海底兩萬里 第514期 第32章 海灣暖流(4)

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Leaving Old Bahama Channel, which is fourteen leagues wide by 350 meters deep, the Gulf Stream moves at the rate of eight kilometers per hour. Its speed steadily decreases as it advances northward, and we must pray that this steadiness continues, because, as experts agree, if its speed and direction were to change, the climates of Europe would undergo disturbances whose consequences are incalculable.

從巴哈馬運(yùn)河出來時，海灣暖流在14里寬、350米深的范圍內(nèi)以每小時8公里的速度流動。隨著它向北推進(jìn)，這個速度就有規(guī)律地減慢，但愿這種規(guī)律性永遠(yuǎn)保持下去，因?yàn)檎缬腥酥赋?，如果它的方向和速度稍有改變，歐洲的氣候就會受到很大的影響，由此導(dǎo)致的后果是不堪設(shè)想的。

Near noon I was on the platform with Conseil. I shared with him the relevant details on the Gulf Stream. When my explanation was over, I invited him to dip his hands into its current.

中午時分，我和康塞爾在平臺上。我向他講述了一些有關(guān)海灣暖流的特征。當(dāng)我講述完后，我請他把雙手放進(jìn)水流中。

Conseil did so, and he was quite astonished to experience no sensation of either hot or cold.

康塞爾照著我的話做了，但他很奇怪感覺不到有任何冷熱的差別。

That comes, I told him, "from the water temperature of the Gulf Stream, which, as it leaves the Gulf of Mexico, is barely different from your blood temperature. This Gulf Stream is a huge heat generator that enables the coasts of Europe to be decked in eternal greenery. And if Commander Maury is correct, were one to harness the full warmth of this current, it would supply enough heat to keep molten a river of iron solder as big as the Amazon or the Missouri."

“這是因?yàn)楹撑鲃倧哪鞲鐬吵鰜?，現(xiàn)在的水溫和人血的溫度沒什么差別?！蔽覍λf，“這股海灣暖流可是一個保證歐洲海岸四季常綠的大暖爐。而且，如果莫利說得對的話，這股水流的熱量如果能完全地被利用，那它就能提供足夠的卡路里，使亞馬遜河或密蘇里河這樣的大河保持熔鐵熔點(diǎn)的溫度。”

Just then the Gulf Stream's speed was 2.25 meters per second. So distinct is its current from the surrounding sea, its confined waters stand out against the ocean and operate on a different level from the colder waters.

這時，海灣暖流的速度是每秒2.25米。它的水流與周圍海水非常之有差別，它的水流因受周圍海水的擠壓而在洋面上突起，和海洋的冷水之間形成不同的層次。