有比地球还宜居的行星？
Earth seems like the perfect hub for life because it's the only planet known so far to host it -- but new research suggests that other planets could have oceans that are even more hospitable, offering life that is more varied than we know it.
地球似乎是生命的理想居因为它是目前已知唯一有生命的星球——然而最新研究表明其他一些拥有海洋的星球可能会更宜居，给生命提供更多我们想不到的资源。
Researchers used NASA-developed software called ROCKE-3D to simulate ocean circulation and climates on different types of exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system.
研究员们用的是美国航空航天局开发的洛基-3D软件来模拟地外行星或我们太阳系外的星星的海洋循环和气候。
Oceanic life on Earth depends on an upward flow, or upwelling, which moves nutrients from the dark depths to sunlit portions where photosynthetic life thrives.
地球上的海洋生物依赖于上升流或者叫上涌流，它们会从黑暗的海底深处把营养物质带到光照区，在这里光合作用的生物繁盛生长。
More upwelling means more nutrient resupply, which means more biological activity, researchers say.
研究员们称，上升流越多意味着营养补给就越多，生物活动也相应会更多。
So, a research team used the software to identify "which (types of) planets will have the most efficient upwelling and thus offer particularly hospitable oceans," Stephanie Olson, lead researcher at the University of Chicago, said Thursday while presenting the research at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference in Barcelona.
于是，一支研究团队就用这款软件来鉴别“哪种类型的行星上升流最多，也就是说会提供最宜居的海洋，”芝加哥大学的首席研究员史蒂芬·奥森周四在巴塞罗那举行的施密特地球化学大会上说。
"We found that higher atmospheric density, slower rotation rates, and the presence of continents all yield higher upwelling rates," Olson said.
“我们发现大气密度越高，自转速度越慢，以及大陆的出现都会带来更高的上升流速率，”奥森说道。
"A further implication is that Earth might not be optimally habitable -- and life elsewhere may enjoy a planet that is even more hospitable than our own."
“进一步可以推出地球也许并不是最宜居的——另外某个地方的生命也许正享受着一个比我们的地球更宜居的星球。”
"This is a surprising conclusion," Olson said.
“这是一个令人震惊的结论，”奥森说道。
"It shows us that conditions on some exoplanets with favorable ocean circulation patterns could be better suited to support life that is more abundant or more active than life on Earth."
“它表明某个地外行星可能会拥有更好的海洋洋流循环模式，这会更适合生命居住，而这些生命可能会比地球上的更繁荣，更生机勃勃。”
NASA has said that the best chance for finding life elsewhere in our own solar system could be on ocean worlds like Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus.
美国航空航天局称在我们自己的银河系中的其他某处找到生命的最大可能来自于拥有海洋的星球比如木星的卫星欧罗巴以及土星的卫星恩克拉多斯。
But the search for life has largely involved seeking out exoplanets within the habitable zone of the stars they orbit, existing at just the right distance for a surface temperature that can support liquid water on the surface.
但寻找生命的工作主要是在它们所环绕的恒星的宜居带内寻找系外行星，这些行星的存在距离刚好适合地表温度，能够支持地表液态水的存在。
"NASA's search for life in the universe is focused on so-called habitable zone planets, which are worlds that have the potential for liquid water oceans. But not all oceans are equally hospitable -- and some oceans will be better places to live than others due to their global circulation patterns," Olson said.
“美国航空航天局在宇宙中寻找地外生命的主要方向是在所谓的宜居带星球中找，这些星球可能会有液态水的海洋存在。不过，并不是所有的海洋都是宜居的——有些海洋因为其全球洋流循环模式会比别的更适合生命。”奥森说道。
"These are the conditions we need to look for on exoplanets."
“这些才是我们需要在地外行星上寻找的条件。”
Investigating exoplanets has to happen from afar because with current technology, we can't reach them.
搜寻地外行星的工作必须远程进行，因为以现有技术，我们没法抵达它们。
Telescopes can help determine what the conditions might be like on exoplanets, but that data also has to be applied to models of potential climates and evolution that takes place on planets different from our own.
望远镜可以帮助检测地外行星上的条件如何，不过这些数据也必须应用在仿真模型中，模型包括气候和这个跟我们的星球不同的行星上所发生的进化。
Combined, data and models can inform scientists of which planets could host life.
联合数据和模型，科学家们就可能知道哪些星球上有生命。
Current telescopes can't identify exoplanets to test Olson's theory, but ideally this finding could help in developing future telescopes that could seek out types of exoplanets defined in this research.
现有望远镜还无法检测地外行星来测试奥森的理论，不过从理论上说这次发现可以有助于研发未来的，可以找到这次研究中定义的地外行星的望远镜。
"There will always be limitations to our technology, so life is almost certainly more common than 'detectable' life," Olson said.
“我们的技术总是有限的，所以生命肯定比我们'能检测到’的更为丰富，”奥森说道。
"This means that in our search for life in the universe, we should target the subset of habitable planets that will be most favorable to large, globally active biospheres because those are the planets where life will be easiest to detect -- and where non-detections will be most meaningful."
“这意味着我们在宇宙中寻找生命时，我们应该在最有利于大型、全球性活跃的生物圈的子集中寻找因为这些才是最容易检测到生命的行星——在哪里非检测性推断才是最有意义的。”
This finding continues the interesting work being done around ocean worlds.
这一发现延续了海洋世界的有趣工作。
"We expect oceans to be important in regulating some of the most compelling remotely detectable signs of life on habitable worlds, but our understanding of oceans beyond our solar system is currently very rudimentary," said Chris Reinhard, a Georgia Institute of Technology professor who was not involved in the study.
乔治亚理工学院教授克里斯·莱因哈德没有参与这项研究，他说:“我们预计海洋在调节可居住星球上一些最引人注目的、可远程探测到的生命迹象方面将发挥重要作用，但我们对太阳系以外的海洋的了解还处于非常初级的阶段。”
"Dr. Olson's work represents a significant and exciting step forward in our understanding of exoplanet oceanography."
“奥森博士的工作代表着我们在理解系外行星海洋学方面迈出了重要而令人兴奋的一步。”
问题
奥森博士的研究是从海洋中哪种现象进行切入的？
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