vemos moitos tiburóns xigantes,
07:38
there's giant sharks everywhere,
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pirosomas, holoturias nadando,
07:39
there are pyrosomes,
there are swimming holothurians,
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esponxas xigantes,
07:42
there's giant sponges,
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pero eu obrígoos a baixar
ás zonas mortas dos fósiles,
07:43
but I make everyone go down
to these dead fossil areas
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onde pasan horas remexendo
o fondo mariño.
07:46
and spend ages kind of shoveling
around on the seafloor.
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Recollemos todos estes corais,
subímolos e clasificámolos.
07:49
And we pick up all these corals,
bring them back, we sort them out.
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Son de distintas idades, e
07:53
But each one of these is a different age,
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se logramos determinar
a de cada espécime
07:55
and if we can find out how old they are
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e medir eses sinais químicos,
07:57
and then we can measure
those chemical signals,
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iso axúdanos a saber
08:00
this helps us to find out
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que aconteceu no océano
en épocas pasadas.
08:01
what's been going on
in the ocean in the past.
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2483
08:04
So on the left-hand image here,
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Para obter a imaxe da esquerda,
collín unha sección de coral,
pulina con moito coidado
08:06
I've taken a slice through a coral,
polished it very carefully
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3032
e fotografeina.
08:09
and taken an optical image.
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1970
Para a imaxe da dereita
08:11
On the right-hand side,
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1152
puxemos o mesmo anaco de coral
nun reactor nuclear,
08:12
we've taken that same piece of coral,
put it in a nuclear reactor,
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3100
inducimos a fisión
08:15
induced fission,
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1152
e cada vez que hai desintegración
08:16
and every time there's some decay,
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1631
queda unha marca no coral,
08:18
you can see that marked out in the coral,
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1982
e así podemos ver
a distribución do uranio.
08:20
so we can see the uranium distribution.
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1889
08:22
Why are we doing this?
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1151
Por que facemos isto?
O uranio é un elemento
con moi mala reputación,
08:23
Uranium is a very poorly regarded element,
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2287
pero a min encántame.
08:25
but I love it.
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A desintegración axúdanos a coñecer
os ritmos e as datas
08:27
The decay helps us find out
about the rates and dates
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3212
do que acontece no océano.
08:30
of what's going on in the ocean.
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Se lembrades o que dixen ao comezo,
08:31
And if you remember from the beginning,
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1898
iso é o que queremos saber
cando pensamos no clima.
08:33
that's what we want to get at
when we're thinking about climate.
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3013
Así que aplicamos un láser
a estes corais para analizar
08:36
So we use a laser to analyze uranium
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504813
1751
08:38
and one of its daughter products,
thorium, in these corals,
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2785
o uranio e un dos seus
produtos fillos, o torio,
e iso dinos con exactitude
a idade dos fósiles.
08:41
and that tells us exactly
how old the fossils are.
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2639
08:44
This beautiful animation
of the Southern Ocean
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2192
Esta fermosa animación
do Océano Antártico
servirame para ilustrar como
empregamos estes corais
08:46
I'm just going to use illustrate
how we're using these corals
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514958
3135
para obter información
sobre o océano arcaico.
08:50
to get at some of the ancient
ocean feedbacks.
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518117
4071
Podedes ver a densidade
das augas superficiais
08:54
You can see the density
of the surface water
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522212
2426
nesta imaxe animada creada
por Ryan Abernathey.
08:56
in this animation by Ryan Abernathey.
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2398
08:59
It's just one year of data,
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527481
2037
Mostra os datos dun só ano
pero pódese ver o dinámico
que é o Océano Antártico.
09:01
but you can see how dynamic
the Southern Ocean is.
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529542
2610
09:04
The intense mixing,
particularly the Drake Passage,
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532500
3407
A intensa mestura, sobre todo
o Paso de Drake,
sinalado cun recadro,
09:07
which is shown by the box,
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2437
é de feito unha das correntes
máis fortes do mundo
09:10
is really one of the strongest
currents in the world
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2612
a que flúe por aquí
de oeste a leste.
09:13
coming through here,
flowing from west to east.
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2207
A mestura é moi turbulenta,
09:15
It's very turbulently mixed,
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543259
1349
porque circula sobre eses enormes
montes submarinos,
09:16
because it's moving over those
great big undersea mountains,
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544632
2872
o cal permite o intercambio
de calor e CO2 coa atmosfera.
09:19
and this allows CO2 and heat to exchange
with the atmosphere in and out.
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547528
4481
En esencia, os océanos respiran
a través do Océano Antártico.
09:24
And essentially, the oceans are breathing
through the Southern Ocean.
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3507
09:28
We've collected corals from back and forth
across this Antarctic passage,
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556865
5464
Recollimos corais ao longo
de todo este paso antártico,
e descubrimos algo bastante sorprendente
grazas á datación do uranio:
09:34
and we've found quite a surprising thing
from my uranium dating:
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562353
3027
os corais migraron de sur a norte
09:37
the corals migrated from south to north
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2503
durante esta transición da glaciación
ao período interglaciar.
09:39
during this transition from the glacial
to the interglacial.
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567931
3129
Non sabemos ben por que,
09:43
We don't really know why,
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571084
1207
pero pensamos que ten que ver
coas fontes de alimento
09:44
but we think it's something
to do with the food source
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572315
2549
e se cadra coa concentración
de osíxeno na auga.
09:46
and maybe the oxygen in the water.
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574888
1957
Neste punto nos atopamos.
09:49
So here we are.
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577718
1155
Vou ilustrar o que penso que levamos
descuberto sobre o clima
09:50
I'm going to illustrate what I think
we've found about climate
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578897
3048
grazas aos corais do Océano Antártico.
09:53
from those corals in the Southern Ocean.
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581969
1960
Subimos e baixamos montes submarinos.
Recollimos pequenos fósiles de coral.
09:55
We went up and down sea mountains.
We collected little fossil corals.
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3275
Así o represento eu.
09:59
This is my illustration of that.
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1526
Pensamos que durante
a glaciación,
10:00
We think back in the glacial,
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588802
1405
segundo as nosas análises dos corais,
10:02
from the analysis
we've made in the corals,
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590231
2023
a zona profunda do Océano Antártico
era moi rica en carbono
10:04
that the deep part of the Southern Ocean
was very rich in carbon,
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592278
3086
e había unha capa de baixa densidade
xusto encima
10:07
and there was a low-density
layer sitting on top.
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2689
que impedía que o carbono
saíse do océano.
10:10
That stops carbon dioxide
coming out of the ocean.
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598101
2793
10:13
We then found corals
that are of an intermediate age,
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601752
2592
Entón atopamos corais
dunha idade intermedia
que demostran que o océano se mesturou
no medio desa transición climática.
10:16
and they show us that the ocean mixed
partway through that climate transition.
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4580
Iso permite ao carbono
saír da zona máis profunda.
10:20
That allows carbon to come
out of the deep ocean.
230
608972
2467
10:24
And then if we analyze corals
closer to the modern day,
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612154
3099
E se analizamos corais máis
próximos á época moderna,
ou se baixamos hoxe mesmo alí
10:27
or indeed if we go down there today anyway
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2254
e medimos as propiedades químicas
dos corais,
10:29
and measure the chemistry of the corals,
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617555
2206
vemos que pasamos a unha situación
na que pode haber intercambio de carbono.
10:31
we see that we move to a position
where carbon can exchange in and out.
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3994
Este é o modo en que os corais fósiles
10:35
So this is the way
we can use fossil corals
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623803
2074
nos axudan a aprender cousas
sobre o medio.
10:37
to help us learn about the environment.
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1942
10:41
So I want to leave you
with this last slide.
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2134
Déixovos cunha última diapositiva.
É unha imaxe fixa tirada da primeira
gravación que mostrei.
10:43
It's just a still taken out of that first
piece of footage that I showed you.
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631985
3923
É un xardín de corais espectacular.
10:47
This is a spectacular coral garden.
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2112
Non esperabamos atopar
algo tan fermoso.
10:50
We didn't even expect
to find things this beautiful.
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638068
2558
Está a miles de metros de profundidade.
10:52
It's thousands of meters deep.
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1884
Hai especies novas.
10:54
There are new species.
242
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1374
10:56
It's just a beautiful place.
243
644416
1899
É simplemente un lugar fermoso.
Tamén hai fósiles,
10:58
There are fossils in amongst,
244
646339
1381
e veño de prepararvos para
valorar os fósiles de coral
10:59
and now I've trained you
to appreciate the fossil corals
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2691
que se atopan aló abaixo.
11:02
that are down there.
246
650459
1215
A próxima vez que teñades a sorte
de voar sobre o océano
11:03
So next time you're lucky enough
to fly over the ocean
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2866
ou de navegar por el,
11:06
or sail over the ocean,
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1409
lembrade que aló abaixo
hai enormes montes submarinos
11:08
just think -- there are massive
sea mountains down there
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2667
que ninguén viu aínda,
11:10
that nobody's ever seen before,
250
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1867
e fermosos corais.
11:12
and there are beautiful corals.
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Grazas.
11:14
Thank you.
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1151
(Aplausos)
11:15
(Applause)
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4930
Translated by Mario Cal
Reviewed by Belén García Penerbosa

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Laura Robinson - Ocean scientist
Dr. Laura Robinson's scientific mission is to document and understand the processes that govern climate.

Why you should listen

Dr. Laura Robinson's research the processes that govern climate on time scales ranging from the modern day back through hundreds of thousands of years. To do this research, Robinson uses geochemical techniques, with an emphasis on radioactive elements including uranium series isotopes and radiocarbon. These elements are particularly valuable as they have a wide range of decay rates and geochemical properties and can be analyzed in geologic materials such as corals, marine sediments and seawater.

Through a combination of field work and lab work, Robinson has been tackling questions relating to: timing of Pleistocene climate change events; palaeoclimate reconstructions; deep-sea coral paleo-biogeography; impact of weathering on the ocean and climate; biomineralization; development of new geochemical proxies for past climate conditions; chemical tracers of ocean circulation.

Robinson describes the inspiration behind her work:

“When I finished my PhD, I moved to California to work with Professor Jess Adkins at Caltech on a project using deep-sea corals. Before that time, like many people, I did not know that corals lived in the deep ocean. The first thing I did was prepare for a research cruise to the North Atlantic. We took the research submarine 'Alvin' out to undersea mountains and were able to collect fossil corals from the seafloor. The start of my work in the Southern Ocean came from analysis of a single coral specimen from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington DC. They loaned us the sample, and we found that it was about 16,000 years old, just right for looking at the middle of the last global deglaciation. Being able to access and work on these specimens is a fantastic way of starting a science project. We published a paper on that sample, and then, together with a coral biologist, I wrote a proposal to fund specific expeditions to the Southern Ocean, and to the Equatorial Atlantic to gain a wider view of how the Atlantic Ocean behaved during major climate transitions.

I love the research as it combines field work, lab work and collaborations with all kinds of people including scientists, engineers as well as the ships' crews. In terms of scientists, I work with biologists, oceanographers, chemists, geologists, habitat specialists and a whole range of people who have technical expertise across these fields.”

Learn more about Robinson's current expidition in the Southern Ocean. 

More profile about the speaker
Laura Robinson | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM