西伯利亚这些奇怪的冰环之谜终于被解开了

西伯利亚这些奇怪的冰环之谜终于被解开了

Since 1969, humans have been aware of bizarre ice rings forming in Lake Baikal, but for decades the exact mechanism as to how these strange structures arose remained unclear. In a recent study published in the journal of Limnology and Oceanography, researchers have finally cracked the source of these unusual spectacles.

自1969年以来，人类已经知道贝加尔湖上形成了奇怪的冰环，但几十年来，这些奇怪结构形成的确切机制仍不清楚。在最近发表在《湖沼学与海洋学杂志》上的一项研究中，研究人员终于找到了这些不寻常景象的来源。

At around 25-30 million years old, Lake Baikal is one of the world’s oldest lakes, and with a maximum depth of 1,642 meters (5,387 feet), it is, by volume, the largest freshwater lake in existence. Found in Siberia, Russia, it contains approximately 23,615.39 cubic kilometers (5,670 cubic miles) of fresh water, which amounts to more than all of the North American Great Lakes combined.

贝加尔湖大约有2500 - 3000万年的历史，是世界上最古老的湖泊之一，最大深度为1642米(5387英尺)，按体积计算是现存最大的淡水湖。它位于俄罗斯的西伯利亚，含有大约23615.39立方公里(5670立方英里)的淡水，比北美五大湖的总和还多。

By Rachael Funnell

Throughout the year, the water temperature of the lake ranges quite dramatically. In the summer, the surface layer can be as warm as 16°C (61°F) in some areas, but the surface freezes for just over four months from early January to May. On average, the ice is about 0.5 to 1.4 meters (1.6 to 4.6 feet), but in some areas where there are hummocks (a knoll of ice that rises above the surface), it can be as thick as 2 meters (6.6 feet).

一年中，这个湖的水温变化很大。在夏季，某些地区的表层温度可高达16°C(61°F)，但从1月初到5月，表层结冰时间仅为4个多月。平均来说，冰大约是0.5到1.4米(1.6到4.6英尺)，但是在一些有小丘的地方(一个隆起的冰丘)，冰厚可达2米(6.6英尺)。

The lake has long been famous for the puzzling ice rings that appear during the winter months that are so vast they are visible from space. In fact, it was thanks to the help of NASA scientists that the mystery of these enormous spectacles was finally solved. Using data collected from satellites and sensors dropped into the lake, it was discovered that warm eddies deep below the frozen lake’s surface were creating a warm flow of water in a clockwise direction, even in the cooler months. The strength of the current is weakest in the center, where the surface ice remains frozen, but the stronger current on the outside of the eddy can thaw the ice, creating these astonishing formations visible from above.

长期以来，这个湖一直以在冬季出现的令人费解的冰环而闻名，这些冰环非常巨大，从太空中都能看到。事实上，多亏了美国宇航局科学家的帮助，这些巨型眼镜的神秘面纱才得以解开。通过从投放到湖中的卫星和传感器收集到的数据，科学家们发现，在冰封的湖面下很深的地方，温暖的漩涡正在顺时针方向产生温暖的水流，即使在天气较冷的月份也是如此。漩涡中心的洋流强度是最弱的，那里的表面冰仍然冻结着，但是涡流外部的更强的洋流可以融化冰，从上面可以看到这些惊人的结构。

While beautiful, the rings can prove perilous for the drivers who take their vehicles across the frozen lake, as despite being apparent from the perspective of satellites, they are a lot harder to spot at ground level. As a public service, Alexei Kouraev, an assistant professor at the Laboratory for Studies in Spatial Geophysics and Oceanography (LEGOS) at the Federal University in Toulouse, France, routinely updates a website with his team of researchers identifying the locations of newly formed ice rings.

尽管环冰很漂亮，但对于那些驾车穿越冰冻湖面的司机来说，它们可能是危险的，因为尽管从卫星的角度看它们很明显，但在地面上很难看到它们。作为一项公共服务，位于法国图卢兹的联邦大学空间地球物理学和海洋学研究实验室(LEGOS)的助理教授阿列克谢·库拉耶夫与他的研究团队定期更新一个网站，以确定新形成的冰环的位置。

The exact cause of this warm deep-water eddy formation is not yet understood, and research is continuing to try and further understand this phenomenon. Existing data indicates that water flowing in from other rivers and wind patterns could have a part to play, and that they likely form in the autumn months before the ice is frozen. For now, this ancient and cavernous lake still holds many secrets.

这种温暖的深海涡流形成的确切原因还不清楚，研究人员正在继续努力，进一步了解这一现象。现有的数据表明，从其他河流流入的水和风的模式可能起到了一定的作用，它们可能在冰冻结前的秋季形成。现在，这个古老而深邃的湖泊仍然保留着许多秘密。