越来越多的虎鲸和鲸鲨开始出现在莫桑比克海岸附近，这一不同寻常的现象与厄尔尼诺天气周期的形成同时发生。
Growing numbers of orcas and whale sharks have started appearing off the coast of Mozambique, in an unusual development that’s coincided with the formation of the El Niño weather cycle.
非洲唯一的海洋观测站——巴扎鲁托科学研究中心的科学家表示，这类目击事件过去极为罕见，但近几个月来已变得司空见惯。据该观测站的首席科学家马里奥·莱布拉托称，莫桑比克海峡（位于马达加斯加与非洲大陆之间）洋流和海水温度的变化，可能正在影响浮游生物水平及其他海洋食物来源。
Scientists at the Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies, Africa’s only ocean observatory, say such sightings — once exceedingly rare — have become a common occurrence in recent months. Changes in currents and water temperatures in the Mozambique channel that stretches between Madagascar and the African mainland may be affecting plankton levels and other marine food sources, according to Mario Lebrato, chief scientist at the observatory.
“到目前为止，我们从未见过它们，但从去年年底开始，我突然每周都能看到它们，”莱布拉托在一次采访中说。
“We had seen zero so far and all of a sudden I’m seeing them weekly, starting at the end of last year,” Lebrato said in an interview.
“这与厄尔尼诺有关吗？我不知道，”他补充道，“但如果你看到这样的时间序列数据，而此前从未出现过，你就不禁会开始思考，两者之间可能存在某种联系。”美国气候预测中心表示，这一周期性气候现象始于大气层对赤道太平洋地区变暖的反应，预计今年的强度将是自1950年有记录以来最严重的。海洋水温升高会导致世界部分地区干旱，另一些地区则发生洪水，同时也会改变全球动物的行为和迁徙模式。
“Is it El Niño-connected? I don’t know,” he said. “But if you have this time series and you haven’t seen it before, you can start thinking that there might be a connection.”The cyclical climate phenomenon that begins when the atmosphere reacts to warming across the equatorial Pacific Ocean is this year expected to be the most severe since records began in 1950, according to the US Climate Prediction Center. Warming ocean waters cause droughts in some parts of the world and floods in others. They also alter the behavior and migration patterns of animals around the world.
该观测站由瑞士女商人尼娜·弗洛尔于2017年创立。她是VistaJet Group Holding SA公司创始人的女儿，该公司为富裕客户运营着私人飞机机队。弗洛尔后来嫁给了希腊和丹麦的菲利普王子，目前仍是该观测站的所有者。观测站的资金来自弗洛尔与其丈夫共同拥有的基萨瓦度假村（位于同一地点）的收入。
The observatory was established in 2017 by Nina Flohr, a Swiss businesswoman and daughter of the founder of VistaJet Group Holding SA, which operates a fleet of private jets for wealthy clients. Flohr, who married Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, remains its owner. Funding for the observatory comes from income from the Kisawa Sanctuary, the resort owned by Flohr and her husband, at the same location.
“气温在变化，水体也在变化，动物们也在迁徙，”勒布拉托说道。他的观测站位于巴扎鲁托群岛的本格埃拉岛上。“它们无法判断这里是巴扎鲁托，还是南非，或是坦桑尼亚。它们只是根据环境条件迁徙到适合它们的地方。”该观测站监测着此前该地区无法获取的海洋数据，包括海表温度、绝对湿度、降水和盐度。它还会收集关于海浪、涌浪、潮汐和洋流速度的数据。这些数据对研究人员开放，可以帮助科学家校准模型，从而更准确地预测这一历史上缺乏相关数据地区的未来情况。
“Temperatures are changing, the water mass changes, animals move,” said Lebrato, who’s observatory is located on Benguerra Island in the Bazaruto archipelago. “They don’t know if it’s Bazaruto or South Africa or Tanzania. They just move around wherever conditions are relevant for them.”The obersvatory monitors ocean data that was previously not available for the region, including sea surface temperatures, absolute humidity, precipitation and salinity. It also gathers data on waves, swells, tides and current speeds. The data is open to researchers and can help scientists calibrate their models to make more accurate projections for a part of the world where this data has historically been lacking.
勒布拉托表示，该观测站与各国政府和研究机构合作。他们还与工程公司、石油和天然气公司以及咨询机构等私营企业共同利用这些数据来校准自身的模型并开展环境评估。
The observatory works in collaboration with governments and research institutions, Lebrato said. Together with private businesses including engineering firms, oil and gas companies as well as consultancies, they’ve used their data to calibrate their own models and to conduct environmental assessments.
除了虎鲸和鲸鲨，勒布拉托还提到，在该观测站监测的超过7000平方公里（2703平方英里）的海域中，人们还发现了一些通常与该地区无关的物种，包括蠵龟和其他种类的鲨鱼。
In addition to the orcas and whale sharks, Lebrato said in the more than 7,000 square kilometers (2,703 square miles) of ocean that the observatory monitors, a range of other species normally not associated with the area have been spotted, including leatherback turtles and other kinds of sharks.
“我们看到的锤头鲨比平时更多，”勒布拉托说。“此外，我们还发现了一种以前从未见过的海豚。”
“We’ve been seeing more hammerhead sharks than usual,” Lebrato said. And “we saw one species of dolphin that we didn’t see before.”