墨爾本郊區現粉紅湖泊色彩鮮豔 專家稱其是自然現象

An Australian lake has turned a vivid pink, thanks to extreme salt levels further exacerbated by hot weather in a startling natural phenomena that resembles a toxic spill.

由於湖泊的鹽分過高外加炎熱的天氣，澳大利亞一個湖泊的湖水變成了明亮的粉紅色，這一讓人吃驚的自然現象看起來像是散發着毒氣。

Parks Victoria chief conservation scientist Mark Norman said last Thursday that the spectacle was the result of green algae at the bottom of the lake at Westgate Park on the outskirts of Melbourne responding to high levels of salt and changing colour.

上週四，維多利亞公園首席保育科學家馬克·諾曼表示，墨爾本郊區西門公園出現的這一現象是因爲湖泊的高鹽分與湖中藻類鹽菌及光線氣溫交合作用而產生的。

"The bright pink lake pops up most summers and is made by a native single-celled plant known as Dunalliela that responds to extreme levels of salt in this lake," he said, adding that hot weather makes the salt concentrate further.

他說道：“這個湖泊在夏天時經常會變成粉紅湖泊，這主要是因爲一種原生的單細胞植物--杜氏藻與湖泊的高鹽分相互作用而產生的”。他還表示，炎熱天氣使鹽分濃度更高。

"It's completely natural. We often get comments that it looks like an industrial accident of pink paint."

“這完全是自然現象。我們經常聽到的評論是，這看起來像是發生了一起工業泄漏事故，湖水被粉紅色的漆覆蓋。”

The lake attracts over 140 bird species as well as many curious tourists but the authorities warned people to avoid making contact with the pink water, even though it is not dangerous.

這個漂亮的湖泊吸引了超過140種鳥類以及許多慕名而來的遊客。雖然湖水看上去很漂亮，粉紅色的湖水也不會造成任何危害，但有關當局還是提醒遊客不要觸碰湖水。

"The salt would dry as hard crystals all over your body. It would also be hard on your eyes, like sprinkling salt straight on your eyes," Norman said.

諾曼表示：“如果觸碰到了湖水，在它幹了之後會在你身上形成鹽晶，碰到眼睛上也會造成不適，就像直接把鹽撒在眼睛上一樣。”