Further south, near the continent, the blanket of sea ice is beginning to break up.
往南,靠大陆的地方,海水的冰层开始破裂。
Icebergs are gigantic fragments of ice that have broken away into the sea from the front of glaciers.
冰山是冰河前端碎裂的巨大碎片。
During the winter they were frozen into the sea ice, but now they are set adrift once more.
它们在冬天时被冰封入海中,现在它们又再度沉浮于海上。
As the bergs break up, they form brash ice. It litters the backwaters of the Antarctic Peninsula.
冰山裂开后会形成急骤的冰雨,并捣乱南极半岛的逆向水流。
Minke whales make their way into these placid waters in summer. This is the most abundant whale in the Southern Ocean.
小须鲸在夏天来到平静的海水。这是南大洋中为数最多的鲸种。
Minkes are one of the smallest of all the baleen whales. And like all others, they come here to feed.
小须鲸是须鲸类体型最小的。它们像其他鲸鱼一样,到这里觅食。
The majestic humpback whales are also summer visitors.
雄伟的座头鲸也是夏天的访客。
They have travelled thousands of miles from their winter, breeding grounds in the tropics to gather the food that becomes available here in summer.
它们从冬天的热带繁衍地横越千里至此,找寻这里夏天丰盛的食物。
In just four months, they accumulate enough fat to provide them with energy for the whole of the rest of the year.
短短四个月内,它们便能累积足够的脂肪,以维持剩余季节的体力。
All these animals have come here in search of one thing -- the krill.
这些动物到此的目的相同--磷虾。
Krill is the mainstay of the Antarctic food web. It occurs in phenomenal quantity -- billions of individuals in a single swarm, and swarms can stretch for miles.
磷虾是南极食物链中的主食。它们的数量惊人--以数十亿为单位,而整个族群可延伸数公里。
Fur seals also collect this rich superabundant food.
毛海豹也依赖这种丰沛的食物。
Krill swarms are very patchy, but once found, feeding is easy.
磷虾群散聚各处,一旦发现,便足够将之饱餐一顿。
Humpbacks engulf hundreds of thousands of them in a single gargantuan mouthful.
座头鲸每一大口能吞下成千上万的磷虾。
When the going is good, the whales feed continuously, each eating up to two tonnes of krill in twenty-four hours.
情况良好时,鲸鱼会不断进食,每一头都能在一天内吃下两公吨的磷虾。