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The vast patch of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean is far worse than previously thought, with an aerial survey finding a much larger mass of fishing nets, plastic containers and other discarded items than imagined.
一项航空勘察发现，太平洋表面漂浮的巨大垃圾带远比之前想象的糟糕。大量的渔网，塑料瓶和其他废弃物品，多的超乎想象！
A reconnaissance flight taken in a modified C-130 Hercules aircraft found a vast clump of mainly plastic waste at the northern edge of what is known as the "great Pacific garbage patch", located between Hawaii and California.
在太平洋北部边缘侦测过程中，一辆改良过的C-130大力神飞机，发现了一片主要由塑料废弃物构成的垃圾带--也就是众所周知的、位于夏威夷和加州之间"大太平洋垃圾带"。
The density of rubbish was several times higher than the Ocean Cleanup, a foundation part-funded by the Dutch government to rid the oceans of plastics, expected to find even at the heart of the patch, where most of the waste is concentrated.
这里的垃圾密度是海洋清理计划的好几倍。海洋清理计划是由荷兰政府部分出资建立的一个基金会，旨在清除海洋里甚至是垃圾带中心区域的塑料废物，而大部分废物都聚集在中心区。
"Normally when you do an aerial survey of dolphins or whales, you make a sighting and record it," said Boyan Slat, the founder of the Ocean Cleanup.
海洋清理计划创始人博扬·斯拉特表示："通常情况下，当你对海豚或者鲸鱼做航空勘察时，你会观测并且进行记录。"
"That was the plan for this survey. But then we opened the door and we saw the debris everywhere. Every half second you see something. So we had to take snapshots – it was impossible to record everything. It was bizarre to see that much garbage in what should be pristine ocean."
"那就是这项调查的计划。当着手调查时，我们发现到处都是垃圾。每0.5秒你都会看到一些东西。所以我们不得不拍摄快照。当然，记录下所有东西是不可能的。看到本应纯洁无暇的海洋里有这么多垃圾，感觉非常不可思议。"
The heart of the garbage patch is thought to be around 1m sq km (386,000 sq miles), with the periphery spanning a further 3.5m sq km (1,351,000 sq miles). The dimensions of this morass of waste are continually morphing, caught in one of the ocean's huge rotating currents.
垃圾带中心范围大约有1平方千米，周长超过3.5千米。受海洋较大的旋转水流之一影响，这团废物在不断改变形状。
The north Pacific gyre has accumulated a soup of plastic waste, including large items and smaller broken-down micro plastics that can be eaten by fish and enter the food chain.
北太平洋涡流已经聚集了一大片废物，其中包括大件物品和较小的被毁坏的小塑料片，鱼类可以食用后者，使得小塑料片进入海洋食物链。
Last year, the Ocean Cleanup sent 30 vessels to cross the patch to scoop up micro plastics in fine nets to estimate the extent of the problem.
去年，海洋清理计划派出30艘船横穿垃圾带，打捞密网里的微小塑料片，来估测问题的严重程度。
However, the new reconnaissance flights from California have found that large items of more than half a meter in size have been "heavily underestimated".
然而，来自加州的最近航空勘察发现，半米多长的大件垃圾被"远远低估"了。
Slat said: "Most of the debris was large stuff. It's a ticking time bomb because the big stuff will crumble down to micro plastics over the next few decades if we don't act."
斯拉特说："大部分垃圾都是大块头。这是一个定时炸弹。如果我们不采取行动，这些大家伙就会在未来几十年分解成塑料碎片。"
A report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation earlier this year predicted there would be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050 unless urgent action was taken.
在今年早些时候由艾伦·麦克阿瑟基金会发布的报告预测称，如果我们不采取行动，那么到2050年，海洋中的垃圾就会比鱼还多！
