英语翻译Theoceanbottom--aregionnearly2.5timesgreaterthanthetotallandareaoftheEarth--isavastfrontierthateventodayislargelyunexploredanduncharted.Untilaboutacenturyago,thedeep-oceanfloorwascompletelyinaccessible,h
英语翻译
Theoceanbottom--aregionnearly2.5timesgreaterthanthetotallandareaoftheEarth--isavastfrontierthateventodayislargelyunexploredanduncharted.Untilaboutacenturyago,thedeep-oceanfloorwascompletelyinaccessible,hiddenbeneathwatersaveragingover3,600metersdeep.TotallywithoutlightandsubjectedtointensepressureshundredsoftimesgreaterthanattheEarth'ssurface,thedeep-oceanbottomisshostileenvironmenttohumans,insomewayasforbiddingandremoteasthevoidofouterspace.
Althoughresearchershavetakensamplesofdeep-oceanrocksandsedimentsforoveracentury,thefirstdetailedglobalinvestigationoftheoceanbottomdidnotactuallystartuntil1968,withthebeginningoftheNationalScienceFoundation'sDeepSeaDrillingProject(DEDP).Usingtechniquesfirstdevelopedfortheoffshoreoilandgasindustry,theDSDP'sdrillship,theGlomarChallenger(格拉玛挑战者号),wasabletomaintainasteadypositionontheocean'ssurfaceanddrillinverydeepwaters,extractingsamplesofsedimentsandrockfromtheoceanfloor.
TheGlomarChallengercompleted96voyagesina15-yearresearchprogramthatendedinNovember1983.Duringthistime,thevessellogged600,000kilometersandtookalmost20,000coresamplesofseabedsedimentsandrocksat624drillingsitesaroundtheworld.TheGlomarChallenger'scoresampleshaveallowedgeologiststoreconstructwhattheplanetlookedlikehundredsofmillionsofyearsagoandtocalculatewhatitwillprobablylooklikemillionsofyearsinthefuture.
Today,largelyonthestrengthofevidencegatheredduringtheGlomarChallengers'voyages,nearlyallearthscientistsagreeonthetheoriesofplatetectonics(构造学)andcontinentaldriftthatexplainmanyofthegeologicalprocessesthatshapetheEarth.
ThecoresofsedimentdrilledbytheGlomarChallengerhavealsoyieldedinformationcriticaltounderstandingtheworld'spastclimates.Deep-oceanssedimentsprovidedaclimaticrecordstretchingbackhundredsofmillionsofyears,becausetheyarelargelyisolatedfromthemechanicalerosionandtheintensechemicalandbiologicalactivitythatrapidlydestroymuchland-basedevidenceofpastclimates.Thisrecordhasalreadyprovidedinsightsintothepat