Down to the Earth's Core|地心探险之旅

by Marcus Maurice

Humans have landed spaceships on Mars, but have yet to travel to the Earth's core.

In 1970, a team of Russian geologists started a mission in Finland to see how far they could drill into the Earth. The team dug and dug until they came to a depth that melted the drill bit. Nearly 20 years' worth of hard labor culminated in drilling only 12 kilometers under the surface, which in 1989 was the deepest artificial point anyone had ever reached. Since then, there have been two oil wells in Qatar and Russia that have gone deeper. One question remains, though. How is it possible to send rovers to Mars, which is at least 54 million kilometers from Earth, but only drill down a few kilometers with all the modern technology we have?

   This month, National Geographic Channel (NGC) takes viewers on a journey from the concrete sidewalks of our city streets to the center of the planet 9,000 kilometers below in an astonishing single shot on Down to the Earth's Core. Delving through the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core, NGC uses computer-generated imagery to explore the hidden world beneath our feet. Viewers will experience an earthquake from inside the San Andreas Fault, see how stalactites and gold form, witness the death of the dinosaurs, and understand the power of volcanoes all from underground. While humans have only been able to make it 12 kilometers below the surface in real life, NGC's Down to the Earth's Core shows wonders beyond our imaginations that lie at the heart of our planet.

地心探险之旅

人类已让宇宙飞船登陆火星，但还未进行过地心之旅。

1970年，一组俄罗斯地质学家在芬兰开始了一项任务，他们想看可以钻入地球内多深。该团队挖了又挖，直到他们挖到一个能熔化钻头的深度。将近 20 年辛劳的探钻达到的最深点只有地表下 12公里，那也是时至 1989 年为止无人能达到的最深人工探钻点。自那时起，仅有两口在卡达和俄罗斯的油井向下钻得更深。然而有个疑问至今依然存在。为何我们能将探测车送达离地球至少 5 千 4 百万公里远的火星，但以现有的种种现代科技，却只能往地下钻入短短几公里而已？

本月国家地理频道的《地心探险之旅》将带领观众来一趟旅行，以一镜到底的惊人拍摄方式，从城市街道上的水泥人行道下达地表下 9 千公里的地心。整个调查过程通过地壳、地幔、外核及内核，国家地理频道使用计算机生成图像来探索隐藏在我们脚底下的世界。观众将经历一场从圣安地列斯断层内部引发的大地震、目睹钟乳石和黄金的形成、见证恐龙的死亡及了解火山的威力，一切的一切都来自地底。虽然人类在现实生活中只能够下探到地表下 12 公里的深度，国家地理频道的《地心探险之旅》将展现位于地球核心且超乎我们想象的奇观。

地球的结构和其他行星相似，是由一系列不同的地层所组成，这些对地球内部结构的认识来自于物理学证据和一些推断，这些证据包括火山喷出的物质和地震波、化学和力学的研究，例如流变学。地球拥有一个富含硅的地壳、一个非常粘稠的地幔、一个液体的外核和一个固体且温度接近太阳表面的内核。物理学上，地球可划分为岩石圈、软流层、地幔、外核和内核5层。化学上，地球被划分为地壳、上地幔、下地幔、外核和内核。（数据源：维基百科）