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

安德斯·卢泽: 亚马逊的沸腾河

Filmed:
2,147,830 views

当安德斯·卢泽还是个生活在秘鲁的小男孩时,他的爷爷跟他讲了一个奇怪的故事:在亚马逊丛林深处,有条河,会沸腾,就好像水下有火在煮水一样。12年后,学习地球科学的卢泽决定走进那片南美丛林深处,探索那条传说的沸腾河。在一个所有事物似乎都被绘制在了地图上,有具体测量数据,人们都能理解的时代,不妨同卢泽一起探索那条河流,那条让我们自问到底什么是已知和未知的河流... 并提醒我们,我们的世界还有许多未知等待人们去探索。
- 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利马,
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小时候,我住在利马;
00:14
my grandfather祖父 told me a legend传说
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爷爷给我讲了一个关于-
00:16
of the Spanish西班牙语 conquest征服 of Peru秘鲁.
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西班牙征服秘鲁的传奇故事。
00:20
Atahualpa阿塔瓦尔帕, emperor皇帝 of the Inca印加,
had been captured捕获 and killed杀害.
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印加帝国的末代皇帝阿塔瓦尔帕,被抓住并处死。
00:23
Pizarro皮萨罗 and his conquistadors征服者
had grown长大的 rich丰富,
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皮萨罗和征服者们变得富有起来,
00:26
and tales故事 of their conquest征服
and glory荣耀 had reached到达 Spain西班牙
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他们攻克秘鲁的传说和赞颂传到了西班牙,
00:29
and was bringing使 new waves波浪 of Spaniards西班牙人,
hungry饥饿 for gold and glory荣耀.
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吸引了一批西班牙人来此淘金。
00:36
They would go into towns城市 and ask the Inca印加,
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他们去到镇子里,问印加人:
00:38
"Where's哪里 another另一个 civilization文明
we can conquer征服? Where's哪里 more gold?"
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“还有哪个文明没被攻克?还有哪里有黄金?”
00:42
And the Inca印加, out of vengeance复仇, told them,
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而出于报复,印加人就告诉他们:
00:46
"Go to the Amazon亚马逊.
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“去亚马逊,
00:48
You'll你会 find all the gold you want there.
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那里有挖不完的黄金”。
00:51
In fact事实, there is a city called PaititiPaititi --
El萨尔瓦多 Dorado多拉多 in Spanish西班牙语 --
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事实上,那里有一个叫做‘帕依提提’
——西班牙语叫El Dorado的城市
00:56
made制作 entirely完全 of gold."
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是由黄金建成的”。
00:59
The Spanish西班牙语 set off into the jungle丛林,
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于是这些西班牙人动身前往那片丛林,
01:01
but the few少数 that return返回
come back with stories故事,
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结果只有少数人带着故事回来了,
01:05
stories故事 of powerful强大 shamans巫师,
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他们带回了关于强大的萨满巫师的故事,
01:09
of warriors勇士 with poisoned中毒 arrows箭头,
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关于拿着毒箭的武士的故事,
01:12
of trees树木 so tall they blotted涂抹 out the sun太阳,
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关于那里的树太高以至遮住了阳光的故事,
01:16
spiders蜘蛛 that ate birds鸟类,
snakes that swallowed吞食 men男人 whole整个
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关于吃鸟的蜘蛛、能够吞下一整个人的大蛇,
01:21
and a river that boiled煮沸.
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以及一条沸腾的河流的故事。
01:25
All this became成为 a childhood童年 memory记忆.
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所有这些都成为了我的童年记忆。
01:27
And years年份 passed通过.
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多年过去了,
我到了南方为理公会大学(SMU)攻读博士学位,
01:28
I'm working加工 on my PhD博士 at SMUSMU,
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01:31
trying to understand理解
Peru's秘鲁 geothermal地热 energy能源 potential潜在,
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当我试着了解秘鲁的地热能源潜力时,
01:35
when I remember记得 this legend传说,
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我想到了这个传说,
01:37
and I began开始 asking that question.
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于是想到了一个问题。
01:40
Could the boiling沸腾 river exist存在?
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传说中的那条沸腾的河流真的存在吗?
01:44
I asked colleagues同事 from universities高校,
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我咨询了一些同僚,他们来自各大高校,
01:46
the government政府,
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政府部门,
01:47
oil, gas加油站 and mining矿业 companies公司,
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石油、天然气和矿业公司,
01:49
and the answer回答 was a unanimous一致 no.
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所有人的答案都是“不”。
01:52
And this makes品牌 sense.
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这个答案是有道理的。
01:55
You see, boiling沸腾 rivers河流
do exist存在 in the world世界,
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因为沸腾的河流的确存在,
01:57
but they're generally通常
associated相关 with volcanoes火山.
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但通常是在火山旁。
02:00
You need a powerful强大 heat source资源
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只有一个强大的热源,
02:02
to produce生产 such这样 a large
geothermal地热 manifestation表现.
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才制造出如此大的地热现象。
02:06
And as you can see from the red dots
here, which哪一个 are volcanoes火山,
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你看到的这些红点,它们代表火山,
02:11
we don't have volcanoes火山 in the Amazon亚马逊,
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而在亚马逊是没有火山的,
02:14
nor也不 in most of Peru秘鲁.
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秘鲁的大部分地区也没有火山。
02:16
So it follows如下: We should not expect期望
to see a boiling沸腾 river.
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所以得出的结论为:这片区域看不到沸腾的河流。
02:21
Telling天音 this same相同 story故事
at a family家庭 dinner晚餐,
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在一次家庭聚餐上我又讲了这个故事,
02:25
my aunt姑妈 tells告诉 me,
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然后我的阿姨告诉我,
02:28
"But no, Andr安德烈és, I've been there.
I've swum游过 in that river."
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“不,安德烈,我去过那,我在那条河里游过泳”。
02:32
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:36
Then my uncle叔叔 jumps跳跃 in.
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然后我叔叔也加入了讨论,
02:38
"No, Andr安德烈és, she's not kidding开玩笑.
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“真的,安德烈,她没有开玩笑,
02:41
You see, you can only swim游泳 in it
after a very heavy rain,
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只有在大雨过后,才能在里面游泳,
02:45
and it's protected保护 by a powerful强大 shaman.
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它被一位强大的萨满巫师保护着,
02:48
Your aunt姑妈, she's friends朋友 with his wife妻子."
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而你的阿姨,跟他的妻子是朋友”。
02:51
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:53
"¿Cómo?" ["Huh?"]
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“什么?”
02:54
You know, despite尽管 all
my scientific科学 skepticism怀疑论,
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尽管我作为科学家,对此表示怀疑,
02:56
I found发现 myself hiking徒步旅行 into the jungle丛林,
guided引导 by my aunt姑妈,
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还是在我的阿姨带领下,踏上了那片丛林,
03:00
over 700 kilometers公里 away
from the nearest最近的 volcanic火山 center中央,
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那里距最近的火山口有700公里,
03:04
and well, honestly老老实实,
mentally精神上 preparing准备 myself
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坦白说,我已经做好了见证那条传奇的
03:08
to behold不料 the legendary传奇的
"warm stream of the Amazon亚马逊."
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“亚马逊暖流” 的心理准备了。
03:14
But then ...
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但是,紧接着,
03:16
I heard听说 something,
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我听到一些声响,
03:19
a low surge浪涌
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随着我们逐步走进,
03:22
that got louder and louder
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一股低涌-
03:25
as we came来了 closer接近.
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变得越来越响彻。
03:28
It sounded满面 like ocean海洋 waves波浪
constantly经常 crashing轰然,
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就像海浪不停的冲击一样,
03:32
and as we got closer接近, I saw smoke抽烟, vapor,
coming未来 up through通过 the trees树木.
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而当我们走近时,
我看到烟雾和蒸汽从树林中冒出。
03:36
And then, I saw this.
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不久,我看到了这个。
03:41
I immediately立即 grabbed抓起 for my thermometer温度计,
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我立马拿起了温度计,
03:44
and the average平均 temperatures温度 in the river
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测量到这条河流的平均温度为
03:47
were 86 degrees C.
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86℃。
03:51
This is not quite相当
the 100-degree-度 C boiling沸腾
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虽然这并没有达到100℃的沸点,
03:54
but definitely无疑 close enough足够.
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但也很接近了。
03:58
The river flowed流入 hot and fast快速.
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这条高温河水流湍急。
04:02
I followed其次 it upriver上游 and was led by,
actually其实, the shaman's萨满的 apprentice学徒
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在这位萨满大师徒弟的带领下,我沿河而上,
04:05
to the most sacred神圣 site现场 on the river.
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去往这条河最神圣的地点。
04:07
And this is what's bizarre奇异的 --
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奇妙的事情发生了,
04:09
It starts启动 off as a cold stream.
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这条河的起点是冷流。
04:11
And here, at this site现场,
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而这个地方,
04:13
is the home of the YacumamaYacumama,
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是亚库马马的故乡,
04:15
mother母亲 of the waters水域,
a giant巨人 serpent spirit精神
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亚库马马是河之母,是创造冷热水的
04:19
who births出生 hot and cold water.
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巨大的蛇灵。
04:22
And here we find a hot spring弹簧,
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而在这里,我们找到了一处热泉,
04:26
mixing混合 with cold stream water
underneath her protective保护的 motherly母爱 jaws
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同受她保护的河口下的冷流混合在一起,
04:31
and thus从而 bringing使 their legends传说 to life.
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将这些传说变为现实。
04:36
The next下一个 morning早上, I woke醒来 up and --
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第二天早上,当我醒来的时候-
04:38
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:40
I asked for tea.
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我说想喝杯茶。
04:42
I was handed a mug, a tea bag
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于是有人递给我一个马克杯,一个茶包,
04:44
and, well, pointed towards the river.
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然后,指着那条河。
04:48
To my surprise, the water was clean清洁
and had a pleasant愉快 taste味道,
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让我惊讶的是,
河水是如此的清澈,喝起来也很可口,
04:52
which哪一个 is a little weird奇怪的
for geothermal地热 systems系统.
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这对于地热系统来说是有点异常的。
04:56
What was amazing惊人
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更神奇的一点是,
04:58
is that the locals当地人 had always
known已知 about this place地点,
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本地人似乎一直都知道有这么个地方,
05:01
and that I was by no means手段
the first outsider局外人 to see it.
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而我也绝不是第一个发现此地的外来人。
05:05
It was just part部分 of their everyday每天 life.
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这些都是他们的家常便饭。
05:09
They drink its water.
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他们饮用河里的水;
05:11
They take in its vapor.
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享用这些蒸汽;
05:14
They cook厨师 with it,
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用河水烹饪;
05:16
clean清洁 with it,
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清洁,
05:17
even make their medicines药品 with it.
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甚至用这些河水来制药。
05:21
I met会见 the shaman,
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我见到了萨满大师,
05:22
and he seemed似乎 like an extension延期
of the river and his jungle丛林.
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似乎他也成了这条河和丛林的一部分。
05:27
He asked for my intentions意图
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他询问我的来意,
05:30
and listened听了 carefully小心.
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用心倾听。
05:33
Then, to my tremendous巨大 relief浮雕 --
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不久,我便感到压力减轻了--
05:36
I was freaking再用 out,
to be honest诚实 with you --
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老实告诉你,我当时可吓坏了--
05:39
a smile微笑 began开始 to snake across横过 his face面对,
and he just laughed笑了.
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他嘴角微微上扬,他笑了。
05:44
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
05:47
I had received收到 the shaman's萨满的 blessing祝福
to study研究 the river,
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我对这条河的研究得到了萨满大师的祝福,
05:52
on the condition条件 that after I take
the water samples样本
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他只有一点要求,那便是待我取样
05:55
and analyze分析 them in my lab实验室,
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并带回实验室分析后,
05:57
wherever哪里 I was in the world世界,
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不管我在世界的哪一个角落,
06:00
that I pour the waters水域
back into the ground地面
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我要把这些水倒回地上,
06:04
so that, as the shaman said,
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萨满大师说,
06:06
the waters水域 could find their way back home.
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这样这些水便能回到河流里。
06:11
I've been back every一切 year
since以来 that first visit访问 in 2011,
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2011年的勘测后,我每年都会回去,
06:14
and the fieldwork实习 has been exhilarating令人振奋,
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我的勘测结果甚是喜人,
06:18
demanding严格 and at times dangerous危险.
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有些时候也颇有些危险和挑战。
06:22
One story故事 was even featured精选
in National国民 Geographic地理 Magazine杂志.
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我的故事甚至被刊登到了《国家地理》这本杂志上。
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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我被困在了和一张纸一样大小的石头上,
06:30
in sandals凉鞋 and board shorts短裤,
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穿着凉鞋和运动短裤,
06:32
in between之间 an 80 degree C river
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置身于80℃的河水
06:34
and a hot spring弹簧 that, well,
looked看着 like this, close to boiling沸腾.
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和接近沸点的温泉中。
06:39
And on top最佳 of that,
it was Amazon亚马逊 rain forest森林.
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不仅如此,那还是在亚马逊雨林。
06:43
PshhPSHH, pouring浇注 rain, couldn't不能 see a thing.
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那是倾盆大雨,什么也看不见。
06:45
The temperature温度 differential微分
made制作 it all white白色. It was a whiteout白化.
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温差使得周围的一切看起来都是白色的。
06:50
Intense激烈.
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局势很紧张。
06:54
Now, after years年份 of work,
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现在,经过多年的研究,
06:56
I'll soon不久 be submitting提交 my geophysical地球物理
and geochemical地球化学 studies学习 for publication出版物.
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我即将发表关于地球物理和化学的论文。
07:03
And I'd like to share分享, today今天,
with all of you here, on the TEDTED stage阶段,
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今天站在TED的舞台上,我想和大家一起分享,
07:07
for the first time,
some of these discoveries发现.
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这也是我首次揭露其中的一些发现。
07:11
Well, first off, it's not a legend传说.
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首先,这并不是一个传说。
07:14
Surprise!
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意想不到吧!
07:15
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
07:18
When I first started开始 the research研究,
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在我最初开始这项研究的时候,
07:20
the satellite卫星 imagery意象 was too
low-resolution低分辨率 to be meaningful富有意义的.
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有关的卫星图像像素很低,几乎没什么用。
07:23
There were just no good maps地图.
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那时就没什么高质量的地图。
07:25
Thanks谢谢 to the support支持
of the Google谷歌 Earth地球 team球队,
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多亏了谷歌地球这个团队,
07:28
I now have this.
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现在我有了这个。
07:31
Not only that, the indigenous土著 name名称
of the river, Shanay-timpishkaShanay-timpishka,
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不仅如此,这条河的本名Shanay-timpishka,
07:37
"boiled煮沸 with the heat of the sun太阳,"
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"由太阳烧开的河“
07:41
indicating说明 that I'm not the first
to wonder奇迹 why the river boils,
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说明我并不是第一个对这条河沸腾感到好奇的人,
07:46
and showing展示 that humanity人性
has always sought追捧 to explain说明
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也说明了人类一直以来都尝试着去解释
07:50
the world世界 around us.
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我们生活的世界。
07:53
So why does the river boil?
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为什么这条河会沸腾呢?
07:55
(Bubbling冒泡 sounds声音)
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(沸腾声)
08:00
It actually其实 took me three years年份
to get that footage镜头.
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这些图像是我花了三年时间收集来的。
08:04
Fault-fed故障喂养 hot springs弹簧.
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地质断层滋长温泉。
08:07
As we have hot blood血液 running赛跑
through通过 our veins and arteries动脉,
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正如人类体内的血管和动脉里流动着热血一样,
08:11
so, too, the earth地球 has hot water
running赛跑 through通过 its cracks裂缝 and faults故障.
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地球的裂缝和断层里也流淌着热水。
08:17
Where these arteries动脉 come to the surface表面,
these earth地球 arteries动脉,
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那些在地球表面的”动脉“,
08:20
we'll get geothermal地热 manifestations表现:
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就是地热表现:
08:23
fumaroles喷气孔, hot springs弹簧
and in our case案件, the boiling沸腾 river.
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喷气孔,温泉,正是我们这里的沸腾河。
08:28
What's truly incredible难以置信, though虽然,
is the scale规模 of this place地点.
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然而,真正难以置信的是这条河的规模之大。
08:33
Next下一个 time you cross交叉 the road,
think about this.
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下次当你过马路的时候,不妨这样想想。
08:36
The river flows流动 wider更宽的 than a two-lane两车道 road
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这条河大部分流经地的宽度
08:39
along沿 most of its path路径.
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超过双车道的马路。
08:41
It flows流动 hot for 6.24 kilometers公里.
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而热水流经长度为6.24千米。
08:48
Truly impressive有声有色.
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真是叹为观止。
08:51
There are thermal pools
larger than this TEDTED stage阶段,
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有些热泉比TED的舞台还要打,
08:54
and that waterfall瀑布 that you see there
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而你看到的那个瀑布,
08:56
is six meters tall --
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其实有6米高--
08:59
and all with near-boiling近沸 water.
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全部都接近沸点的河水。
09:04
We mapped映射 the temperatures温度
along沿 the river,
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我们按照河水的温度制作地图,
09:06
and this was by far the most
demanding严格 part部分 of the fieldwork实习.
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这项工作也是目前最为困难的部分。
09:09
And the results结果 were just awesome真棒.
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出来的结果真是了不起。
09:13
Sorry -- the geoscientist地质学家
in me coming未来 out.
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抱歉,我是个地理科学迷这事儿暴露了。
09:16
And it showed显示 this amazing惊人 trend趋势.
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我们的结论展示出了一种趋势。
09:19
You see, the river starts启动 off cold.
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你看,这条河的河口是冷水。
09:21
It then heats预赛 up, cools冷却 back down,
heats预赛 up, cools冷却 back down,
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接下来逐渐升温,再降温,再升,又降,
09:24
heats预赛 up again, and then has
this beautiful美丽 decay衰变 curve曲线
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再次升温,于是有了这些可爱的衰减曲线,
09:27
until直到 it smashes摔破 into this cold river.
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直到最后奔腾进冰冷的河水中。
09:30
Now, I understand理解 not all of you
are geothermal地热 scientists科学家们,
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我知道在座的有些并不是研究地热科学的,
09:33
so to put it in more everyday每天 terms条款:
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所以,用日常生活来举个例子:
09:36
Everyone大家 loves coffee咖啡.
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人人都爱咖啡。
09:38
Yes? Good.
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对吗?
09:40
Your regular定期 cup杯子 of coffee咖啡, 54 degrees C,
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一杯普通的咖啡是54℃,
09:44
an extra-hot超热 one, well, 60.
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特别烫的咖啡是60℃。
09:46
So, put in coffee咖啡 shop terms条款,
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所以用咖啡的例子来说,
09:49
the boiling沸腾 river plots地块 like this.
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沸腾的河水看起来是这样的。
09:52
There you have your hot coffee咖啡.
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这是一杯热咖啡。
09:54
Here you have your extra-hot超热 coffee咖啡,
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这是加热的咖啡,
09:56
and you can see
that there's a bit point there
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可以看到这里有一个尖尖的地方,
09:58
where the river is still hotter
than even the extra-hot超热 coffee咖啡.
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那就是这条河要比特别烫的咖啡还要烫。
10:01
And these are average平均 water temperatures温度.
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这些是水的平均温度。
10:03
We took these in the dry season季节 to ensure确保
the purest最纯净的 geothermal地热 temperatures温度.
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这些都是在干燥的季节采集的样品,
为了保证得到最纯粹的地热温度。
10:08
But there's a magic魔法 number here
that's not being存在 shown显示,
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但有一个神奇的数字并没有显示出来,
10:11
and that number is 47 degrees C,
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那就是47℃,
10:14
because that's where things start开始 to hurt伤害,
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因为这是有害的临界点。
10:17
and I know this from very
personal个人 experience经验.
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我知道这一点是因为我自己有过这样的经历。
10:22
Above以上 that temperature温度,
you don't want to get in that water.
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超过47℃之后,没有人会想站在那里。
10:25
You need to be careful小心.
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你得格外小心。
10:26
It can be deadly致命.
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因为这可能是致命的。
10:28
I've seen看到 all sorts排序 of animals动物 fall秋季 in,
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我看到各种各样的动物掉入河里,
10:31
and what's shocking触目惊心 to me,
is the process处理 is pretty漂亮 much the same相同.
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让我感到惊讶的是,整个过程几乎都雷同的。
10:35
So they fall秋季 in and the first thing
to go are the eyes眼睛.
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当它们掉进河里时,第一个受到伤害的便是眼睛。
10:38
Eyes眼睛, apparently显然地, cook厨师 very quickly很快.
They turn this milky-white乳白色 color颜色.
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眼睛显然不用煮多久,便成了奶白色。
10:41
The stream is carrying携带 them.
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河流把它们卷走。
10:43
They're trying to swim游泳 out,
but their meat is cooking烹饪 on the bone
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虽然它们试着游上岸,但是他们正在被由外到内烹饪着,
10:46
because it's so hot.
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因为温度实在太高了。
10:47
So they're losing失去 power功率, losing失去 power功率,
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于是,它们渐渐地失去了力气,
10:49
until直到 finally最后 they get to a point
where hot water goes into their mouths嘴巴
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最后热水冲进了嘴里,
10:52
and they cook厨师 from the inside out.
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从内外外烹饪的过程开始了。
10:55
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
11:00
A bit sadistic虐待狂, aren't we?
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有点让人难过,不是吗?
11:02
Jeez哎呀.
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天呐。
11:05
Leave离开 them marinating腌制 for a little longer.
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让它们在腌制一会儿。
11:09
What's, again, amazing惊人
are these temperatures温度.
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另一个神奇之处便是温度。
11:12
They're similar类似 to things that I've seen看到
on volcanoes火山 all over the world世界
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这些河的温度和我所见过的火山差不多,
11:15
and even super-volcanoes超级火山 like Yellowstone黄石.
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甚至类似于黄石的超级火山。
11:18
But here's这里的 the thing:
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但有意思的是:
11:22
the data数据 is showing展示
that the boiling沸腾 river exists存在
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根据数据,这条沸腾河
11:27
independent独立 of volcanism火山.
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和火山并不是共存关系。
11:30
It's neither也不 magmatic岩浆
or volcanic火山 in origin起源,
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这和磁场或火山都没关系,
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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再强调一次,最近的火山离这里也有700公里远。
11:42
How can a boiling沸腾 river exist存在 like this?
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这样一条沸腾的河流是怎么形成的呢?
11:47
I've asked geothermal地热 experts专家
and volcanologists火山学家 for years年份,
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多年来,我询问了许多地热专家和火山研究者们,
11:50
and I'm still unable无法 to find another另一个
non-volcanic非火山 geothermal地热 system系统
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至今也没能找到另外一个非火山的地热系统,
11:55
of this magnitude大小.
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有如此大的规模。
11:59
It's unique独特.
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这是独一无二的。
12:01
It's special特别 on a global全球 scale规模.
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在全球范围内来说都是特别的。
12:06
So, still -- how does it work?
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但,它到底是怎么运作的呢?
12:10
Where do we get this heat?
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这些热量从哪里来的 ?
12:13
There's still more research研究 to be doneDONE
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人们还要做许多的研究
12:15
to better constrain压抑 the problem问题
and better understand理解 the system系统,
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才能更好的控制这个问题并理解这种系统,
12:18
but from what the data数据 is telling告诉 us now,
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但从目前我们获得的数据看,
12:20
it looks容貌 to be the result结果
of a large hydrothermal热液 system系统.
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似乎是由大型热泉系统导致的。
12:25
Basically基本上, it works作品 like this:
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概括起来便是:
12:26
So, the deeper更深 you go
into the earth地球, the hotter it gets得到.
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越接近地球核心,温度越高。
12:29
We refer参考 to this
as the geothermal地热 gradient梯度.
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我们称此为地热梯度。
12:33
The waters水域 could be coming未来
from as far away as glaciers冰川 in the Andes安第斯山脉,
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这些水可能是遥远的安第斯山脉冰川融水,
12:38
then seeping渗出 down deep into the earth地球
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逐渐渗透入地球核心,
12:40
and coming未来 out to form形成 the boiling沸腾 river
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然后以沸腾河的形式流出,
12:43
after getting得到 heated加热 up
from the geothermal地热 gradient梯度,
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在受到地热梯度的加热之后,
12:47
all due应有 to this unique独特 geologic地质 setting设置.
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这一切都归功于这种独特的地质特征。
12:50
Now, we found发现
that in and around the river --
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目前,我们发现这条河里以及附近,
12:53
this is working加工 with colleagues同事
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我同几位来自国家地理的同事一起,
12:54
from National国民 Geographic地理,
Dr博士. Spencer斯宾塞 Wells韦尔斯,
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来自《国家地理》的威尔士博士,
12:57
and Dr博士. Jon乔恩 Eisen艾森 from UCUC Davis戴维斯 --
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来自UC Davis的埃森博士--
12:59
we genetically基因 sequenced测序
the extremophile极端微生物 lifeforms生命形式
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我们对生活在河里以及周边的生物-
13:03
living活的 in and around the river,
and have found发现 new lifeforms生命形式,
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进行了基因排序,并且找到了新的生命形式,
13:07
unique独特 species种类 living活的
in the boiling沸腾 river.
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生活在沸腾河里的独特生物。
13:12
But again, despite尽管 all of these studies学习,
all of these discoveries发现 and the legends传说,
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但,尽管有这些研究,这些发现和传说,
13:18
a question remains遗迹:
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仍有一个问题萦绕人心:
13:21
What is the significance意义
of the boiling沸腾 river?
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沸腾河的存在有重要意义吗?
13:26
What is the significance意义
of this stationary静止的 cloud
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那片笼罩丛林的
13:31
that always hovers悬停
over this patch补丁 of jungle丛林?
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静止的云的存在有什么意义呢?
13:35
And what is the significance意义
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再者,童年时代听到的传说
13:38
of a detail详情 in a childhood童年 legend传说?
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又有什么重要性呢?
13:43
To the shaman and his community社区,
it's a sacred神圣 site现场.
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对萨满大师和那里的居民来说,这是一个神圣的地方。
13:47
To me, as a geoscientist地质学家,
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对我来说,作为一名地球学家,
13:49
it's a unique独特 geothermal地热 phenomenon现象.
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这是独特的地热现象。
13:54
But to the illegal非法 loggers记录仪
and cattle黄牛 farmers农民,
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但对于非法伐木和畜牧农场主来说,
13:57
it's just another另一个 resource资源 to exploit利用.
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这只不过是另一个可以开采的地方而已。
14:02
And to the Peruvian秘鲁 government政府,
it's just another另一个 stretch伸展
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而对于秘鲁政府来说,这只不过是另一个
14:06
of unprotected无保护 land土地 ready准备 for development发展.
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未受保护的地方等待被开发而已。
14:14
My goal目标 is to ensure确保
that whoever controls控制 this land土地
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我的目标是确保不管是谁掌管这片土地,
14:17
understands理解 the boiling沸腾 river's河流的
uniqueness独特性 and significance意义.
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他们都能明白这条沸腾河的独特性和重要性。
14:22
Because that's the question,
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因为这才是问题所在,
14:25
one of significance意义.
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是重要意义之一。
14:28
And the thing there is,
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而结论是,
14:32
we define确定 significance意义.
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重要与否是由我们来定义的。
14:34
It's us. We have that power功率.
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我们。人类掌握着这项权利。
14:37
We are the ones那些 who draw that line线
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是我们来界定什么是
14:40
between之间 the sacred神圣 and the trivial不重要的.
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神圣的,什么是微不足道的。
14:43
And in this age年龄,
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而在这个时代,
14:46
where everything seems似乎 mapped映射,
measured测量 and studied研究,
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事物看起来似乎都在地图上绘画出来,测量过并研究过,
14:51
in this age年龄 of information信息,
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在这个信息时代,
14:54
I remind提醒 you all that discoveries发现
are not just made制作
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我要提醒大家的是新发现并不是在
14:58
in the black黑色 void空虚 of the unknown未知
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一片虚渺荒芜的黑暗中发现的,
15:04
but in the white白色 noise噪声
of overwhelming压倒 data数据.
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而是在堆积如山的数据白噪点中发现的。
15:09
There remains遗迹 so much to explore探索.
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还有许多等待人们去探索。
15:13
We live生活 in an incredible难以置信 world世界.
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我们的世界是如此的奇妙。
15:17
So go out.
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让我们走出去。
15:20
Be curious好奇.
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带着好奇心。
15:23
Because we do live生活 in a world世界
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因为我们生活的这个世界
15:27
where shamans巫师 still sing
to the spirits of the jungle丛林,
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仍有萨满大师为丛林精灵吟唱,
15:32
where rivers河流 do boil
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有会沸腾的河流,
15:35
and where legends传说 do come to life.
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有传说成为现实。
15:39
Thank you very much.
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谢谢大家。
15:40
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Tingting Zhong
Reviewed by Alice Leong

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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