Ocean 'Blob' Caused Dangerous Algae Bloom(翻译)

Tiny water plants called phytoplankton serve as food for many sea creatures, including whales, shrimp, jellyfish and snails.
浮游生物是微型的水生植物，是很多海洋生物的食物，比如鲸类、虾类、水母和螺类等等。

Phytoplankton do well in cold water.But if water temperatures rise by only two degrees Celsius, the phytoplankton struggle.That is what happened in the last three or four years in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean.
浮游生物能够在冷水中生长良好。但是，如果水温升高哪怕只有两摄氏度，都会造成浮游生物生长困难。而近三四年来，在太平洋北部海域就发生了这样的现象。

Researchers say an unusual area of warm water spread throughout the Northern Pacific.Scientists called the warm water “the blob,” as if it were a character in an old science fiction movie.
研究人员称，区域反常海水变暖现象正在北太平洋蔓延开来。科学家称这种海洋变暖的现象为“陨星怪物”（美国电影中的怪物），好像它是经典科幻电影中的角色一样。

At its largest, the blob stretched 1,600 square kilometers and reached depths of 91 meters.
这种现象最大时可达1600平方公里，深可达91米。

This large mass of warm water had a damaging effect on the ocean food chain. Many fish that depend on phytoplankton swam away from the area.As a result, sea birds and sea lions that eat those fish starved.
大量温暖的海水对海洋食物链造成了破坏性影响。很多以浮游生物为食的鱼类离开了这片海域。其结果就是，以这些鱼为食的海鸟和海狮都饿死了。

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Washington have found that the warm ocean “blob” caused a harmful algae bloom.That fast growth in algae hurt fishing grounds along the U.S. West Coast and Canada’s British Columbia.
美国国家海洋和大气管理局和华盛顿大学的科学家发现，海洋变暖引发了有危害的水华现象。藻类的大规模繁殖导致美国西海岸以及加拿大英属哥伦比亚省的渔场减产了。

The researchers recently published their study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
研究人员的成果刊登在最新一期《地球物理研究快报》上。

They looked at the algae, called P. australis.The researchers found that the algae can grow much faster than normal if it is exposed to warm water.
他们研究了学名为“芦苇”的藻类。研究人员发现，如果暴露在温暖的海水中，藻类会比平时繁殖得更快。

The higher levels of algae also produced more of a poisonous chemical that can cause problems for everything from shellfish to dolphins to sea lions.It also causes problems for humans if too much of the chemical builds up in their blood.
大量的藻类还会放出更多的有毒化学物质，会引起贝类、海豚以及海狮的健康问题。这些化学物质如果在人类血液中富集太多，也会引发健康问题。

Researchers say algae blooms like this one will continue as ocean waters warm.The algae will hurt sea animals, birds, and fish.It may damage food resources for humans all over the world, the scientists say.
研究人员称，随着海水继续保持这个温度，水华现象还会持续下去。水华会伤害海洋动物、鸟类和鱼类。科学家表示，这会对全世界人类的食物供应造成损害。

I’m Dan Friedell.
丹·弗里德尔为您报道。