VOA慢速英语2016--More Surprises from the Deep Sea

More Surprises from the Deep Sea

Researchers hired to study part of the deep sea floor of the Pacific Ocean found a surprising number of new animal species.

Scientists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa studied a 900-square-kilometer area in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean known as the Clarion¹-Clipperton Zone, or CCZ. Their goal was to find and study new kinds of sea life. Their task included documenting what is living in the deep sea area, known as an abyss.

The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

Diva Amon is a researcher at the University of Hawaii. She is assistant director of the ABYSSLINE project to study undersea life.

She spoke² with VOA on Skype from her laboratory in Hawaii. Amon says usually deep sea biologists think there is not a lot living in the abyss.

“But we found that actually there is quite a lot living there, and so that was really exciting..."

The group is studying the area because the CCZ is known to have valuable minerals, including copper³, nickel and cobalt.

The metals are found in pieces, five to 10 centimeters in size, called nodules. They are spread along the seafloor from 3,000 to 6,000 meters below the ocean’s surface.

The CCZ is a huge, flat area of seabed, almost the size of the United States. It is located between the mountainous Clarion and Clipperton Fracture Zones. These are areas where the Earth’s crust is cracked or fractured.

The CCZ sits between Central America and the Hawaiian Islands.

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is permitting the company UK Seabed Resources Ltd. to explore the area on the Pacific Ocean floor for mining. However, the ISA said the company must first complete a biological study of the area before it can begin mining for metals.

So, the company hired Diva Amon and the ABYSSLINE project. Their job is to find out what sea life exists in the area. They want to know how marine⁴ life depends on the mineral deposits on the ocean floor.

Amon says that more than half of the animals they collected were completely new to science.

“It just shows how much more work really needs to be done in that area because we know so little..."

Her group discovered a new species of anemone⁵ and two new species of sponges. But three of the animals Amon collected were not only new species, but new categories of animals. Two of these are in the coral family and the third is a completely new genus and species.

Paul Snelgrove is a biological oceanographer with the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. He told VOA that finding new species in the deep ocean is common. But, he said, finding a new genus "is really quite profound."

Amon's work centers on the relationship between the living things and the metallic⁶ nodules. She found that more than half of the animals collected were attached to the nodules. The CCZ seabed is a soft, flat seafloor. The nodules provide the only hard surface where many creatures can attach themselves.

Amon warns that if mining happens across the entire area, the ecosystem⁷ would be, in her words, “decimated.” But, she says, scientists want to find the least damaging way to make mining possible.

"There is a sort of scientific push to try and slow things a bit so that the science can be done before … so this [mining] can be done as sustainably, and least impacting as possible..."

That is why these studies are so important, says Snelgrove, who is not part of the ABYSSLINE project.

"It's likely we are going to develop at least some aspects of these deep ocean environments and we should try to do that with knowledge in hand and do it in a way that's going to minimize our impact."

More cruises into the deep

The ABYSSLINE project has five years to study deep sea life in the eastern Pacific. Amon expects that more new life forms will be discovered on future trips. She says she is studying data.

She calls the deep sea a “fascinating place.” There are so many things there that no one has ever seen before that are “weird and wonderful.”

“We need to be careful and hope fully⁸ by doing the studies that we're doing… we can provide the data that can be used to manage the areas as best as possible."

The deep sea is one of the last areas on Earth that has not been greatly affected⁹ by humans. So, there could be many strange new worlds yet to explore.

Words in This Story

abyss – n. a hole so deep or so great that it cannot be measured

anemone – n. a small brightly colored sea animal that looks like a flower

sponge – n. a type of sea animal

genus – n. a group of related animals or plants that includes several different species

profound – adj. very great

decimated – v. severely¹⁰ destroyed

aspect – n. part

fascinating – adj. very interesting

manage – v. to take care of and make decisions about

1 clarion   

n.尖音小号声；尖音小号

参考例句：

• Clarion calls to liberation had been mocked when we stood by.当我们袖手旁观的时候，自由解放的号角声遭到了嘲弄。
• To all the people present,his speech is a clarion call.对所有在场的人而言，他的演讲都是动人的号召。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 anemone   

n.海葵

参考例句：

• Do you want this anemone to sting you?你想让这个海葵刺疼你吗？
• The bodies of the hydra and sea anemone can produce buds.水螅和海葵的身体能产生芽。

6 metallic   

adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的

参考例句：

• A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
• He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。

7 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。