利用卫星图像统计海象数量

Huge, blubbery and a bit grumpy. Walruses² are easy enough to spot. But thanks to their remote Arctic location, they're hard to count, and we don't know how many of these giant beasts there are.

大块头，胖嘟嘟，还有点性情乖戾。海象很容易被发现，但由于它们住在偏远的北极地区，所以很难统计其数量，我们也不知道究竟有多少这种体型庞大的动物。

 

Now, using satellite images, the plan is to locate every Atlantic and Laptev Sea Walrus¹, and scientists say this is essential, because climate change means these animals are under threat. 

如今，这个计划旨在利用卫星图像定位每一只大西洋海象和拉普捷夫海象，科学家表示这是必要的，因为气候变化意味着这种动物受到了威胁。

 

Peter Fretwell, British Antarctic Survey

The sea ice on which they live most of the year is rapidly diminishing and they are having to change their behaviour and come out onto land much more often. That's almost certainly got some detrimental³ effect on them, but we're not sure how much their population is being affected⁴ by that. Hopefully, this project will tell us that important information.

彼得·弗雷特韦尔       英国南极调查局

“海象一年中大部分时间赖以生存的海冰正在迅速缩减，所以它们不得不改变行为，更频繁地到陆地上。几乎可以肯定，这对海象产生了不利影响，但我们不确定到底有多少海象受到了影响。但愿这个项目能够提供这个重要的信息。”

 

Rebecca Morelle, BBC correspondent

We've been taking images of the Earth from space for more than 60 years, but our view has changed dramatically. In the 1980s, satellites could only see objects 30 metres in size, but they quickly improved and a few years later, they could see features ten metres across. 

丽贝卡·莫雷尔       BBC通讯员

“60多年以来，我们一直在从太空中拍摄地球的图像，但视野发生了巨大的变化。在80年代，卫星只能拍到30米大小的物体，但很快就得到了改进，几年以后就可以看清直径10米大小的特征。

 

Today, though, the most advanced imaging satellites can see details down to just 30 centimetres. And this has transformed our view of the natural world.

如今，最先进的成像卫星甚至能看到30厘米的细节。这彻底改变了我们对自然界的看法。”

 

Even at that resolution, counting walruses is still a challenge. So the scouts⁵ in East Molesey have been drafted in to help. The first job, scouring⁶ through a search area of 25,000 square kilometres, to find any images that have a walrus in.

即便是在这个清晰度，统计海象数量仍是一项挑战。因此，英格兰东莫西的童子军被征召来帮忙。他们的第一项任务是在2万5千平方公里的搜索区域内认真寻找任何有海象的图像。

 

It's quite hard because there is like, rusty⁷ barrels and rocks that look really similar.

“这并不容易，因为图像里有生锈的桶和岩石，它们看起来跟海象很相似。”

 

It's kind of a challenge as well because they're all hidden, and you have to try and search for them.

“这项任务挺难的，因为它们都藏了起来，所以得仔细找才行。”

 

But the project is going to need a lot more people to help with the count. 

然而，这个项目需要更多的人来帮忙计数。

 

Rod Downie, Chief Polar Advisor⁸ WWF

We've loaded up more than 600,000 images onto the 'walrus from space' platform, which you can access through the WWF UK website, and we're calling on at least half a million people to help us search for and then count walrus on the platform. 

罗德·唐尼       世界自然基金会首席极地顾问

“我们已经向 ‘太空观测海象’ 平台上传了60多万张图像，你可以通过世界自然基金会的英国网站访问，我们希望能号召至少50万人来帮我们在这个平台上寻找并统计海象。”

 

The future is uncertain for this icon⁹ of the Arctic. Their icy home is changing faster than anywhere else on the planet. But now with satellite technology and the help of the public, we should finally find out how many walruses there are, and see how they fare in the years to come.

这种北极的象征动物前途未卜。它们冰冷的家园正以比地球其它地方都要快的速度发生变化。但现在，在卫星技术和公众的帮助下，我们应该总算可以统计出海象的数量，并了解它们未来的生存状况。

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