南极是什么颜色的?可能所有人都会说,是白色的,“冰雪覆盖的南极大陆,当然是白色的。”可是,看了这些照片,你就会发现,南极的主调其实是蓝色的,蓝色是它的灵魂。
我们的船航行过狂涛巨浪的德雷克海峡后,并没有在南极半岛和南设得兰群岛停留,而是趁着天气良好一直向南航行去穿越南极圈。
穿越极圈是几乎所有极地探险旅游的必须要有的项目,因为进入极圈里面才算是到达了极地。南北极都有极圈,纬度一样,只不过南极圈是以南纬标识,南纬66度33分。极圈以南(里面)才叫南极地区。尽管南极大陆的绝大部分都在南极圈里面,但也有部分在圈外,比如我们主要要游览的南极半岛极其附近岛屿就不在南极圈里面,中国南极科考站所在的乔治王岛更是只有南纬62度,离南极地区还有400公里。所以,尽管我们的行程主要是在南极圈外观光游览,但我们必须要穿越一次南极圈,才算是名正言顺货真价实的到过南极了。
南极半岛像个蝎子尾巴弯弯曲曲的向东北方向延伸,半岛西边是一系列岛屿,这些岛屿和半岛曲折的海岸之间,分布着众多最漂亮最迷人的著名水道和峡湾,如利马尔水道,纽马尔水道,天堂湾,冰河广场,而这里正是我们此行的主要浏览地。
由于有岛屿对岛外西风狂涛的阻隔,船在水道和峡湾里航行要平稳得多,船长也故意放慢船速,让船紧贴着硕大冰山和雪峰峭壁静静的滑过,一任被美景惊得目瞪口呆的游客呆呆伫立甲板,很长时间回不过神透不过气来。此时,人们才真正体会到什么叫做“美的令人窒息”。
而创造这绝世美景的则是南极湛蓝的冰山和淡蓝的冰河。
但是,我们所看到的冰山都不是半岛本地产的而是“泊来品”,它们的原产地在更靠南更寒冷的南极大陆。整个南极大陆被厚厚的冰盖覆盖着,冰盖厚达几百甚至几千公里,平均厚度2000公里,所蕴含的淡水占地球全部淡水储存量的70%以上。几千公里厚度的重压之下,冰盖底层的冰溶点降低,溶化出的水成了冰盖的润滑剂,于是冰盖便从大陆中心的最高处向四边的低海拔海岸流动并在低洼谷地处汇集成冰川。几百上千公里厚的冰川向海边流动,势不可挡,雷霆万钧,以每年几米甚至几百米的速度推进到海里形成长长的冰舌。由于南大洋海水温度很低,深入海里的冰舌不会溶化而是继续延伸,延伸,有时甚至能延伸出百十公里。最终在浮力的作用下,冰舌断裂为一座座几公里至几十公里方圆、高出水面一两百米的巨大冰山。所以,冰山是南极冰盖孕育的子女,而这位多产的妈妈每年都有上万个子女出生。
夏季到来,有一部分冰山会随着洋流漂浮到南极半岛周边的海峡中来,并且会在水流最缓的峡湾停留徊转,于是就有了天堂湾、冰河广场等有着大量冰山驻留的壮丽景观。
可能所有的人都会认为照片是PS出来的,连我自己第一次在电脑上看到它时也有这种困惑,“这是真的吗?”但是,天地良心,这真的是自己拍摄的,连海浪在冰山边激起的水花都看得见。而且,我也真的没有这么高的PS技术。那么,为什么南极的冰山会呈现这种幽幽的蓝色呢?
冰山来自冰川,冰川来自积雪。但几米、几十米厚的积雪是成不了冰川的,重力不够。只有在南极几百米厚的积雪重力下,下部的积雪被压实,空气被挤压排出,雪粒才会“重晶化”成为冰川冰。所谓重晶化,是指细小的雪粒在巨大的压力下不经溶化而重新排列结晶。这样重晶化的冰,纯度更高,透光性更好,来自太阳和天空的白色光照射在上面不会被反射回来,而只会被深深的吸收,其中波长较长的红端光线赤橙黄色会被悉数俘获,只有波长较短的紫端光线,蓝光和紫光被大角度折射出来,于是,冰山就呈现出了这样迷人的蔚蓝色、湛蓝色、蓝中带紫的海昌蓝色。有时候,由于形成年份的温度和降雪的差异,冰山还会呈现年轮一样的夹层,一层是通透的湛蓝,一层又是温润的湖蓝,实在是美不胜收。
说了冰山的“冰清”,再来说说冰河的“玉洁”。
冰河这个词造的非常好,非常形象。半岛和岛屿的山峰都不太高却很陡峭,存不住雪,只有两山之间的山谷会有几十米后的积雪存留。但是前面说了,这个厚度的积雪是不足以重晶化为冰川的,它们仍然以密实的积雪的形态存在,最多会有底层部分形成疏松的冰雪复合物。当积雪达到一定厚度的时候,在重力的推动下,它们也会顺着山坡往下滑,像冰川一样。由于它们还没有重晶化为冰,所以我把它称为雪川或者半冰川,不同的是冰川是缓慢流动而雪川是快速滑落。也同样是由于它的疏松,在滑落的过程中会依山坡的起伏而形成阶梯状断层,在宽阔的雪川表面形成波涛起伏的形态,冰河一词也由此产生。
层层叠叠沿着山坡下滑的雪川像古代严整的军阵,一往无前,势不可当。冲到海面时,没有了坡度,没有了前行的动力,前面的阵列戛然而止,而后面的军士还在不断涌来,坍塌便不可避免了,前面的军士倒下,后面的则前赴后继,终于形了一道道十余米高的垂直断面,以及断面上千变万化的线条和图案。而宽阔的冰河以及冰河连绵壮观的断面,也就和海面上漂浮的冰山一起,构成南极最美的画面。
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由于半岛周边的海域水温相对较高,加之降雨较多,这些冰山都已被溶蚀了许多,大的还有数十米高,小的已经不足两三米了。而不论大小,这些冰山都一样闪耀着迷人的蓝光。大的冰山呈很浅的蓝白色,像沿着纹理剖开还未来得及雕琢的岫岩青玉,小一些的则呈现出深不可测的湛蓝色,而且,越小的冰山蓝色越重,似乎是外层冰山溶蚀后所留下的最精华的内核,因而其颜色更纯更艳。比如这座冰山的残骸,就像漂浮在铅灰色海面上的一块巨大的中亚细亚蓝宝石,魅惑而妖艳。
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那些天里,我们经常能听到雪川塌方发出的巨大而低沉的轰鸣,看到图上雪川跌落海面所激起的漫天水雾。水雾散后,海面上就多了许多大大小小的浮冰,一片狼藉,有时还要提防大塌方引发的局部海啸。新塌方的断面,颜色洁白清新,还不忘在凹陷处借用一点儿海面漫射的淡蓝,非常迷人。但有的地方,如乔治王岛附近的雪川,可能由于长期没有降雪补充而停止了发育,此前形成的断面满目沧桑,灰头土脸,像大山里生活艰辛的老人的脸,满是岁月的皱纹,深深的,如刀刻一般。
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至此,我们已经清楚了冰山和浮冰的区别,清楚了冰川和冰河的区别。冰河是形成初期的冰川;冰山是冰川前缘在水中折断形成,而浮冰则是雪川跌落海面碎裂形成;冰山是重晶化的冰,颜色是蓝色的,而浮冰则保持了积雪的本色,只是在白色的表面沾染了一些海面泛出的淡蓝。
啰里啰嗦的说了这么多,听上去像是外行的科普。
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