蛟龍號5天4次下潛 南海科考任務全速推進

Jiaolong, China's manned submersible, conducted its fourth dive last Sunday around the Zhenbei Seamount in the South China Sea.

中國載人潛水器蛟龍號於上週日在中國南海的珍貝海山完成了第四次深潛。

Jiaolong stayed underwater for eight hours in its fourth dive in the second stage of China's 38th ocean scientific expedition, which will last until May 13, authorities said.

據官方透露，在中國海洋科學考察第二階段中，蛟龍號於第四次深潛時在水下停留長達八小時，而這次考察將一直持續到五月十三號。

The maximum depth of the dive was 1,101 meters beneath the sea surface, where it retrieved a number of basalt samples.

這次深潛的最深處是海平面以下1101米，蛟龍號在那裏取回了一些玄武岩的樣本。

In the meantime, it collected a 0.7-kilogram sample of foraminifer grit at the depth of 630 meters, and brought back samples of sediments and seawater near the seabed as well as high-definition photos and video footages.

與此同時，它在630米深處收集了0.7千克的有孔蟲沙樣本，並帶回了海底附近的沉積物和海水樣本，以及高清晰度照片和視頻片段。

"We have also caught sight of corals, sea lilies, anemones, and large fishes like sharks above 420 meters," said Yang Gang, a senior engineer on board the submersible.

潛水器上的高級工程師楊剛稱：“我們還看到了珊瑚、海莉、海葵和如鯊魚一樣的超過420米的大型魚類。”

Yang said that the new discoveries could shed new light on the study of the South China Sea's formation and evolution, biodiversity, and the cause of the seamount chain in the area.

楊剛表示，這些新的發現可以進一步闡述中國南海的形成與演變、生物的多樣性和海山鍊形成的原因。

Instead of using trawling as a sampling method, Jiaolong is able to conduct refined sampling mission and obtain ample samples, said Shi Xuefa, a researcher with the State Oceanic Administration.

國家海洋局的研究員石學法稱，除了捕撈式的採集方法，蛟龍號還可以精細抽樣任務並獲得豐富的樣本。

Named after a mythical dragon, Jiaolong reached its deepest depth of 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench in June 2012.

以神話傳說中的龍來命名的蛟龍號，於2012年6月在馬裏亞納海溝創下了7062米的下潛最深記錄。