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Greenland isn't the only large body of ice in the arctic.
格陵兰并非北极唯一的大型冰体。
In winter, the ocean here freezes over, creating a cover of ice larger than the entire United States.
在冬天，这里的海洋会冻结，形成一片比整个美国还要大的冰层。
This sea ice has always got smaller in summer, but today it's rapidly disappearing.
这片海冰向来会在夏天缩小，可是如今却正在快速消失。
Hotter temperatures are melting it at an unprecedented rate...
较高的气温正以空前的速度将其融化，
with worrying consequences for the wildlife that depends on it.
也为仰赖其生存的野生动物带来忧心的后果。
For harp seals, the sea ice is an excellent place for giving birth out of the water.
对菱纹海豹而言，海冰是在出水后绝佳的生产地点。
It provides the defenceless newborn pups with a safe space for their first six weeks, until they're big enough to swim proficiently.
为出生前六周，毫无防御能力的新生幼豹提供安全的处所，直到体型够大，可以熟练地游泳。
But with the sea ice disappearing increasingly fast... will they be able to adapt?
可是由于海冰消失的速度逐渐加快，它们是否能够应变？
In Canada's Gulf of Saint Lawrence, a group of seal biologists are trying to find out.
在加拿大的圣劳伦斯湾，一群海豹生物学家试图查明情况。
It's a pretty dangerous, pretty inhospitable place,
这是环境恶劣，很危险的地方，
but it's the perfect environment for these seals to spend the first few weeks of their lives.
却十分适合这些海豹度过出生后的前几周。
There's a group just down here to the right now.
下方右边就有一群。
But the fragile sea ice is a challenging place in which to work.
然而易碎的海冰是难以进行观测的地点。
Here... let's go a little further out.
那里，我们再过去一点。
To support a two-tonne helicopter, the ice must be at least 30 centimetres thick,
要想支撑两吨重的直升机，冰层的厚度至少需要30公分，
and the only way to find out if that's so is with a drill.
唯一能够确定的方式就是用钻的。
It's just not safe here.
这里不安全。
There's a couple just down here below us now. We've got a pretty short window here.
我们的正下方有两个。我们的空档很短。
The team are trying to discover where the seals go when they become independent.
团队想要调查海豹在能够独立后会去哪里。
So, this is a juvenile harp seal.
这只是菱纹海豹的幼兽。
This is exactly what we've been out on the ice trying to find.
正好是我们来到海冰上想找的。
Hey, little guy.
嘿，小家伙。
They're absolutely beautiful.
真的很漂亮。
We'll be putting a satellite transmitter on the top of this animal's head
我们会在这只动物的头上安装卫星发报器
so that every time the animal comes to the surface, we can get a location estimate for where he is at sea.
每次这只动物浮出水面，我们就能取得它在海上的大略位置。
It won't harm them in any way, and, in return, the amount of information we get from them is invaluable.
不会造成任何伤害，我们能借此取得的大量资讯更是无价之宝。
It'll be really interesting to see where these animals go as the ice starts to break up over the coming months.
我很想看看接下来几个月海冰开始崩裂后，这些动物会去哪里。
The results from the study so far do not look encouraging.
到目前为止的研究结果看起来不太乐观。
Despite migrating huge distances, when the time comes to have pups of their own,
尽管会长途迁徙，等到了自己要繁衍后代的时候，
harp seals almost always return to the area where they themselves were born.
菱纹海豹几乎总会回到自己出生的地区。
But as the sea ice shrinks, so does its suitability as a nursery.
可是由于海冰缩小，作为育儿室的合适性也降低。
The problem really comes about if the only ice available in the traditional areas is very thin,
真正的问题出在，如果传统地区可用的海冰变得很薄，
they'll still use that ice, and then you get an increased mortality.
它们还是会用这处的冰，如此死亡率就会增加。
In short, the pups risk drowning if the ice isn't thick enough.
简而言之，如果海冰不够厚，幼豹可能会溺死。
And the bigger question is, will the ice continue to exist at all?
更大的问题在于海冰是否仍会持续存在？
In my lifetime, we've lost about two-thirds of the summer sea ice in the arctic.
在我有生之年，北极已经失去了三分之二的夏季海冰。
And it's likely that in the next 30 years we're going to end up with an ice-free arctic in the summer.
很有可能在往后三十年，北极的夏季就会变得完全无冰。
I think one of the issues with climate change is that it's really difficult to see.
气候变迁的问题之一在于真的难以察觉。
But in the case of harp seals, it's really quite simple.
可是以菱纹海豹为例就很容易发现。
If we lose the sea ice in the arctic, we lose the harp seals.
如果北极失去海冰，我们就会失去菱纹海豹。
