“百慕大三角之谜”已解开？

过去，曾有许多飞机和船只驶入百慕大三角地区后便神秘失踪，原因众说纷纭未有定论。最近，有科学家提出新理论，认为该区上空形成“六边形的怪云”，是令飞机和船只失事失踪的元凶。

Researchers in the US claim they have discovered the answer to the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.

美国的研究者声称已经破解了百慕大三角之谜。

Covering more than half a million square miles of ocean located between Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rica, the term "Bermuda Triangle" was first coined by writer Vincent H. Gaddis in 1964.

“百慕大三角”一词最先于1964年由作家文森特•嘉迪斯提出，是指百慕大群岛、佛罗里达州和波多黎各之间超过五十万平方千米的海域。

The area is notorious for (legend has it) the unusually high number of planes and ships that go missing there without trace.

据传说，有大量的飞机和船只曾在这片海域离奇失踪。“百慕大三角”因此臭名昭著。

In a new Science Channel documentary, meteorologists claim that an unusual type of cloud located in the region could be behind a number of the disappearances.

在科学频道新播出的一部纪录片中，气象学家们认为大部分的神秘失踪事件可能和这片海域上的一种不同寻常的云有关。

The hexagonal-shaped clouds, measuring between 20 and 50 miles across, can cause extremely localised high winds which, they speculate, could be the cause of some of the previously-unexplained incidents.

这种六边形的云有二十至五十英里宽，可以导致局部强风。他们推测，这可能就是部分未解事件的起因。

These types of hexagonal shapes over the ocean are in essence, 'air bombs,'' said Dr Randy Cerveny of Arizona State University.

“这种六边形的云在本质上就像‘航空炸弹’，”来自亚利桑那州立大学的兰迪•瑟维尼博士解释道。

They're formed by what are called microbursts.

“它们是由所谓的微暴流形成的。”

They're blasts of air that come down out of the bottom of the clouds and hit the ocean, and they create waves that can sometimes be massive in size once they start to interact with each other."

“这些下沉气流冲破云层底部‘撞向’海面，一旦相互作用会在海面上卷起巨大的海浪。”

However, some experts have disputed the meteorologists claims.

不过，一些专家对这种气象学解释提出了异议。

NBCs Kevin Corriveau said: "When I look at a hexagonal cloud shape in the Bahamas, this is not the cloud signature of what a microburst looks like.

美国全国广播公司的凯文•科里沃说道：“我在巴哈马曾见过六边形云，这看起来并不像形成微暴流的云层特征。”

You would normally have one large to extremely large thunderstorm that wouldn't have an opening in the middle."

“一般来说，那些能够引发雷暴乃至超大雷暴天气的云，它们的中部是不会有开口的。”

Others have pointed out that, while there have indeed been a number of disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle region, they are statistically relatively insignificant given the huge number of ships and aircraft that pass through the area.

然而，也有人指出，纵然在百慕大三角地区曾发生了多起失踪事件，但和经过该海域的船只和飞机的巨大数量相比，这些意外事件实际上显得微不足道。