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Mike points to ancient fossilized seashells imbedded into the limestone. Here's a conch shell.
迈克指着嵌入石灰岩中古老的贝壳化石，这是海螺壳。
Our bubbles are hitting rock overhangs and knocking off sediment which is raining down around us, reducing the visibility.
泡沫正在冲击岩石的突出部分，撞击掉周围的沉淀物，降低了能见度。
I continue to follow Mike, until finally at a hundred and fifty feet deep; we reach some stalactites in a formation called candle wax.
我继续跟着迈克来到一百五十英尺深的地方；我们找到了一些钟乳石，这些钟乳石是烛用蜡的构造，
These were formed by dripping water during the last ice age when sea levels were much lower and this part of the cave was dry.
它们是在上一个冰河时代由滴水形成的，当时海平面低得多，这部分洞穴是干燥的。
Down below me, it's more than 500 feet deep in this cave. I don't think we'll be going down there!
这个洞穴下面有500多英尺深。我想我们下不去的！
We turn around and start heading back, with Mike continuing to point out fossils.
我们转身往回走，迈克继续指着化石。
Following our guideline back into the shallower, murky water, Tim is right behind me.
跟着向导回到了较浅、较暗的水中，蒂姆就在我后面。
And Mike, with his spare scuba tank slung under his arm, is right ahead.
迈克胳膊下挎着备用的水肺潜水器，就在前面。
Periodically, markers on the line point the way out.
每隔一段时间，线上的标记就会指出出口。
These can be used in the event of a light failure to feel your way to the surface.
这些可以用来在光线不足的情况下摸索表面。
At last we can see the dim glow of daylight from above as we ascend towards the sun.
最后，当我们朝太阳升起的地方游时，我们可以看到上面微弱的日光。
Back in the shallows of the blue hole, Mike shows me around.
回到蓝洞浅滩，迈克带我四处看看。
The bottom looks like its sand, but it's actually a deep layer of silt.
底部看起来像沙，但实际上是一层很深的淤泥。
While Tim hovers high above the bottom to keep from kicking up the silt, I perform a little experiment.
当蒂姆在水底上方盘旋以防扬起淤泥时，我做了一个小实验。
Down on the bottom, I plunge my arm into the silt up to my shoulder and it's even deeper than that.
在底部，我把胳膊伸进淤泥中，一直到肩膀，甚至更深。
This is a layer of decomposing leaves and other organic stuff.
这是一层分解树叶和其他有机物的物质。
The decomposition creates hydrogen sulfide, a deadly gas that smells like rotting eggs.
分解产生硫化氢——一种致命的气体，闻起来像腐烂的鸡蛋。
The water is saturated with hydrogen sulfide and I can smell it in the water that seeps around the edge of my mask.
水里充满了硫化氢，我能透过面具边缘渗出的水闻到它的味道。
Wow. That dive can only be described as spooky. The water is kind of colored like mustard,
哇。那次潜水只能用幽灵来形容。水的颜色有点像芥末黄，
and you can't really see where you are going, and it's all swirly and if I wasn't following Mike I would have been totally lost.
看不清要去哪里，到处都是漩涡，如果我不跟着迈克，我就会完全迷路。
That dive was very spooky but really interesting.
那次潜水很吓人，但很有趣。
The next day I'm out on the ocean, suiting up for another dive. Mike has something he wants me to see.
第二天我就出海了，准备再次潜水。迈克要给我看些东西。
After the last dive, I can't imagine what crazy thing he is thinking now!
在最后一次潜水之后，我无法想象他现在在想什么疯狂的事情！
I roll into the water and follow Mike and his trademark pink fins down to the reef.
我入水跟着迈克和他那标志性的粉色鳍一起来到礁石。
Then we keep going down into a cavern below the reef.
然后我们继续下潜进入礁石下面的一个洞穴里。
At the bottom of the cavern, Mike points to a hole and motions for me to go in ahead of him.
在洞穴的底部，迈克指着一个洞，示意我走在他前面。
Once again, it's pretty spooky, but exciting at the same time. So in I go, with Tim and Mike right behind me.
再一次，相当可怕，但同时很兴奋。所以我进去了，蒂姆和迈克就在我后面。
Inside, it opens up into a big cave. We're not deep enough for stalactites though.
在里面，它打开进入一个大洞。不过，我们还没有足够深的钟乳石。
As we come around a corner, I look straight up to see light coming in from above through a huge crack in the rock.
当我们拐过一个拐角时，我抬头一看，只见岩石上的一条大裂缝里有光从上面射进来。
We make our way right up the fissure into the blue above.
我们沿着裂缝一直走到上面的蓝色区域。
I'm in an ocean blue hole, formed just like an inland blue hole 20,000 years ago during an ice age, when the ocean levels were much lower.
我在一个海洋蓝洞里，就像2万年前冰河时期的一个内陆蓝洞一样，当时海平面要低得多。
Once the ocean levels rose, this blue hole ended up underwater.
一旦海平面上升，这个蓝洞就会沉入水底。
But this blue hole connects through a vast labyrinth of caves to the inland blue holes.
但是这个蓝洞穿过一个巨大迷宫般的洞穴连接到内陆的蓝洞。
And as we emerge into the open ocean, something looks weird.
当我们出现在广阔的海洋中，有些东西看起来很奇怪。
When the tide goes out, all the water from inside the caves gets sucked out into the ocean, bringing with it silt and hydrogen sulfide from the inland blue holes!
当潮水退去时，洞里所有的水都被吸进了海里，将内陆蓝洞的淤泥和硫化氢一块儿给带来了!
It forms clouds near the bottom, with a distinct line between the clear ocean water above, and the silty hydrogen sulfide layer below.
它在海底附近形成云，在清澈的海水之间有一条清晰的线，下面是粉质硫化氢层。
What you are seeing here are the decomposing remains of forest vegetation which have passed entirely through the caves and out into the ocean!
你在这里看到的是森林植被的分解残留物，它们完全穿过洞穴，进入海洋!
Everywhere I find what look like strands of mucus floating in the water.
我发现水里到处都是漂浮着的黏液。
It's most likely mucus secreted by the coral in response to the caustic hydrogen sulfide.
这很可能是珊瑚对腐蚀性硫化氢反应分泌的粘液。
It's stuck on everything, including this gorgonian, which has closed all its polyps to protect itself from the hydrogen sulfide.
它粘在任何东西上，包括柳珊瑚，柳珊瑚关闭了所有的息肉来保护自己免受硫化氢的伤害。
As the tide carries the toxic water away, the corals will go back to normal.
当潮水把有毒的海水带走时，珊瑚就会恢复正常。
Finally, we head back to the boat. Tim and Mike hang on to the anchor line to do a short safety stop before we surface.
最后，我们回到船上。蒂姆和迈克紧紧抓住锚线，在我们浮出水面之前做一个短暂的安全停留。
My exploration of the Guardian blue hole on Andros was both fascinating and a little spooky.
我对Guardian蓝洞的探索既有趣又有点诡异。
But I have to admit I'm intrigued. There are quite a few more blue holes on Andros for me to explore, so I'll be back!
但我得承认我很感兴趣。安德罗斯岛上还有很多蓝洞等着我去探索，所以我会回来的！
