American scientists have reported a sharp increase in the number of dead whales found in the Gulf of Alaska. From May through August, 30 whales washed up along the coast of Alaska.
美国科学家报告称，阿拉斯加湾发现的死亡鲸鱼死亡的急剧上升。从五月到八月，已经有30头鲸鱼被冲上阿拉斯加湾沿岸。
Scientists say there may be a connection between the animals' deaths and warming waters. They say the Arctic is getting warmer faster than any place on the planet.
科学家表示，鲸鱼死亡和水温变暖之间可能存在着联系。他们说，北极变暖的速度比全球任何地方都快。
Deborah Fauquier is a marine mammal scientist at NOAA – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She wants to learn why so many whales have died this year.
德博拉·福基尔（Deborah Fauquier）是美国国家海洋和大气管理局(NOAA)的一位海洋哺乳动物学家。她想知道今年为什么会有这么多鲸鱼死亡。
"And the average for the whole year generally is eight. So it is definitely a significantly elevated (level) and for us that was a reason of concern."
她说，“一般全年死亡的鲸鱼只有8头。现在死亡数量明显增加，这值得我们担忧。”
She says scientists have formed some ideas about what caused the deaths.
她说，科学家对鲸鱼死亡的原因已经形成了一些想法。
"We might be able to, you know, figure out ‘is it a virus?' ‘Is it,' you know, ‘a ship strike?' ‘Is it a harmful algal bloom?'"
她说，“我们可能会发现，死因也许是病毒？或者是撞船？或是有害藻华？”
Algae are simply plants or plant-like organisms. Most algae are safe. But scientists say the less-common toxic alga can cause brain damage or even death. In June, the largest alga bloom in more than 10 years was seen along the Pacific coast, from California to Alaska. Scientists say it grew big because of warm water and sunny, calm weather. The alga bloom forced officials to close fishing areas in several states.
藻类是一种简单的植物或植物样生物。大多数藻类是安全的。但是科学家表示，一些不常见的有毒藻类会造成脑损伤甚至死亡。今年六月，从加州到阿拉斯加的太平洋沿岸出现了近10多年以来最大规模的藻华。科学家表示，藻类增长是因为温暖的水温和风平浪静的晴朗天气。这次藻华迫使有关官员关闭了数个州的捕鱼区。
Deborah Fauquier says scientists will look for evidence of the harmful alga in the whales.
福基尔表示，科学家们将会寻找有害藻类对鲸鱼造成伤害的证据。
"So some of the whales actually filter the phytoplankton and the zooplankton, which are the little insects that eat the grass in the sea, basically. So, they get the toxins through that method. The other one is that they eat the fish that eat those. So it just depends where on the food web they eat and as you go higher up the food web, more toxin gets concentrated."
她说，“一些鲸鱼实际上会过滤浮游植物或浮游动物，这些浮游动物基本上是指吃海草的小虫子。这样鲸鱼就会通过这种方式吃进去毒素。另一方面它们捕食那些吃浮游生物的鱼类。所以这取决于鲸鱼捕食的动物在食物链中的位置。越在顶层的捕食者摄入的毒素越多。”
The waters around Alaska began warming in 2014. The water temperature continues rising. It is now three degrees Celsius warmer than normal.
阿拉斯加周边水域的温度从2014年开始变暖，水温还在继续上升。现在水温比正常温度高出了三摄氏度。
Scientists blame the weather event known as "El Nino" and wind patterns for the warming. The scientists say the warming is not linked to climate change. But industrial gas emissions are warming the planet. They are causing the Arctic to warm faster than anywhere else.
科学家将这一天气事件归咎于厄尔尼诺现象和风向所导致。科学家表示，水温变暖和气候变化没有关系。但是工业气体排放让全球变暖，这正导致北极地区比任何地方升温都快。
At the beginning of the melt season, Arctic sea ice was at its lowest level ever recorded. Mrs. Fauquier says that is a problem for marine mammals. Polar bears and walruses, for example, live and breed on the ice and use it as a place from which to hunt.
在融化季节的开始，北极海冰抵达了有记录以来的最低水平。福基尔女士表示，这对海洋哺乳动物来说是个问题。例如北极熊和海象在冰面上生活和繁殖，并以此作为狩猎之地。
"For Arctic species -- species that normally like cold water -- it is going to change the phytoplankton, so it's going to change the base of the food web. It is going to change the fish. They may go farther north because they don't like warm water. And so then the predators that are mobile are going to have to follow those fish or if they can't follow them, then they can starve."
她说，“对于喜欢低温水域的北极生物来说，水温变暖会改变浮游生物，从而改变食物链的基础，并改变鱼类。由于鱼类不喜欢生活在温水里，他们可能迁徙到更北的区域。这样那些移动捕食者将不得不跟随这些鱼类迁徙。如果不这样做它们就会饿死。”
Mrs. Fauquier says NOAA hopes to learn why so many whales died. She said knowing the cause is the first step to understanding how to solve the problem.
福基尔女士表示，美国国家海洋和大气管理局想要搞清楚为什么会有这么多鲸鱼死亡。她说，搞清楚原因是了解如何解决这一问题的第一步。
I'm Bob Doughty.
我是鲍勃·道蒂（Bob Doughty）。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)