“梦想”号大洋钻探船已圆满完成在南海的首次科考任务返航。在此次任务中，该船刷新了我国深海钻探深度纪录，并获取了玄武岩岩心样本，这些样本有望助力揭开该地区构造演化的历史。
The ocean drilling ship Mengxiang has returned from its first expedition in the South China Sea, where it set a national depth record and obtained basalt core samples that could help to unravel the region’s tectonic history.
据科技部官方报纸《科技日报》周一报道，此次为期30天的科考任务由中国地质调查局组织，旨在测试这艘全球最强深海钻探船的作业能力。
The 30-day expedition organised by the China Geological Survey tested the operational capabilities of the world’s most powerful deep-ocean drilling ship, according to a report published on Monday by the official ministry newspaper Science and Technology Daily.
报道称，在由广州海洋地质调查局负责运营的此次航行中，该船在两个作业点进行了钻探和取样，获取了“大量珍贵的岩心样本和数据”。
During the voyage operated by the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, the ship conducted drilling and sampling at two sites and obtained “a large number of precious core samples and data”, it said.
据报道，在其中一个作业点，该船的最大钻探深度达到海面以下4929米（16000英尺），钻入海底地层865米，刷新了我国科学钻探的深度纪录。
At one site, the ship’s maximum drill depth reached 4,929 metres (16,000 feet) below the ocean’s surface – penetrating 865 metres below the sea floor – setting a national record for scientific drilling, according to the report.
这些样本包括一段4.27米长的玄武岩岩心，将有助于研究人员了解南海的形成与扩张过程，以及洋中脊跃迁和火山喷发在重塑海底地貌中所起的作用。
The samples, which included a 4.27-metre core of basalt rock, will help researchers understand the formation and spread of the South China Sea, as well as the role that a spreading ridge jump and volcanic eruptions played in restructuring the seabed.
“梦想”号于2024年11月正式入列，是中国首艘自主设计建造的大洋钻探船。
The Mengxiang, which means “dream”, was commissioned in November 2024 as China’s first domestically designed deep-ocean drilling vessel.
继日本和美国之后，中国成为全球第三个使用钻探船从深海盆地获取硬岩样本的国家。美国的“决心”号科学钻探船已于去年退役。
China is the third country, after Japan and the US, to use a drilling ship to obtain hard rock samples from a deep ocean basin. The US research drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution was retired last year.
“梦想”号的钻探深度可达海面以下11公里（约7英里或36000英尺），比目前世界纪录保持者——日本“地球”号科学钻探船的最大钻探能力还要深一公里。
The Mengxiang can drill to a depth of 11km (seven miles, or 36,000 feet) below the ocean’s surface and one kilometre more than the maximum capacity of the current world record holder for deepest scientific ocean drilling, the Japanese vessel Chikyu.
几十年来，科学家们一直致力于向海底深处钻探，以期抵达莫霍面（Mohorovicic discontinuity，简称Moho），即地球地壳与地幔之间的分界面。
For decades, scientists have been working to drill down into the sea floor to reach the Mohorovicic discontinuity – also known as the Moho – which marks the boundary between the Earth’s crust and mantle.
莫霍界面（Moho Interface）位于陆地以下约35至40公里处，但实际上它距离海床仅5至7公里；因此，只有穿过几公里的海水后才能到达该界面。因此，进行海洋钻探是到达该界面的最可行方式。
While the Moho lies about 35km to 40km below dry land, it is only between 5km and 7km below the sea floor – after getting past a few kilometres of water – making oceanic drilling the most feasible path to reach it.
科学家们希望从该区域采集的样本能够为我们提供关于地球的重要信息，包括地壳的形成过程、板块构造以及地球的演化历史。
Scientists hope that the samples recovered from this zone could yield critical insights into our planet, including crust formation, plate tectonics and its evolutionary history.
根据中国地质调查局研究人员去年发表在《自然·地球科学》（Nature Geoscience）杂志上的论文，计划于2030年前开始在印度洋或太平洋海底（这些地方的地壳较薄）开展“梦翔”（Mengxiang）钻探项目。
The Mengxiang missions to drill to the Moho beneath the Indian or Pacific seafloors – where the crust is thinner – are expected to start by 2030, according to a letter from researchers at the China Geological Survey published last year in Nature Geoscience.
据《科技日报》报道，对首次钻探采集的样本进行的初步研究表明，在南海发生了一次被称为“海岭跳跃”（ridge jump）的地质事件之后，曾发生过大规模的火山喷发。
According to the Science and Technology Daily report, preliminary studies on the samples from its first expedition suggest that large-scale volcanic eruptions occurred after a geological event called a spreading ridge jump in the South China Sea.
“海岭跳跃”是指海底的扩张中心（即板块相互分离、岩浆形成新地壳的地方）会改变位置，在新的位置重新开始扩张活动。这些发现为解答关于海洋盆地如何形成和演化的长期疑问提供了关键证据。
In a ridge jump, an underwater spreading centre – a place on the ocean floor where tectonic plates pull apart and magma forms new crust – abandons its position to reopen at a new one. The findings provide crucial evidence that could resolve long-standing questions about how the ocean basin formed and evolved.
报告还指出，在海床以下约800米深处进行的钻探还发现了一些罕见的地层结构，例如红色和绿色沉积物的交替层，这些发现有助于了解古代海洋环境的情况。
Drilling at depths of around 800 metres below the seabed also uncovered rare structural features, such as alternating layers of red and green sediment, which could offer insight into ancient marine environments, the report said.
该钻探船的取芯系统已经过测试，证明其符合国际海洋探索计划（International Ocean Discovery Programme）的标准；该计划利用深海船只和平台来研究沉积物和岩石。
The vessel’s coring system was tested and proved to meet the standards of the long-running International Ocean Discovery Programme of marine research that uses deep-ocean vessels and platforms to study sediment and rocks. By Victoria Bela