标签 南极洲 下的文章

南极洲的冰山 Icebergs, Antarctica (© Art Wolfe/DanitaDelimont.com)

保护最后一片大荒野 Protecting the last great wilderness

南极日

今天是南极日，让我们将目光聚焦在世界上最引人注目的国际协定之一的《南极条约》上。该条约于1959年由12个国家签署，将整个南极大陆指定为非军事区，特别注重促进科学研究与合作。这一天彰显了全球合作精神，提醒我们肩负起保护地球上最后一片大荒野的集体责任。

“南极洲”这个名字源于古希腊语“antarktikos”，意为北极的对面。公元前350年左右，希腊哲学家亚里士多德首次提到“南极地区”的概念。尽管提及时间很早，但直到19世纪，人类才真正看到南极洲。南极洲是地球上最寒冷、最干燥、风力最大的大陆，气温最低可达零下112华氏度。这里广袤的冰原和冰川蕴藏着全球约70%的淡水。正如图片所示的那样，南极洲的海面上遍布冰山，冰山在南大洋上漂流，随着时间的推移逐渐融化。诸如帝企鹅和阿德利企鹅等物种，以及海豹、螨虫、线虫和水熊虫等生物，都把这片冰冷的栖息地当成了它们的永久家园。

Antarctica Day

Today, Antarctica Day shines a spotlight on one of the world's most remarkable international agreements—the Antarctic Treaty. Signed in 1959 by 12 nations, this treaty designated the entire continent as a demilitarized zone, with a special focus on promoting scientific research and collaboration.. This day honors the spirit of global cooperation, reminding us of the collective responsibility to protect the planet's last great wilderness.

The name 'Antarctica' is derived from the ancient Greek word 'antarktikos,' meaning opposite the Arctic. The concept of an 'Antarctic region' was first mentioned by Greek philosopher Aristotle around 350 BCE but it wasn't discovered until the 19th century. It is the coldest, driest, and windiest of the Earth's continents, with temperatures plunging as low as -112 degrees Fahrenheit. Vast ice sheets and glaciers found here hold about 70% of the world's fresh water. The waters are dotted with icebergs, as seen in today's image, which drift across the Southern Ocean and melt over time. Species like emperor and Adélie penguins, along with seals, mites, roundworms, and microscopic eight-legged moss piglets, call this icy habitat home.

巴布亚企鹅，南极洲 Gentoo penguins, Antarctica (© Art Wolfe/Getty Images)

这是怎么做到的！ Here's how it's done!

世界教师日

每年的10月5日是世界教师日，这一天是所有教育工作者的庆祝日。1966年10月5日，国际劳工组织和联合国教科文组织共同审议通过了《关于教师地位的建议书》，因此当天也被设立为世界教师日。这一文件不仅肯定了教师的重要作用，而且规定了教师的权利与责任，同时提出了关于教师技能认定等方面的国际标准。

正如教师塑造思想和未来一样，大自然也提供了传递知识的“专属方式”：栖息在南极半岛和南极岛屿的岩石中，成对出生的巴布亚企鹅幼崽见证了自己父母的奉献精神。父亲和母亲在牢固的一夫一妻关系中共同抚养它们，把食物带回石巢。在喂食和养育30天后，为了安全和学习本领，幼崽会加入“托儿所”，企鹅父母们会亲身教导它们的生存技巧。

World Teachers' Day

It's World Teachers' Day, time to celebrate those who dedicate their lives to transmitting knowledge, skills, and experience. Just as teachers shape minds and futures, nature too offers its own ways of passing knowledge. Nestled in the rocky landscapes of the Antarctic Peninsula and Antarctic islands, gentoo penguin hatchlings, born in pairs, benefit from dedicated parental support. The father and mother raise them in a bonded, monogamous pair, bringing food back to the stony nest they have built together. After being fed and raised for 30 days, the chicks join a larger flock known as a crèche or nursery for safety and to learn social behavior. Penguin parents and their community pass on their wisdom through the language of survival.

库佛维尔岛附近的蓝色冰山，南极洲 Blue icebergs near Cuverville Island, Antarctica (© Mike Hill/Getty Images)

Antarctica Day

At just over 600 miles from the tip of South America, Cuverville Island is closer to civilization than most of Antarctica. As such, this small isle off the northward-jutting Antarctic Peninsula is a hotspot for tourists to catch some cool scenery (while freezing their butts off, of course). Visitors can also chill on the rocky beach with the locals: a glut of gentoo penguins whose rookery here is the largest along the peninsula.

Today we're observing Antarctica Day, which commemorates the signing of the Antarctic Treaty on December 1, 1959. In the treaty, 12 of the world's most powerful nations agreed to dedicate Earth's southernmost continent to science—any military activity there was banned. It was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War. It still stands 62 years later as an important landmark in global relations and has expanded to include 54 countries.

南极日

库弗维尔岛距离南美洲尖端仅600多英里，比南极洲大部分地区更接近文明。因此，这座位于南极半岛北部的小岛是游客们欣赏凉爽风景的热点（当然，他们的屁股也会被冻掉）。游客还可以和当地人一起在岩石海滩上乘凉：这里有大量的gentoo企鹅，它们的鸟巢是半岛上最大的。

今天我们庆祝南极日，纪念1959年12月1日南极条约的签署。在该条约中，世界上12个最强大的国家同意将地球最南端的大陆用于科学研究，禁止任何军事活动。这是冷战期间达成的第一项军备控制协议。62年后，它仍然是全球关系中的一个重要里程碑，并已扩大到包括54个国家。

“哈雷六号”科考站上空的南极光，南极洲 Aurora Australis over the Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica (© Stuart Holroyd/Alamy)

Southern lights for Antarctica Day

In honor of Antarctica Day, you're seeing the southern lights dazzle above Halley VI, the latest version of the six-decade-old Halley Research Station in the British Antarctic Territory. The modular building stands on hydraulic legs and is movable via retractable skis. The five previous facilities, Halley I–V, were each compromised by Antarctica's harsh climate and were decommissioned. Since 2017, while scientists monitor dangerous cracks in the surrounding Brunt Ice Shelf, Halley has been unmanned during the dark Antarctic winter months—but the research team equipped it with an autonomous micro-turbine that keeps its atmospheric instruments ticking as the snowdrifts pile up.

The first Antarctica Day was December 1, 1959, when twelve nations peacefully agreed to dedicate Earth's southernmost continent to the pursuit of science by signing the Antarctic Treaty. That agreement, adopted by both the US and the USSR amid the accelerating Cold War, stands 60 years later as an important landmark in global relations and has expanded to include 54 countries.

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