人們從海底挖出了數千個奇怪的圓洞

Thousands of strange round holes scooped out of the ocean floor have been uncovered along the coast of California.

沿著加利福尼亞海岸，人們從海底挖出了數千個奇怪的圓洞。

Some measure nearly 600 feet across, but scientists are unsure how they formed.

有些直徑近600英尺，但科學家不確定它們是如何形成的。

As many as 15,000 holes have been found during an underwater survey by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).

蒙特雷灣水族館研究所(MBARI)在水下調查中發(fā)現了多達15000個洞。

Experts were originally studying mysterious large “pockmarks” across the seafloor off the coast of California’s Big Sur region.

專家們最初研究的是加利福尼亞大蘇爾海岸海底的神秘大“麻子”。

These strange depressions are unexplained and average 574 across and 16 feet deep.

這些奇怪的洼地無法解釋，平均寬574英尺，深16英尺。

But the MBARI’s underwater vehicles also found more than 15,000 smaller holes, measuring 36 feet across and three feet deep.

但是MBARI的潛水器也發(fā)現了超過15000個小洞，直徑36英尺，深3英尺。

Around one-third of the holes contain human waste, including “filled trash bags, 5-gallon buckets and a storage trunk.”

大約三分之一的洞里都是人類的排泄物，包括“填滿的垃圾袋、5加侖的水桶和一個儲存箱。”

And a fifth of the holes contain “exotic material,” including cobbles, kelp holdfasts and even a whale skull.

五分之一的洞中含有“外來物質”，包括鵝卵石、海帶殼甚至鯨魚頭骨。

Experts believe that many of the objects were “dropped over the side of the boat.”

專家認為，許多物體是“掉在船的一側”。

It’s still not clear what’s causing the holes to form in the first place.

目前尚不清楚是什么導致了這些洞的形成。

The large pockmarks are described as having been “inactive” for more than 50,000 years.

這些大麻子被描述為已經“不活躍”了5萬多年。

But many of the smaller holes appear to be much newer and may have formed in recent years.

但許多較小的黑洞似乎是最近幾年形成的。

And one early theory that gases under the seafloor were bubbling up to create the holes was discarded.

早期有一種理論認為，是海底下的氣體冒泡形成了這些洞，但這一理論被拋棄了。

“No evidence or fluid or gas venting…were found in either type of feature,” the researchers explained.

研究人員解釋說:“在這兩種特征中都沒有發(fā)現任何證據，也沒有發(fā)現任何流體或氣體的排放。”

Best of all theories so far is the idea that humans might be inadvertently creating the holes with their waste.

到目前為止，最好的理論是人類可能在不經意間用他們的排泄物制造了這些洞。

When something drops onto the sit floor and sits there, marine life may be moving in and turning it into a home.

當某樣東西掉到地板上，停在那里時，海洋生物可能正在移動，并把它變成一個家。