南極洲豐富資源引發全球競爭

On an glacier-filled island with fjords and elephant seals, Russia has built Antarctica’s first Orthodox church on a hill overlooking its research base, transporting the logs all the way from Siberia.

在一個滿布冰川、有峽灣與海象的島嶼上，俄羅斯用遠從西伯利亞運來的木材，在一座小山上建造了南極洲第一座東正教堂，山下就是該國的科研基地。

Less than an hour away by snowmobile, Chinese laborers have updated the Great Wall Station, a linchpin in China’s plan to operate five bases on Antarctica, complete with an indoor badminton court, domes to protect satellite stations and sleeping quarters for 150 people.

在離此地一小時摩托雪橇車程的地方，中國工人對長城站進行了翻建，該國計劃在南極設立五個科學考察站，長城站是其中的關鍵。站內設有室內羽球場和保護衛星站的圓拱屋頂，還有能容納150人的臥室。

Not to be outdone, India’s futuristic new Bharathi base, built on stilts using 134 interlocking shipping containers, resembles a spaceship. Turkey and Iran have announced plans to build bases, too.

印度人也不甘示弱。他們新建的巴拉蒂基地(Bharathi)十分前衛，由134個貨櫃扣接而成，然後用支柱撐起，形似一艘太空船。土耳其和伊朗業已宣佈在南極建造基地的計劃。

More than a century has passed since explorers raced to plant their flags at the bottom of the world, and for decades to come this continent is supposed to be protected as a scientific preserve, shielded from intrusions like military activities and mining.

一百多年來，探險家爭先恐後地在這世界的盡頭插上自己的旗幟。 而在接下來數十年，人們本應把這片大陸當做一個科學保護區來呵護，避免它受到諸如軍事行動和礦產開發等活動的干擾。

But an array of countries are rushing to assert greater influence here, with an eye not just toward the day those protective treaties expire, but also for the strategic and commercial opportunities that exist right now.

然而衆多國家正紛紛行動起來，要對這裏施加更多的影響力。他們一邊注意那些保護條約何時到期，一邊還要盯着眼下就存在的戰略與商業良機。

“The newer players are stepping into what they view as a treasure house of resources,” said Anne-Marie Brady, a scholar at New Zealand’s University of Canterbury who specializes in Antarctic politics.

“新近加入競爭的國家，踏入的是他們視爲天然資源聚寶盆的一塊地方，”安妮-瑪莉·布雷迪(Anne-Marie Brady)表示；她是新西蘭坎特伯雷大學(University of Canterbury)專研南極政治問題的學者。

Some of the ventures focus on the Antarctic resources that are already up for grabs, like abundant sea life. China and South Korea, both of which operate state-of-the-art bases here, are ramping up their fishing of krill, the shrimplike crustaceans found in abundance in the Southern Ocean, while Russia recently thwarted efforts to create one of the world’s largest ocean sanctuaries here.

有的是看上了南極現成可用的天然資源，譬如大量的海洋生物。在這裏設有尖端基地的中國和韓國都在迅速提升他們的磷蝦漁獲量。這是一種形似蝦的甲殼動物，大量存在於南冰洋中。而俄羅斯近來剛剛出面阻撓了在這裏設立全球最大禁漁區的努力。

Some scientists are examining the potential for harvesting icebergs from Antarctica, which is estimated to have the biggest reserves of fresh water on the planet. Nations are also pressing ahead with space research and satellite projects to expand their global navigation abilities.

有些科學家正在審視從南極採收冰山的潛力。根據估計，這些冰山蘊含了全世界最大的淡水儲備。各國也同時在太空研究和衛星計劃上加緊向前，好拓展他們探勘全球的能力。

Building on a Soviet-era foothold, Russia is expanding its monitoring stations for Glonass, its version of the Global Positioning System. At least three Russian stations are already operating in Antarctica, part of its effort to challenge the dominance of the American GPS, and new stations are planned for sites like the Russian base, in the shadow of the Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity.

俄羅斯正在以一個蘇聯時代的駐紮點爲基礎，爲他們的格洛納斯系統(Glonass)拓建觀測站，這是該國自行開發的全球衛星定位系統。在南極已經有至少三個俄羅斯的觀測站在運作，以挑戰美國的GPS系統。而其他一些地點，比如聖三一東正教堂(Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity)蔭庇下的俄羅斯基地，也有新建觀測站的計劃。

Elsewhere in Antarctica, Russian researchers boast of their recent discovery of a freshwater reserve the size of Lake Ontario after drilling through miles of solid ice.

在南極洲另一處地方，俄羅斯研究人員自豪地宣告，他們在鑽透數英里厚的堅硬冰層後，發現了容量可比安大略湖的淡水庫。

“You can see that we’re here to stay,” said Vladimir Cheberdak, 57, chief of the Bellingshausen Station, as he sipped tea under a portrait of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, an officer and later admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy who explored the Antarctic coast in 1820.

“你可以看到，我們在這裏是紮了根了，”57歲的別林斯高晉站站長弗拉基米爾·切貝爾達克(Vladimir Cheberdak)一邊喝着茶一邊說，他的頭頂懸掛着法比安·戈特利布·馮·別林斯高晉(Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen)的肖像，這位已故俄羅斯皇家海軍上將在1820年探索了南極洲的海岸線。

Antarctica’s mineral, oil and gas wealth are a longer-term prize. The treaty banning mining here, shielding coveted reserves of iron ore, coal and chromium, expires in 2048. Researchers recently found kimberlite deposits hinting at the existence of diamonds. And while assessments vary widely, geologists estimate that Antarctica holds at least 36 billion barrels of oil and natural gas.

南極洲富藏的礦、石油和天然氣則是一項長期回報。前述條約禁止各國在此地採礦，護衛着衆人垂涎的鐵、煤、鉻礦脈，不過這份條約會在2048年到期。研究人員近來還發現了金伯利岩層，暗示着鑽石礦脈的存在。此外，雖然各家評估結果大不相同，但地質學家預測，南極洲蘊藏了至少3600萬桶的石油和天然氣。

Beyond the Antarctic treaties, huge obstacles persist to tapping these resources, like drifting icebergs that could imperil offshore platforms. Then there is Antarctica’s remoteness, with some mineral deposits found in windswept locations on a continent that is larger than Europe and where winter temperatures hover around minus 70 Fahrenheit.

除南極條約外，利用這些資源還存在其他巨大的障礙，如漂浮的冰山可能會危及海上平臺。此外，南極位置偏僻。在這個面積超過歐洲，冬季氣溫在零下70華氏度（約合零下57攝氏度）左右徘徊的大陸上，有幾處礦藏位於極爲荒涼的地帶。

But advances in technology might make Antarctica a lot more accessible three decades from now. And even before then, scholars warn, the demand for resources in an energy-hungry world could raise pressure to renegotiate Antarctica’s treaties, possibly allowing more commercial endeavors here well before the prohibitions against them expire.

但30年後的技術進步可能會大大降低開發南極的難度。而學者警告稱，可能都等不到那個時候，這個渴望能源的世界所產生的資源需求，就會促使人們就南極條約重新展開談判，也許會在禁令失效前就允許對這裏進行商業利用。

The research stations on King George Island offer a glimpse into the long game on this ice-blanketed continent as nations assert themselves, eroding the sway long held by countries like the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

隨着各國堅持自己的主張，削弱美國、英國、澳大利亞和新西蘭等國長期以來的影響力，這片被冰雪覆蓋的大陸上演了一場歷時彌久的競爭。喬治王島上的科考站讓人們得以一窺這場競爭。

Being stationed in Antarctica involves adapting to life on the planet’s driest, windiest and coldest continent, yet each nation manages to make itself at home.

被派駐南極意味着要在全世界最乾燥、最冷、風最大的大陸上生活，但各國過得都挺愜意。

Bearded Russian priests offer regular services at the Orthodox church for the 16 or so Russian speakers who spend the winter at the base, largely polar scientists in fields like glaciology and meteorology. Their number climbs to about 40 in the warmer summer months.

蓄着鬍子的俄羅斯神父會定期在東正教堂爲在基地過冬的大約16名說俄語的人舉行儀式。他們大部分是冰川學和氣象學等領域的極地科學家。在更暖和一些的夏季，人數會增加到大約40人。

China has arguably the fastest-growing operations in Antarctica. It opened its fourth station last year and is pressing ahead with plans to build a fifth. It is building its second icebreaking ship and setting up research drilling operations on an ice dome 13,422 feet above sea level that is one of the planet’s coldest places.

中國在南極的活動可以說是增加最快的。該國去年啓用了第四個科考站，現在正在推進修建第五個科考站的計劃。此外，中國還在建造第二艘破冰船，並安排在一處海拔13422英尺（約合4100米）的冰穹上進行研究性的鑽井作業。那裏是全球最冷的地方之一。

Chinese officials say the expansion in Antarctica prioritizes scientific research, but they also acknowledge that concerns about “resource security” influence their moves.

中國官員稱，在南極擴張的首要目的是科學考察，但他們也承認，對“資源安全”的擔憂對他們的行動有影響。

China’s newly renovated Great Wall station on King George Island makes the Russian and Chilean bases here seem antiquated.

在喬治王島上，中國新近翻建的長城站讓俄羅斯和智利的基地相形見絀。

“We do weather monitoring here and other research,” Ning Xu, 53, the chief of the Chinese base, said over tea during a fierce blizzard in late November.

在11月末的一場強暴風雪期間，長城站站長徐寧喝着茶說，“我們在這裏進行天氣監測和其他研究。”

The cavernous base he leads resembles a snowed-in college campus on holiday break, with the capacity to sleep more than 10 times the 13 people who were staying on through the Antarctic winter.

他領導的長城站內有巨大的空間，像一個放假期間被雪封住了的大學校園。在南極的這個冬天會有13個人留在這裏。但該站的空間足以容納10倍以上的人過夜。

Yong Yu, a Chinese microbiologist, showed off the spacious building, with empty desks under an illustrated timeline detailing the rapid growth of China’s Antarctic operations since the 1980s. “We now feel equipped to grow,” he said.

微生物學家餘勇（音）向我們展示寬敞的大樓。一個圖文並茂的大事年表詳細介紹了自80年代以來，中國南極活動的迅速發展。年表下面的桌子上空無一物。“我們覺得現在是時候發展了，”他說。

As some countries expand operations in Antarctica, the United States maintains three year-round stations on the continent with more than 1,000 people during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, including those at the Amundsen-Scott station, built in 1956 at an elevation of 9,301 feet on a plateau at the South Pole. But American researchers quietly grumble about budget restraints and having far fewer icebreakers than Russia, limiting the reach of the United States in Antarctica.

在一些國家擴大其南極活動的同時，美國在這片大陸上依舊保持着三個全年運轉的科考站規模。在南半球的夏季，這三個站有逾千人，其中包括阿蒙森-斯科特(Amundsen-Scott)站的人員。建於1956年的阿蒙森-斯科特站地處南極的一片高原上，海拔9301英尺。然而美國科考人員私下裏抱怨預算緊張，破冰船也遠少於俄羅斯，這些問題制約了美國在南極的影響力。

Scholars warn that Antarctica’s political flux could blur the distinction between military and civilian activities long before the continent’s treaties come up for renegotiation, especially in parts of Antarctica that are ideal for intercepting signals from satellites or retasking satellite systems, potentially enhancing global electronic intelligence operations.

學者告誡稱，南極的政治力量變化可能會在就南極條約重新展開談判之前，模糊軍事和民用活動之間的界線，特別是在最適合用於攔截衛星信號或重新設定衛星經過時間的地區，這可能給全球電子情報活動帶來提升。

Some countries have had a hard time here. Brazil opened a research station in 1984, but it was largely destroyed by a fire that killed two members of the navy in 2012, the same year that a diesel-laden Brazilian barge sank near the base. As if that were not enough, a Brazilian C-130 Hercules military transport plane has remained stranded near the runway of Chile’s air base here since it crash-landed in 2014.

一些國家在這裏十分不順。巴西在1984年設立了一個科考站，但2012年的一場大火導致該站基本被毀，並造成兩名海軍人員死亡。同一年，巴西一艘滿載柴油的駁船在該基地附近沉沒。然而厄運還沒有結束，2014年，巴西一架C-130大力神軍用運輸機緊急迫降後，一直被困在這裏的一座智利空軍基地跑道附近。

Still, Brazil’s stretch of misfortune has created opportunities for China, with a Chinese company winning the $100 million contract in 2015 to rebuild the Brazilian station.

但巴西一連串的不幸給中國創造了機會。2015年，一家中國公司拿下了重建巴西科考站的合同，價值1億美元。

Amid all the changes, Antarctica maintains its allure. South Korea opened its second Antarctic research base in 2014, describing it as a way to test robots developed by Korean researchers for use in extreme conditions. With Russia’s help, Belarus is preparing to build its first Antarctic base. Colombia said this year that it planned to join other South American nations with bases in Antarctica.

經歷了這一切的變化，南極魅力依舊。2014年，韓國開設第二個南極科考站，稱其將用於檢驗韓國研究人員開發的用於極端條件的機器人。在俄羅斯的幫助下，白俄羅斯也在準備修建該國的第一個南極基地。哥倫比亞今年表示打算加入其他一些南美國家的行列，在南極建立科考站。

“The old days of the Antarctic being dominated by the interests and wishes of white men from European, Australasian and North American states is over,” said Klaus Dodds, a politics scholar at the University of London who specializes in Antarctica. “The reality is that Antarctica is geopolitically contested.”

“在以前，南極被歐洲、澳大拉西亞和北美諸國的白人利益和意願主宰，”倫敦大學(University of London)專研南極問題的政治學者克勞斯·多茲(Klaus Dodds)說。“眼下的現實是，南極成了地緣政治上的爭奪目標。”