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■「塔拉號」正在展開為期3年的環球科研之旅。 法新社
科研雙桅帆船「塔拉號」即將展開為期3年的環球之旅，尋訪達爾文當年的航行足跡，考察氣候變化對萬物之源海洋物種帶來的影響。
「塔拉號」的預計航程為15萬公里，比達爾文在1831至1836年乘「小獵犬號」的航行範圍還要大，將對極地、熱帶及溫帶地區展開全面考察。
達爾文當年的航程得出物種進化的「物競天擇」理論；「塔拉號」的航程則會研究氣候變化對海洋動植物繁衍的影響。這些微不足道的小生命製造出地球上50%氧氣。
「塔拉號」的科研主管、60歲的生物學家卡爾桑提向法新社表示：「沒有這些微生物，就不會有人類。佔海洋生物量90%的海洋微生物可吸收大量二氧化碳，並製造人類所需的一半氧氣。」
他又說﹕「從海洋生物上研究氣候變暖的數據，可進一步了解海洋上碳氧的循環系統，並能為未來氣候變化模型提供一些未知數據。」
「塔拉號」早在2006年已進行一次為期18個月的科研考察之旅，當年它深入西伯利亞和格陵蘭島，量度日漸萎縮的北極冰原。
這次「塔拉號」將會首先到較暖的地方，如地中海、印度洋、太平洋和大西洋，最後會回南極和北極，期間會在約50個國家停留。
氣候變化對浮游生物等海洋生物的影響，還未全為人類所知。有些物種可能喜歡溫暖的氣候，有些會死亡，其他很多都受肥料殘餘等污染物威脅。
由於海洋物種在食物鏈底部，又是氧氣來源，所以海洋生物消亡對於整個生態系統存在影響。 ■羅國偉 資深翻譯員
註解
Charles Darwin：達爾文，英國著名的生物學家和博物學家，1809年出生。1831年乘勘探船「小獵犬號」環球旅行57個月，最終構思出「物競天擇，適者生存」的概念。1859年出版《物種起源》，闡釋其進化論，對後世有莫大影響。
French science yacht to map climate change
The schooner Tara is to set sail on a 3-year scientific voyage on the trail of Charles Darwin to map the effects of climate change on the marine organisms from which all life evolved.
The 150,000 kilometre (81,000 nautical mile) journey will take the French boat into all of the world's oceans and from the ice caps to the tropics, following and also expanding on Darwin's 1831-1836 trip on board the Beagle.
That voyage inspired Darwin's theory of natural selection to explain the evolution of species, while the Tara's trip will study the clouds of tiny ocean flora and fauna that produce 50 percent of the world's oxygen.
"Without these micro-organisms, man would never have come into being. If they disappear, so do we. Marine micro-organisms ─ 90 percent of the oceans' biomass ─ absorb the majority of atmospheric carbon dioxide and produce half our oxygen," Eric Karsenti, the Tara's 60-year-old scientific leader, told AFP.
"Measuring the impact of the warming that they are undergoing and studying the carbon and oxygen cycle will allow us to incorporate as yet unknown data in future climate simulation models," he said.
The mission, dubbed Tara-Oceans, is the double-masted yacht's second related to climate change following an 18-month trip between 2006 and 2008 to chart the shrinking ice sheets in the Arctic between Siberia and Greenland.
This time, the boat will cruise warmer waters in the Mediterranean and the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as well as returning to the Arctic and Antarctic and making stops in around 50 countries.
The effects of climate change on marine organisms like plankton are not yet fully understood ─ some species might bloom in warmer waters, others might die out ─ and many are also threatened by pollution such as fertiliser run-off.
As ocean species die or thin out it has an effect right through the ecosystem as they form the base of the food chain as well as an oxygen source. ■AFP
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