ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jill Heinerth - Cave diver
Jill Heinerth explores underwater caves deep inside the earth.

Why you should listen

More people have walked on the moon than have been to some of the places that Jill's exploration has taken her right here on the earth. From the most dangerous technical dives deep inside underwater caves, to searching for never-before-seen ecosystems inside giant Antarctic icebergs, to the lawless desert border area between Egypt and Libya while a civil war raged around her, Jill's curiosity and passion about our watery planet is the driving force in her life.

Jill’s accolades include induction into the Explorer's Club and the inaugural class of the Women Diver's Hall of Fame. She received the Wyland ICON Award, an honor she shares with several of her underwater heroes including Jacques Cousteau, Robert Ballard and Dr. Sylvia Earle. She was named a "Living Legend" by Sport Diver Magazine and selected as Scuba Diving Magazine's "Sea Hero of the Year 2012."

In recognition of her lifetime achievement, Jill was awarded the inaugural Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration. Established by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2013, the medal recognizes singular achievements and the pursuit of excellence by an outstanding Canadian explorer.

More profile about the speaker
Jill Heinerth | Speaker | TED.com
TEDYouth 2015

Jill Heinerth: The mysterious world of underwater caves

Jill Heinerth: O misterioso mundo das cavernas submarinas

Filmed:
1,921,342 views

A mergulhadora de cavernas Jill Heinerth explora os caminhos submarinos que percorrem nosso planeta. Trabalhando com biólogos, climatólogos e arqueólogos, Heinerth revela os mistérios de formas de vida que habitam alguns dos lugares mais remotos da terra e ajuda os pesquisadores a destravar a história das mudanças climáticas. Nesta pequena palestra, mergulhe sob as ondas e explore as maravilhas do espaço interior.
- Cave diver
Jill Heinerth explores underwater caves deep inside the earth. Full bio

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

00:13
I'm an underwater explorer,
0
1440
2600
Sou uma exploradora submarina,
00:17
more specifically a cave diver.
1
5480
2800
melhor, uma mergulhadora de caverna.
00:21
I wanted to be an astronaut
when I was a little kid,
2
9200
2616
Queria ser astronauta em criança
00:23
but growing up in Canada as a young girl,
that wasn't really available to me.
3
11840
4600
mas vivendo no Canadá era inviável
Acontece que sabemos mais do espaço
00:29
But as it turns out,
we know a lot more about space
4
17680
3776
00:33
than we do about the underground waterways
coursing through our planet,
5
21480
4336
do que os cursos de água subterrâneos
que atravessam o planeta,
00:37
the very lifeblood of Mother Earth.
6
25840
2960
a essência da vida da Mãe Terra.
Entao, decidi fazer uma coisa notável.
00:41
So I decided to do something
that was even more remarkable.
7
29720
3376
00:45
Instead of exploring outer space,
8
33120
2456
Em vez de explorar o espaço exterior
decidi explorar as maravilhas
do espaço interior.
00:47
I wanted to explore
the wonders of inner space.
9
35600
3160
00:51
Now, a lot of people will tell you
10
39920
1656
Hoje, muitas pessoas dirão
que mergulho nas cavernas talvez
seja uma das proezas mais perigosas.
00:53
that cave diving is perhaps
one of the most dangerous endeavors.
11
41600
4120
Quero dizer, imagine você aqui nessa sala,
00:58
I mean, imagine yourself
here in this room,
12
46560
2896
01:01
if you were suddenly
plunged into blackness,
13
49480
2896
sendo de repente mergulhado
numa escuridão,
com a ùnica missão
de encontrar a saída,
01:04
with your only job to find the exit,
14
52400
2416
01:06
sometimes swimming
through these large spaces,
15
54840
2336
algumas vezes nadando
nos amplos espaços
01:09
and at other times
crawling beneath the seats,
16
57200
3336
outras vezes rastejando
embaixo dos assentos,
01:12
following a thin guideline,
17
60560
2536
seguindo apenas um pequeno guia,
só esperando o suporte de vida
enviar a próxima respiração.
01:15
just waiting for the life support
to provide your very next breath.
18
63120
4736
Então, este è o meu lugar de trabalho.
01:19
Well, that's my workplace.
19
67880
1720
Mas o que quero ensinar hoje
01:22
But what I want to teach you today
20
70760
1976
01:24
is that our world
is not one big solid rock.
21
72760
4376
é que nosso mundo não é
uma grande pedra sólida.
01:29
It's a whole lot more like a sponge.
22
77160
1960
É muito mais parecida com uma esponja.
01:31
I can swim through a lot of the pores
in our earth's sponge,
23
79960
3856
Posso nadar através de muitos poros
na nossa esponja terrestre
mas aonde eu não posso ir,
01:35
but where I can't,
24
83840
1416
01:37
other life-forms and other materials
can make that journey without me.
25
85280
5016
outras formas de vida e outros materiais
podem fazer essa jornada sem mim.
E minha voz é a única
que vai ensinar a você
01:42
And my voice is the one
that's going to teach you
26
90320
3016
01:45
about the inside of Mother Earth.
27
93360
2920
sobre o interior da Mãe Terra.
01:50
There was no guidebook available to me
28
98640
2976
Não existia nenhum guia disponível
01:53
when I decided to be the first person
to cave dive inside Antarctic icebergs.
29
101640
6056
quando decidi ser a primeira mergulhadora
de caverna nos icebergs da Antártida.
01:59
In 2000, this was the largest
moving object on the planet.
30
107720
4416
Em 2000, eles eram os maiores objetos
que se moviam no planeta.
Eles se desprendiam
da plataforma de gelo Ross,
02:04
It calved off the Ross Ice Shelf,
31
112160
2016
02:06
and we went down there
to explore ice edge ecology
32
114200
2936
fomos lá para explorar
a ecologia da borda de gelo
02:09
and search for life-forms beneath the ice.
33
117160
2640
e procurar formas de vida debaixo do gelo.
02:12
We use a technology called rebreathers.
34
120440
3176
Usamos uma tecnologia
chamada "rebreathers",
02:15
It's an awful lot like the same technology
that is used for space walks.
35
123640
4216
parecida com a tecnologia usada
para andar no espaço.
Essa tecnologia nos permite ir mais fundo
02:19
This technology enables us to go deeper
36
127880
2456
do que imaginávamos há dez anos.
02:22
than we could've imagined
even 10 years ago.
37
130360
2736
usamos gases exóticos,
02:25
We use exotic gases,
38
133120
2056
e fazemos missões de mais
de 20 horas debaixo d'água.
02:27
and we can make missions
even up to 20 hours long underwater.
39
135200
5200
02:33
I work with biologists.
40
141160
2176
Trabalho com biólogos.
Acontece que cavernas são repositórios
de fantásticas formas de vida.
02:35
It turns out that caves
are repositories of amazing life-forms,
41
143360
4536
Espécies que nunca soubemos ter existido.
02:39
species that we never knew existed before.
42
147920
2800
Muitas dessas formas de vida
vivem de forma inusual,
02:43
Many of these life-forms
live in unusual ways.
43
151760
3296
02:47
They have no pigment
and no eyes in many cases,
44
155080
3936
muitas vezes não possuem
pigmentos e olhos,
02:51
and these animals
are also extremely long-lived.
45
159040
4496
e esses animais vivem por longos anos.
02:55
In fact, animals swimming
in these caves today
46
163560
3456
Na verdade, animais que nadam
nessas cavernas hoje em dia
são idênticos aos dos registros fósseis
02:59
are identical in the fossil record
47
167040
2496
que antecedem a extinção dos dinossauros.
03:01
that predates the extinction
of the dinosaurs.
48
169560
3336
Então imaginem: eles são como pequenos
dinossauros nadadores.
03:04
So imagine that: these are
like little swimming dinosaurs.
49
172920
3736
03:08
What can they teach us
about evolution and survival?
50
176680
3440
O que eles podem nos ensinar
sobre evolução e sobrevivência?
03:13
When we look at an animal
like this remipede swimming in the jar,
51
181120
4016
Quando olhamos um animal como
essa remipedia nadando no aquário...
03:17
he has giant fangs with venom.
52
185160
2856
Ela tem gigantescas presas venenosas.
03:20
He can actually attack something
40 times his size and kill it.
53
188040
4256
Pode atacar algo 40 vezes maior e matá-lo.
Se ela fosse do tamanho de um gato,
03:24
If he were the size of a cat,
54
192320
1776
03:26
he'd be the most dangerous
thing on our planet.
55
194120
2600
seria a criatura mais perigosa do planeta.
03:29
And these animals live
in remarkably beautiful places,
56
197920
3256
E esses animais vivem
em lugares maravilhosos.
E em alguns casos cavernas como essa,
que são muito novas.
03:33
and in some cases,
caves like this, that are very young,
57
201200
4616
03:37
yet the animals are ancient.
58
205840
1736
contudo, esses animais são milenares.
03:39
How did they get there?
59
207600
1280
Como eles conseguiram chegar lá?
03:41
I also work with physicists,
60
209880
2176
Também trabalho com físicos.
03:44
and they're interested oftentimes
in global climate change.
61
212080
3616
E eles são muitas vezes interessados
nas mudanças climáticas.
03:47
They can take rocks within the caves,
62
215720
2296
Eles pegam as pedras nas cavernas
03:50
and they can slice them
and look at the layers within with rocks,
63
218040
3056
fatiam e observam suas camadas rochosas,
03:53
much like the rings of a tree,
64
221120
1936
como os anéis das arvores,
03:55
and they can count back in history
65
223080
2016
e assim conseguem remontar
a história e apreender
03:57
and learn about the climate on our planet
at very different times.
66
225120
3696
sobre clima do planeta em várias eras.
04:00
The red that you see in this photograph
67
228840
2496
O vermelho que você vê nessa fotografia
04:03
is actually dust from the Sahara Desert.
68
231360
3336
é o pó do deserto do Saara.
04:06
So it's been picked up by wind,
blown across the Atlantic Ocean.
69
234720
4096
Foi levado pelo vento
e atravessou o oceano Atlântico.
Neste caso, o pó caiu nas Ilhas Ábaco,
situadas nas Bahamas
04:10
It's rained down in this case
on the island of Abaco in the Bahamas.
70
238840
4376
e foi absorvido através do solo,
04:15
It soaks in through the ground
71
243240
1616
04:16
and deposits itself
in the rocks within these caves.
72
244880
3976
indo se depositar nos rochedos
dentro dessas cavernas.
04:20
And when we look back in the layers
of these rocks, we can find times
73
248880
3816
E quando olhamos
as camadas dos rochedos,
achamos períodos em que o clima
na Terra era muito, muito seco,
04:24
when the climate
was very, very dry on earth,
74
252720
2776
04:27
and we can go back
many hundreds of thousands of years.
75
255520
3759
e podemos voltar
a muitos milhares de anos.
Paleoclimatologistas estão interessados
04:32
Paleoclimatologists are also interested
76
260560
2256
04:34
in where the sea level stands were
at other times on earth.
77
262840
3296
em saber onde o nível do mar
se situava em outras épocas
04:38
Here in Bermuda, my team and I embarked
78
266160
2216
Aqui nas Bermudas,
eu e meu grupo embarcamos
04:40
on the deepest manned dives
ever conducted in the region,
79
268400
3056
em uma operação de mergulho
mais profundo, nunca conduzida antes,
04:43
and we were looking for places
80
271480
1616
e estávamos procurando lugares
04:45
where the sea level
used to lap up against the shoreline,
81
273120
3536
onde o nível do mar alcançava a costa,
04:48
many hundreds of feet
below current levels.
82
276680
2840
centenas de metros abaixo
dos níveis das correntes.
04:52
I also get to work with paleontologists
and archaeologists.
83
280880
3496
Também trabalho com paleontólogos
e arqueólogos.
04:56
In places like Mexico,
in the Bahamas, and even in Cuba,
84
284400
4376
Em ugares como México,
Bahamas, e mesmo Cuba,
estudamos as reminiscências culturais
e restos humanos nas cavernas.
05:00
we're looking at cultural remains
and also human remains in caves,
85
288800
4696
e ambos nos ensinam muito
05:05
and they tell us a lot
86
293520
1256
05:06
about some of the earliest
inhabitants of these regions.
87
294800
3080
sobre os primeiros habitantes
dessas regiões.
05:10
But my very favorite project of all
was over 15 years ago,
88
298760
3496
Mas meu projeto favorito
aconteceu há 15 anos,
fazia parte de um grupo que elaborou
o primeiro mapa tridimensional,
05:14
when I was a part of the team
that made the very first
89
302280
2524
05:16
accurate, three-dimensional map
of a subterranean surface.
90
304828
3308
da superfície subterrânea.
Esse aparato que estou
dirigindo na caverna
05:20
This device that I'm
driving through the cave
91
308160
2376
05:22
was actually creating
a three-dimensional model as we drove it.
92
310560
4456
foi criando um modelo tridimensional
enquanto dirigíamos.
Usamos também um rádio de baixa frequência
05:27
We also used ultra low frequency radio
93
315040
2056
05:29
to broadcast back to the surface
our exact position within the cave.
94
317120
4680
para transmitir à superfície nossa
posição exata dentro da caverna.
05:34
So I swam under houses and businesses
and bowling alleys and golf courses,
95
322320
4816
Nadei por baixo de casas, escritórios,
boliches, campos de golfe,
05:39
and even under a Sonny's BBQ Restaurant,
96
327160
3160
e mesmo por baixo de uma churrascaria.
05:43
Pretty remarkable, and what that taught me
97
331080
2096
Fora de série, e o que isso me ensinou
foi que tudo que fazemos
na superfície da Terra
05:45
was that everything we do
on the surface of our earth
98
333200
2896
nos retorna para bebermos.
05:48
will be returned to us to drink.
99
336120
2416
05:50
Our water planet is not just
rivers, lakes and oceans,
100
338560
4776
A água do nosso planeta
não é somente rios, lagos e oceanos,
05:55
but it's this vast network of groundwater
that knits us all together.
101
343360
4776
mas essa vasta rede de águas
subterrâneas de que dependemos.
06:00
It's a shared resource
from which we all drink.
102
348160
3856
É um recurso compartilhado
do qual todos nós bebemos.
06:04
And when we can understand
our human connections with our groundwater
103
352040
4296
E ao entendermos a conexão humana
com as águas subterrâneas
06:08
and all of our water resources
on this planet,
104
356360
2656
e todos os recursos aquáticos do planeta
06:11
then we'll be working on the problem
105
359040
1736
aí estaremos trabalhando no problema
06:12
that's probably the most important
issue of this century.
106
360800
3360
que é provavelmente a questão
mais importante deste século.
06:17
So I never got to be that astronaut
that I always wanted to be,
107
365040
3416
Pois é, nunca consegui ser
a astronauta que quis,
06:20
but this mapping device,
designed by Dr. Bill Stone, will be.
108
368480
3616
mas esse aparato mapeador
desenhado pelo Dr. Bill Stone, será!
Ele está modificado.
06:24
It's actually morphed.
109
372120
1416
06:25
It's now a self-swimming autonomous robot,
110
373560
3296
Agora, é um robô nadador autônomo,
06:28
artificially intelligent,
111
376880
1656
inteligência artificial,
06:30
and its ultimate goal
is to go to Jupiter's moon Europa
112
378560
3576
e sua meta final é ir
à Europa, a lua de Júpiter
06:34
and explore oceans beneath
the frozen surface of that body.
113
382160
4600
e explorar os oceanos
sob sua superfície congelada.
06:39
And that's pretty amazing.
114
387480
1920
E isso é fantástico.
(Aplausos)
06:42
(Applause)
115
390160
5720
Translated by Maria Helena Giordano
Reviewed by Wanderley Jesus

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jill Heinerth - Cave diver
Jill Heinerth explores underwater caves deep inside the earth.

Why you should listen

More people have walked on the moon than have been to some of the places that Jill's exploration has taken her right here on the earth. From the most dangerous technical dives deep inside underwater caves, to searching for never-before-seen ecosystems inside giant Antarctic icebergs, to the lawless desert border area between Egypt and Libya while a civil war raged around her, Jill's curiosity and passion about our watery planet is the driving force in her life.

Jill’s accolades include induction into the Explorer's Club and the inaugural class of the Women Diver's Hall of Fame. She received the Wyland ICON Award, an honor she shares with several of her underwater heroes including Jacques Cousteau, Robert Ballard and Dr. Sylvia Earle. She was named a "Living Legend" by Sport Diver Magazine and selected as Scuba Diving Magazine's "Sea Hero of the Year 2012."

In recognition of her lifetime achievement, Jill was awarded the inaugural Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration. Established by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2013, the medal recognizes singular achievements and the pursuit of excellence by an outstanding Canadian explorer.

More profile about the speaker
Jill Heinerth | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

This site was created in May 2015 and the last update was on January 12, 2020. It will no longer be updated.

We are currently creating a new site called "eng.lish.video" and would be grateful if you could access it.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to write comments in your language on the contact form.

Privacy Policy

Developer's Blog

Buy Me A Coffee