ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Andrés Ruzo - Geoscientist
Andrés Ruzo investigates the Earth's heat and the mystery of a boiling river in the Peruvian rainforest.

Why you should listen

Andrés Ruzo is a tri-citizen who grew up among Nicaragua, Peru and Texas -- which helped him see that most of the world's problems are not confined by geographic or cultural borders. While trying to imagine solutions, he realized the way we produce and use energy lies at the root of many of our biggest issues. Combined with his memories of summers on his family's farm on Nicaragua's Casita volcano, playing in the fumarole fields, this prompted him to pursue a PhD in geophysics at SMU, focusing on geothermal studies. He is also a National Geographic Young Explorer.

Investigating a childhood legend led him to the Shanay-timpishka, the "Boiling River" of the Amazon, and a sacred site to the indigenous tribes, where the water can reach over 95 °C (203 °F). The greatest mystery of this place: How can a "boiling river" exist 700 km (435 miles) from the nearest volcanic center?

Ruzo is the author of the TED Book, The Boiling River: Adventure and Discovery in the Amazon.

More profile about the speaker
Andrés Ruzo | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2014

Andrés Ruzo: The boiling river of the Amazon

安德烈.魯索: 我如何找到傳說中亞馬遜的沸水河

Filmed:
2,147,830 views

當安德烈.魯索還是一個身在秘魯的小男孩時,祖父告訴他的故事裡有個奇異的細節:在亞馬遜的深處,有一條如被火加熱而沸騰的河流。十二年後,成為地熱學者的魯索回到南美叢林的深處,尋找那條河流。在這看似萬物都已被組織測量且為人所知的時代,跟隨魯索的河流探險,迫使我們質問關於未知與已知的界線…並提醒我們,尚有重大的驚奇,等待我們去發掘。
- Geoscientist
Andrés Ruzo investigates the Earth's heat and the mystery of a boiling river in the Peruvian rainforest. Full bio

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

00:13
As a boy男孩 in Lima利馬,
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身為利馬的小男孩,
00:14
my grandfather祖父 told me a legend傳說
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爺爺曾告訴我
西班牙人征服秘魯的傳說。
00:16
of the Spanish西班牙語 conquest征服 of Peru秘魯.
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00:20
Atahualpa阿塔瓦爾帕, emperor皇帝 of the Inca印加,
had been captured捕獲 and killed殺害.
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印加國王阿塔瓦爾帕,
被俘虜並遭到殺害。
00:23
Pizarro皮薩羅 and his conquistadors征服者
had grown長大的 rich豐富,
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皮澤洛和他帶領的征服者得到財富。
00:26
and tales故事 of their conquest征服
and glory榮耀 had reached到達 Spain西班牙
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他們的事蹟與榮耀傳回西班牙,
00:29
and was bringing使 new waves波浪 of Spaniards西班牙人,
hungry飢餓 for gold and glory榮耀.
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吸引一波波渴望
黃金和榮譽的西班牙人。
00:36
They would go into towns城市 and ask the Inca印加,
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他們湧到城鎮問印加人:
00:38
"Where's哪裡 another另一個 civilization文明
we can conquer征服? Where's哪裡 more gold?"
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「哪裡還有我們能征服的文明?
哪裡還有更多的黃金?」
00:42
And the Inca印加, out of vengeance復仇, told them,
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於是印加人出於報復,告訴他們:
00:46
"Go to the Amazon亞馬遜.
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「去亞馬遜吧。
00:48
You'll你會 find all the gold you want there.
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你會找到你想要的黃金。
00:51
In fact事實, there is a city called PaititiPaititi --
El薩爾瓦多 Dorado多拉多 in Spanish西班牙語 --
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那裡有一個叫帕蒂蒂的城市,
西班牙語叫做 El Dorado,
00:56
made製作 entirely完全 of gold."
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完全是由黃金打造而成。」
00:59
The Spanish西班牙語 set off into the jungle叢林,
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西班牙人於是出發前往叢林,
01:01
but the few少數 that return返回
come back with stories故事,
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但只有幾個人回來,
他們帶回了許多故事。
01:05
stories故事 of powerful強大 shamans巫師,
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傳說那裡有強大的薩滿巫師,
01:09
of warriors勇士 with poisoned中毒 arrows箭頭,
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手持毒箭的戰士,
01:12
of trees樹木 so tall they blotted塗抹 out the sun太陽,
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樹林高聳成蔭,蔽不見日,
01:16
spiders蜘蛛 that ate birds鳥類,
snakes that swallowed吞食 men男人 whole整個
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有吃鳥的蜘蛛,
可以吞掉一整個人的蛇,
01:21
and a river that boiled煮沸.
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和一條沸騰的河流。
01:25
All this became成為 a childhood童年 memory記憶.
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這些故事,成為我的童年回憶。
01:27
And years年份 passed通過.
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時光流逝,
01:28
I'm working加工 on my PhD博士 at SMUSMU,
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現在我在南衛理公會大學
攻讀博士學位,
01:31
trying to understand理解
Peru's秘魯 geothermal地熱 energy能源 potential潛在,
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試著了解秘魯的地熱潛能。
01:35
when I remember記得 this legend傳說,
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我記起這個傳說,
01:37
and I began開始 asking that question.
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開始思考這個問題:
01:40
Could the boiling沸騰 river exist存在?
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那沸騰的河流真的存在嗎?
01:44
I asked colleagues同事 from universities高校,
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我問過很多大學的同行、
01:46
the government政府,
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政府部門、
01:47
oil, gas加油站 and mining礦業 companies公司,
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石油、天然氣及煤礦公司,
01:49
and the answer回答 was a unanimous一致 no.
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答案一致是否定的。
01:52
And this makes品牌 sense.
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這言之有理。
01:55
You see, boiling沸騰 rivers河流
do exist存在 in the world世界,
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你知道,世界上確實有
沸騰的河流,
01:57
but they're generally通常
associated相關 with volcanoes火山.
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但通常跟火山有關。
02:00
You need a powerful強大 heat source資源
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只有強勁的熱力源頭
02:02
to produce生產 such這樣 a large
geothermal地熱 manifestation表現.
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才能產生這麼大的地熱現象。
02:06
And as you can see from the red dots
here, which哪一個 are volcanoes火山,
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你們可以看到這些紅點代表火山。
02:11
we don't have volcanoes火山 in the Amazon亞馬遜,
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亞馬遜流域沒有火山,
02:14
nor也不 in most of Peru秘魯.
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而大部分的秘魯地區也沒有。
02:16
So it follows如下: We should not expect期望
to see a boiling沸騰 river.
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由此看來,我們不可能
見到一條沸騰的河流。
02:21
Telling天音 this same相同 story故事
at a family家庭 dinner晚餐,
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一次家庭聚餐,我提到這個故事,
02:25
my aunt姑媽 tells告訴 me,
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我的姑姑告訴我:
02:28
"But no, Andr安德烈és, I've been there.
I've swum遊過 in that river."
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「但是安德烈,我以前去過那裡,
還在河裡游泳過。」
02:32
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:36
Then my uncle叔叔 jumps跳躍 in.
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這時叔叔插嘴說:
02:38
"No, Andr安德烈és, she's not kidding開玩笑.
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「安德烈,她不是在開玩笑。
02:41
You see, you can only swim游泳 in it
after a very heavy rain,
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你要知道只有在豪雨之後,
你才能在這條河裡游泳。
02:45
and it's protected保護 by a powerful強大 shaman.
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有一位強大的薩滿
保䕶著這條河。
02:48
Your aunt姑媽, she's friends朋友 with his wife妻子."
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你的姑姑就是他妻子的友人。」
02:51
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:53
"¿Cómo?" ["Huh?"]
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"¿Cómo?" (蛤?)
02:54
You know, despite儘管 all
my scientific科學 skepticism懷疑論,
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儘管我對此的科學根據存疑,
02:56
I found發現 myself hiking徒步旅行 into the jungle叢林,
guided引導 by my aunt姑媽,
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我發現自己跟著姑姑的指引,
深入叢林,
03:00
over 700 kilometers公里 away
from the nearest最近的 volcanic火山 center中央,
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而最近的火山中心
遠在 700 公里之外。
03:04
and well, honestly老老實實,
mentally精神上 preparing準備 myself
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坦白說,我有心理準備,
03:08
to behold不料 the legendary傳奇的
"warm stream of the Amazon亞馬遜."
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看到傳說中的「亞馬遜暖水流」。
03:14
But then ...
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但是隨即,
03:16
I heard聽說 something,
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我聽到一些聲音。
03:19
a low surge浪湧
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初時一陣低湧,
03:22
that got louder and louder
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後來我們走近時
03:25
as we came來了 closer接近.
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聲音越來越大。
03:28
It sounded滿面 like ocean海洋 waves波浪
constantly經常 crashing轟然,
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好像海浪持續打在岸上。
03:32
and as we got closer接近, I saw smoke抽煙, vapor,
coming未來 up through通過 the trees樹木.
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我們接近時,煙霧與水汽
穿過樹林而來。
03:36
And then, I saw this.
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接著我看見了這個。
03:41
I immediately立即 grabbed抓起 for my thermometer溫度計,
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我立刻拿出溫度計,
03:44
and the average平均 temperatures溫度 in the river
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當時河的平均溫度
03:47
were 86 degrees C.
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是攝氏 86 度。
03:51
This is not quite相當
the 100-degree-度 C boiling沸騰
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還不到沸點的攝氏 100 度,
03:54
but definitely無疑 close enough足夠.
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但絕對夠接近了。
03:58
The river flowed流入 hot and fast快速.
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這條河流又燙又湍急,
04:02
I followed其次 it upriver上游 and was led by,
actually其實, the shaman's薩滿的 apprentice學徒
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薩滿的學徒帶我
順著河往上游前行,
04:05
to the most sacred神聖 site現場 on the river.
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到了河流最神聖的地方。
04:07
And this is what's bizarre奇異的 --
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超乎尋常的是,
04:09
It starts啟動 off as a cold stream.
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源頭的水流是冷的,
04:11
And here, at this site現場,
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直到這個地點,
04:13
is the home of the YacumamaYacumama,
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傳說中蛇神 (Yacumama) 之家,
04:15
mother母親 of the waters水域,
a giant巨人 serpent spirit精神
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這條巨蛇之靈是所有水流之母,
04:19
who births出生 hot and cold water.
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孕育了熱水和冷水。
04:22
And here we find a hot spring彈簧,
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在這裡,我們發現了一道
混合著冷水流的溫泉,
04:26
mixing混合 with cold stream water
underneath her protective保護的 motherly母愛 jaws
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就在巨蛇母親保護著的下頜。
就像是傳說成真。
04:31
and thus從而 bringing使 their legends傳說 to life.
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04:36
The next下一個 morning早上, I woke醒來 up and --
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到了第二天早上,我一覺醒來…
04:38
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:40
I asked for tea.
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我想要一杯茶,
04:42
I was handed a mug, a tea bag
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有人給我一個馬克杯和茶包,
04:44
and, well, pointed towards the river.
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然後指著那條河。
04:48
To my surprise, the water was clean清潔
and had a pleasant愉快 taste味道,
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讓我感到意外的是,
河水很乾淨,有很好的味道,
04:52
which哪一個 is a little weird奇怪的
for geothermal地熱 systems系統.
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這對於地熱系統來說不太尋常。
04:56
What was amazing驚人
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神奇的是,
04:58
is that the locals當地人 had always
known已知 about this place地點,
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當地人一直都知道這地方,
05:01
and that I was by no means手段
the first outsider局外人 to see it.
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而我肯定不是第一個知道的外人。
05:05
It was just part部分 of their everyday每天 life.
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這不過是他們生活的一部分,
05:09
They drink its water.
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喝河流的水、
05:11
They take in its vapor.
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吸入那
05:14
They cook廚師 with it,
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利用河水煮食、
05:16
clean清潔 with it,
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清潔洗淨,
05:17
even make their medicines藥品 with it.
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甚至用它來製藥。
05:21
I met會見 the shaman,
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我和那位薩滿見面,
05:22
and he seemed似乎 like an extension延期
of the river and his jungle叢林.
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他像是這條河流
與這片樹林的一部分。
05:27
He asked for my intentions意圖
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他問我為何而來,
05:30
and listened聽了 carefully小心.
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並且仔細聽我回答。
05:33
Then, to my tremendous巨大 relief浮雕 --
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然後,讓我如釋重負的是
05:36
I was freaking再用 out,
to be honest誠實 with you --
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──坦白說,我原本非常緊張──
05:39
a smile微笑 began開始 to snake across橫過 his face面對,
and he just laughed笑了.
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一抹微笑像蛇爬過他的面孔,
然後他笑了。
05:44
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
05:47
I had received收到 the shaman's薩滿的 blessing祝福
to study研究 the river,
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我得到薩滿的祝福來硏究這條河,
05:52
on the condition條件 that after I take
the water samples樣本
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只要我取得的河水樣本
05:55
and analyze分析 them in my lab實驗室,
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在實驗室分析過後,
05:57
wherever哪裡 I was in the world世界,
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無論我在世界哪裡,
06:00
that I pour the waters水域
back into the ground地面
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都要把水再灑回到地上,
06:04
so that, as the shaman said,
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薩滿說,
06:06
the waters水域 could find their way back home.
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這樣河水才能找到回家的路。
06:11
I've been back every一切 year
since以來 that first visit訪問 in 2011,
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自從 2011 年第一次探訪以來,
我每年都回去。
06:14
and the fieldwork實習 has been exhilarating令人振奮,
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實地考察令人振奮,
06:18
demanding嚴格 and at times dangerous危險.
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過程艱辛,有時甚至危險。
06:22
One story故事 was even featured精選
in National國民 Geographic地理 Magazine雜誌.
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國家地理雜誌曾為
其中一個故事做過專題,
06:26
I was trapped被困 on a small rock
about the size尺寸 of a sheet of paper
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當時我被一塊紙張大小的石頭卡住了,
06:30
in sandals涼鞋 and board shorts短褲,
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身上只穿著沙灘褲和涼鞋。
06:32
in between之間 an 80 degree C river
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我那時身處在攝氏 80 度的河流
06:34
and a hot spring彈簧 that, well,
looked看著 like this, close to boiling沸騰.
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和一道溫泉之間,
就像這樣,接近沸騰。
06:39
And on top最佳 of that,
it was Amazon亞馬遜 rain forest森林.
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在這之上的是亞馬遜雨林,
06:43
PshhPSHH, pouring澆注 rain, couldn't不能 see a thing.
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滂沱大雨,伸手不見五指。
06:45
The temperature溫度 differential微分
made製作 it all white白色. It was a whiteout白化.
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溫差讓周圍變得白濛濛,簡直是雪盲。
06:50
Intense激烈.
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真令人緊張。
06:54
Now, after years年份 of work,
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如今,經過多年的考察,
06:56
I'll soon不久 be submitting提交 my geophysical地球物理
and geochemical地球化學 studies學習 for publication出版物.
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不久我會發表相關的
地球物理與化學硏究成果。
07:03
And I'd like to share分享, today今天,
with all of you here, on the TEDTED stage階段,
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今天我想在 TED 的講臺上
與你們分享,
07:07
for the first time,
some of these discoveries發現.
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我第一次公開的部分發現。
07:11
Well, first off, it's not a legend傳說.
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首先,這些故事不是傳說。
07:14
Surprise!
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想不到吧!
07:15
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
07:18
When I first started開始 the research研究,
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最初我進行研究時,
07:20
the satellite衛星 imagery意象 was too
low-resolution低分辨率 to be meaningful富有意義的.
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衛星影像的解析度非常低,
根本幫不上忙,
07:23
There were just no good maps地圖.
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可以說是沒有地圖可言。
07:25
Thanks謝謝 to the support支持
of the Google谷歌 Earth地球 team球隊,
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多謝 Google 地球團隊,
07:28
I now have this.
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我現在有了這樣的畫面。
07:31
Not only that, the indigenous土著 name名稱
of the river, Shanay-timpishkaShanay-timpishka,
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此外,河流之名
Shanay-timpishka 的原意是
07:37
"boiled煮沸 with the heat of the sun太陽,"
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「以太陽之熱沸騰」,
07:41
indicating說明 that I'm not the first
to wonder奇蹟 why the river boils,
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顯然我並非第一個
好奇河水為何沸騰的人,
07:46
and showing展示 that humanity人性
has always sought追捧 to explain說明
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也顯示人類向來在想辦法解釋
07:50
the world世界 around us.
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我們身處的世界。
07:53
So why does the river boil?
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所以,那條河是怎麼沸騰的?
07:55
(Bubbling冒泡 sounds聲音)
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(水沸騰聲)
08:00
It actually其實 took me three years年份
to get that footage鏡頭.
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其實我花了三年才得到這段影片。
08:04
Fault-fed故障餵養 hot springs彈簧.
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地殼裂縫的溫泉,
08:07
As we have hot blood血液 running賽跑
through通過 our veins and arteries動脈,
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就如我們身體
08:11
so, too, the earth地球 has hot water
running賽跑 through通過 its cracks裂縫 and faults故障.
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同樣地,地球也有熱流
穿過它的裂縫和斷層。
08:17
Where these arteries動脈 come to the surface表面,
these earth地球 arteries動脈,
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當動脈接近地殼,
這些大地的動脈,
08:20
we'll get geothermal地熱 manifestations表現:
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會展現地熱的特質:
08:23
fumaroles噴氣孔, hot springs彈簧
and in our case案件, the boiling沸騰 river.
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火山噴氣孔、溫泉,
以及我們看到的,沸騰的河流。
08:28
What's truly incredible難以置信, though雖然,
is the scale規模 of this place地點.
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真正驚人的地方,
是這裡的範圍有多大。
08:33
Next下一個 time you cross交叉 the road,
think about this.
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下次過馬路時,你可以想想看。
08:36
The river flows流動 wider更寬的 than a two-lane兩車道 road
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這條河多數的流域
寬度超過兩線道。
08:39
along沿 most of its path路徑.
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08:41
It flows流動 hot for 6.24 kilometers公里.
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長達 6.24 公里都是滾燙的水。
08:48
Truly impressive有聲有色.
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真令人敬畏。
08:51
There are thermal pools
larger than this TEDTED stage階段,
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那裡有比這個 TED 講臺
還大的熱水池,
08:54
and that waterfall瀑布 that you see there
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你現在看到的瀑布,
08:56
is six meters tall --
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有六公尺高,
08:59
and all with near-boiling近沸 water.
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而且全部都是接近沸騰的河水。
09:04
We mapped映射 the temperatures溫度
along沿 the river,
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我們記錄了河水各處的溫度,
09:06
and this was by far the most
demanding嚴格 part部分 of the fieldwork實習.
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這是實地考察最難的部分。
09:09
And the results結果 were just awesome真棒.
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我們得到的結果實在太棒了。
09:13
Sorry -- the geoscientist地質學家
in me coming未來 out.
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對不起,
我的地球科學家本性又來了。
09:16
And it showed顯示 this amazing驚人 trend趨勢.
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結果顯示很驚人的變化。
09:19
You see, the river starts啟動 off cold.
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你看河水最先是冷的,
09:21
It then heats預賽 up, cools冷卻 back down,
heats預賽 up, cools冷卻 back down,
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接著加熱、冷卻、再加熱、再冷卻,
09:24
heats預賽 up again, and then has
this beautiful美麗 decay衰變 curve曲線
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再加熱,產生這個漂亮的衰減曲線,
09:27
until直到 it smashes摔破 into this cold river.
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直到它匯流進冷水河裡。
09:30
Now, I understand理解 not all of you
are geothermal地熱 scientists科學家們,
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我了解不是每個人都是地熱學家,
09:33
so to put it in more everyday每天 terms條款:
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所以用一般的說法形容:
09:36
Everyone大家 loves coffee咖啡.
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每個人都喜歡咖啡,
09:38
Yes? Good.
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是吧?很好。
09:40
Your regular定期 cup杯子 of coffee咖啡, 54 degrees C,
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通常一杯咖啡的溫度是攝氏 54 度。
09:44
an extra-hot超熱 one, well, 60.
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熱一點的是 60 度。
09:46
So, put in coffee咖啡 shop terms條款,
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所以用咖啡店的說法,
09:49
the boiling沸騰 river plots地塊 like this.
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沸水河的圖示,像是這樣。
09:52
There you have your hot coffee咖啡.
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這裡你得到一杯熱咖啡,
09:54
Here you have your extra-hot超熱 coffee咖啡,
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這裡你得到一杯很燙的咖啡,
09:56
and you can see
that there's a bit point there
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你可以看到在某些區段
09:58
where the river is still hotter
than even the extra-hot超熱 coffee咖啡.
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河流比很燙的咖啡還燙。
10:01
And these are average平均 water temperatures溫度.
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這些是平均水溫。
10:03
We took these in the dry season季節 to ensure確保
the purest最純淨的 geothermal地熱 temperatures溫度.
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我們在旱季做測量,
以確保貼近地熱的溫度。
10:08
But there's a magic魔法 number here
that's not being存在 shown顯示,
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另外有一個魔法數字,
還沒有提到。
10:11
and that number is 47 degrees C,
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這數字是是攝氏 47 度。
10:14
because that's where things start開始 to hurt傷害,
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高過這個溫度,有受傷的危險。
10:17
and I know this from very
personal個人 experience經驗.
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我從親身的經歷學到這一點。
10:22
Above以上 that temperature溫度,
you don't want to get in that water.
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超過這個溫度,
你不會想要進到河裡去。
10:25
You need to be careful小心.
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你要非常小心,
10:26
It can be deadly致命.
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有可能會致命。
10:28
I've seen看到 all sorts排序 of animals動物 fall秋季 in,
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我看過各式各樣的動物掉進去,
10:31
and what's shocking觸目驚心 to me,
is the process處理 is pretty漂亮 much the same相同.
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讓我驚訝的是,
牠們被煮熟的過程都差不多。
10:35
So they fall秋季 in and the first thing
to go are the eyes眼睛.
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當牠們掉入熱水後,
第一個變化的是眼睛。
10:38
Eyes眼睛, apparently顯然地, cook廚師 very quickly很快.
They turn this milky-white乳白色 color顏色.
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顯然,眼睛很容易熟,
馬上就變成乳白色。
10:41
The stream is carrying攜帶 them.
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流水承載著牠們,
10:43
They're trying to swim游泳 out,
but their meat is cooking烹飪 on the bone
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動物試圖要游出來,
但高溫切骨,
10:46
because it's so hot.
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實在太燙了。
10:47
So they're losing失去 power功率, losing失去 power功率,
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所以牠們漸漸失去動力,
漸漸失去動力,
10:49
until直到 finally最後 they get to a point
where hot water goes into their mouths嘴巴
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直到熱水淹進嘴巴,
10:52
and they cook廚師 from the inside out.
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牠們就從裡到外被煮熟了。
10:55
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
11:00
A bit sadistic虐待狂, aren't we?
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我們都有點虐待傾向,是吧?
11:02
Jeez哎呀.
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天啊。
11:05
Leave離開 them marinating醃製 for a little longer.
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把這些先放一邊。
11:09
What's, again, amazing驚人
are these temperatures溫度.
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回到這個,驚人的高溫,
11:12
They're similar類似 to things that I've seen看到
on volcanoes火山 all over the world世界
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類似的情況
在世界各處的火山都可見到,
11:15
and even super-volcanoes超級火山 like Yellowstone黃石.
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甚至是黃石公園這樣的超級火山。
11:18
But here's這裡的 the thing:
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但特別的地方是:
11:22
the data數據 is showing展示
that the boiling沸騰 river exists存在
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這些資料顯示,這條沸水河的存在
11:27
independent獨立 of volcanism火山.
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獨立於火山活動。
11:30
It's neither也不 magmatic岩漿
or volcanic火山 in origin起源,
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它的起源既不是岩漿,也不是火山,
11:35
and again, over 700 kilometers公里 away
from the nearest最近的 volcanic火山 center中央.
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它離最近的火山可是有 700 公里遠。
11:42
How can a boiling沸騰 river exist存在 like this?
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怎麼會有這樣的一條沸水河存在呢?
11:47
I've asked geothermal地熱 experts專家
and volcanologists火山學家 for years年份,
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過去幾年來,我問過
地熱和火山專家,
11:50
and I'm still unable無法 to find another另一個
non-volcanic非火山 geothermal地熱 system系統
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仍無法在另一個
非火山的地熱系統裡,
11:55
of this magnitude大小.
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找到同樣等級的系統。
11:59
It's unique獨特.
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它獨一無二,
12:01
It's special特別 on a global全球 scale規模.
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是世界級的特別。
12:06
So, still -- how does it work?
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那麼,這是怎麼發生的?
12:10
Where do we get this heat?
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熱能從哪裡來?
12:13
There's still more research研究 to be doneDONE
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我們的研究還沒有結束,
12:15
to better constrain壓抑 the problem問題
and better understand理解 the system系統,
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尚待進一步釐清問題,
了解這個系統。
12:18
but from what the data數據 is telling告訴 us now,
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但從目前的資料來看,
12:20
it looks容貌 to be the result結果
of a large hydrothermal熱液 system系統.
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看起來這是由一個廣大的
熱液系統所造成。
12:25
Basically基本上, it works作品 like this:
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簡單來說,
12:26
So, the deeper更深 you go
into the earth地球, the hotter it gets得到.
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越深入地心,溫度就越燙。
12:29
We refer參考 to this
as the geothermal地熱 gradient梯度.
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我們把這種現象稱為地溫梯度。
12:33
The waters水域 could be coming未來
from as far away as glaciers冰川 in the Andes安第斯山脈,
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水流可能來自遙遠的
安第斯山脈冰川,
12:38
then seeping滲出 down deep into the earth地球
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再往下滲透深入到地球
12:40
and coming未來 out to form形成 the boiling沸騰 river
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回到地表形成這條沸水河,
12:43
after getting得到 heated加熱 up
from the geothermal地熱 gradient梯度,
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熱力來自地溫梯度,
12:47
all due應有 to this unique獨特 geologic地質 setting設置.
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一切源於這種獨特的地質背景。
12:50
Now, we found發現
that in and around the river --
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在河中,以及其週邊,
我們有一些發現。
12:53
this is working加工 with colleagues同事
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透過許多夥伴的努力,
12:54
from National國民 Geographic地理,
Dr博士. Spencer斯賓塞 Wells韋爾斯,
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包括國家地理雜誌的韋爾斯博士,
12:57
and Dr博士. Jon喬恩 Eisen艾森 from UCUC Davis戴維斯 --
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和加州大學戴維斯分校的
喬恩·艾森博士。
12:59
we genetically基因 sequenced測序
the extremophile極端微生物 lifeforms生命形式
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我們將各種嗜極端生物
做基因體定序,
13:03
living活的 in and around the river,
and have found發現 new lifeforms生命形式,
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這些生物生長在河流的四周,
我們也發現新生物,
13:07
unique獨特 species種類 living活的
in the boiling沸騰 river.
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是住在沸水河的獨特物種。
13:12
But again, despite儘管 all of these studies學習,
all of these discoveries發現 and the legends傳說,
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但同樣的,這所有研究、發現,
和傳說的背後,
13:18
a question remains遺跡:
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仍留下一個問題:
13:21
What is the significance意義
of the boiling沸騰 river?
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沸騰河流為什麼重要?
13:26
What is the significance意義
of this stationary靜止的 cloud
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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?
13:31
that always hovers懸停
over this patch補丁 of jungle叢林?
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13:35
And what is the significance意義
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一個兒時傳說的細節,
為什麼重要?
13:38
of a detail詳情 in a childhood童年 legend傳說?
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13:43
To the shaman and his community社區,
it's a sacred神聖 site現場.
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對薩滿和他的村落而言,
這是一塊聖地;
13:47
To me, as a geoscientist地質學家,
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對我,一個地質學家而言,
13:49
it's a unique獨特 geothermal地熱 phenomenon現象.
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這是獨一無二的地熱現象;
13:54
But to the illegal非法 loggers記錄儀
and cattle黃牛 farmers農民,
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但對非法伐木者和養牛戶而言,
13:57
it's just another另一個 resource資源 to exploit利用.
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這僅是另一個可剝削的資源。
14:02
And to the Peruvian秘魯 government政府,
it's just another另一個 stretch伸展
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對秘魯政府,它只是另一個
14:06
of unprotected無保護 land土地 ready準備 for development發展.
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未經保護的土地,等著被開發。
14:14
My goal目標 is to ensure確保
that whoever controls控制 this land土地
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我的目標是確保無論誰控制了這塊土地,
14:17
understands理解 the boiling沸騰 river's河流的
uniqueness獨特性 and significance意義.
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都能了解沸騰河流的獨特性與重要性。
14:22
Because that's the question,
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因為,那就是我們討論
14:25
one of significance意義.
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關於重要性的提問。
14:28
And the thing there is,
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對於世間萬物,
14:32
we define確定 significance意義.
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我們定義了事物的重要性,
14:34
It's us. We have that power功率.
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那是我們,我們有這個力量,
14:37
We are the ones那些 who draw that line
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我們是做出決定的那群人,
14:40
between之間 the sacred神聖 and the trivial不重要的.
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決定事物是神聖亦或微不足道。
14:43
And in this age年齡,
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在這個時代,
14:46
where everything seems似乎 mapped映射,
measured測量 and studied研究,
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看似萬物都已被
組織、測量,以及研究過了。
14:51
in this age年齡 of information信息,
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在這個資訊的時代,
14:54
I remind提醒 you all that discoveries發現
are not just made製作
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我想提醒各位,所謂的探索,
14:58
in the black黑色 void空虛 of the unknown未知
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不只發生在黑暗虛無的未知當中,
15:04
but in the white白色 noise噪聲
of overwhelming壓倒 data數據.
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也發生在生活的嘈雜
與鋪天蓋地的資料中。
15:09
There remains遺跡 so much to explore探索.
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世上還有很多待發掘的事物。
15:13
We live生活 in an incredible難以置信 world世界.
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我們住在一個不可思議的世界。
15:17
So go out.
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所以出走吧!
15:20
Be curious好奇.
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抱著好奇心。
15:23
Because we do live生活 in a world世界
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因為我們生活的這個世界,
15:27
where shamans巫師 still sing
to the spirits of the jungle叢林,
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薩滿們仍為叢林裡的神靈唱歌,
15:32
where rivers河流 do boil
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那裡真的有沸騰的河流,
15:35
and where legends傳說 do come to life.
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那裡的傳說會走進真實人生。
15:39
Thank you very much.
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謝謝各位。
15:40
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Lucia Huang
Reviewed by Marssi Draw

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Andrés Ruzo - Geoscientist
Andrés Ruzo investigates the Earth's heat and the mystery of a boiling river in the Peruvian rainforest.

Why you should listen

Andrés Ruzo is a tri-citizen who grew up among Nicaragua, Peru and Texas -- which helped him see that most of the world's problems are not confined by geographic or cultural borders. While trying to imagine solutions, he realized the way we produce and use energy lies at the root of many of our biggest issues. Combined with his memories of summers on his family's farm on Nicaragua's Casita volcano, playing in the fumarole fields, this prompted him to pursue a PhD in geophysics at SMU, focusing on geothermal studies. He is also a National Geographic Young Explorer.

Investigating a childhood legend led him to the Shanay-timpishka, the "Boiling River" of the Amazon, and a sacred site to the indigenous tribes, where the water can reach over 95 °C (203 °F). The greatest mystery of this place: How can a "boiling river" exist 700 km (435 miles) from the nearest volcanic center?

Ruzo is the author of the TED Book, The Boiling River: Adventure and Discovery in the Amazon.

More profile about the speaker
Andrés Ruzo | Speaker | TED.com