This triggered other dramatic changes. As sea levels dropped, so did the inland water tables. Florida's fresh water drained away through the porous limestone rock. Pools dried up and springs diminished. Florida was on the brink of drought. And animals would have had to travel to find food and water. So each year, mastodons would have migrated to the wetter regions.
这引起了其他的一些巨大变化。海平面越降越低,内陆水位也是一样。佛罗里达的淡水都从多孔的石灰岩中流走。小水池和泉水都干涸了。佛罗里达处于干旱的边缘。动物们必须长途跋涉以寻找食物和水源。因此,每年乳齿象都是迁徙都更加湿润的地区。
But in a few key places, water was still pushed up from underground as a spring, a vital oasis where wildlife would have converged from many miles around. Many animals would have fed on the surrounding vegetation and others come here to drink. And predators would have laid an ambush for the unwary. It's no wonder that so many fossil bones have been found on the bottom of these springs, clues that can open up a window on the ice age past.
但是在一些关键的地区,淡水还是能够从地表流出形成泉水,这就成型了一个重要的绿洲,几公里外的动物们都会因此聚集到一起。很多动物都会以周围的植被为食,也有一些只是到这里饮水。而肉食动物则会在这里埋伏着,准备对那些不警惕的动物们来个出其不意。毫无疑问,在这些泉水的河底能够发现很多化石骨骼,这些骨骼会我们更好地了解冰河时代的过去提供了重要的依据。
Bringing this evidence together, we can create a living picture of this region as it was then. We can now go back 13,000 years and see what a day around one of Florida's springs might have been like.
将这些线索集合起来,我们就能够想象出这个地区过去是什么样子。现在我们返回13000年前,看看佛罗里达小溪的一天究竟是什么样子。
Dawn on the southeast tip of ice age North America. On the banks of a spring-fed pool, the early grazers stir.
我们会逐渐了解这次向着冰河时代的北美东南之行。在泉水的河岸处,早起的吃草动物在徘徊着。
英文文本来自普特英语,译文属可可原创,仅供学习交流使用,未经许可不得转载。