Editor’s Note: Today’s story is the answer to the August Puzzler .
编者注：今天的故事就是八月谜题的答案。
Tides are among the clearest signs of the Moon’s pull on Earth. Just 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers) away, the Moon’s gravity pulls on Earth’s oceans and solid crust , subtly distorting them into a more oblong shape with bulges roughly extending toward and away from the Moon.
潮汐是月球对地球引力最明显的迹象之一。距离月球仅 239,000 英里（385,000 公里），月球的引力牵引着地球的海洋和固体地壳，巧妙地将它们扭曲成椭圆形，凸起大致向月球延伸或远离月球。
High tides happen throughout Earth’s oceans, but in some places they leave an unusually strong fingerprint on the landscape. Among those places is Roebuck Bay, a crescent-shaped feature in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
地球上的所有海洋都会发生涨潮，但在某些地方，涨潮会在地貌上留下异常强烈的痕迹。其中包括罗巴克湾（Roebuck Bay），它是西澳大利亚金伯利地区的一个新月形地貌。
Roebuck Bay’s tidal range can reach a remarkable 9 meters (30 feet). Rising and falling tides repeatedly inundate and expose expansive mudflats, flood broad mangrove forests and salt marshes, and feed branching networks of tidal drainage channels. Many parts of Australia have tidal ranges of 2 meters or less . But the large range at Roebuck Bay is mostly a consequence of northwestern Australia’s unusually wide, shallow continental shelf , which helps amplify tides as they approach the coast.
罗巴克湾的潮差可达惊人的 9 米（30 英尺）。涨潮和落潮反复淹没和暴露广阔的泥滩，淹没广阔的红树林和盐沼，并为潮汐排水渠道的分支网络提供水源。澳大利亚许多地区的潮差为 2 米或更小。但罗巴克湾的大范围主要是澳大利亚西北部异常宽而浅的大陆架造成的，这有助于在潮汐接近海岸时放大潮汐。
The image at the top of the page shows the bay on March 18, 2026, when water levels were high. Green mangrove forests grow thickly along the shoreline and line the mouths of a network of evenly spaced, linear tidal creeks. These mangrove forests are dynamic. Analysis of decades of Landsat observations shows them expanding westward by nearly 2 meters per year as sediment from the waterways to the east accumulates in the sheltered bay.
页面顶部的图片显示了 2026 年 3 月 18 日的海湾，当时水位很高。绿色的红树林沿着海岸线茂密生长，并排列在均匀分布的线性潮汐小溪网络的河口处。这些红树林充满活力。对数十年 Landsat 观测结果的分析显示，随着东部水道的沉积物在受庇护的海湾中堆积，它们每年向西扩张近 2 米。
Farther inland, branching networks of tidal drainage channels connect with the tidal creeks, giving the bay its feathered appearance. These channels, partially obscured by thick vegetation in March, were more visible earlier and later in the year, when vegetation was thinner.
在内陆更远的地方，潮汐排水渠道的分支网络与潮汐小溪相连，使海湾呈现出羽毛般的外观。这些河道在三月份被茂密的植被部分遮挡，但在一年中的早些时候和晚些时候，当植被稀疏时，它们变得更加明显。
Monsoonal rains, typically falling between December and March, transform the landscape around the bay into lush grasslands and seasonal wetlands. As the rains fade in May and June and the dry season takes hold, these ephemeral grasses and sedge ecosystems die back, turning the landscape shades of gold and brown. The consistent spacing of the tidal creeks is likely not a tidal effect; it appears to be influenced by the regular spacing of linear dunes in the broader region, as seen in the plains to the east .
季风降雨通常发生在 12 月至 3 月期间，将海湾周围的景观变成郁郁葱葱的草原和季节性湿地。随着五月和六月雨水的减少和旱季的到来，这些短暂的草和莎草生态系统逐渐枯死，使景观变成金色和棕色。潮汐溪流的一致间距很可能不是潮汐效应；它似乎受到更广泛地区线性沙丘规则间距的影响，如东部平原所示。
The bay’s dramatic tidal and seasonal changes are striking from above, and they also support a bounty of life on the ground. The mangroves serve as nurseries for crustaceans and fish, and the mudflats teem with dozens of types of invertebrates, including snails, worms, crabs, clams, and cockles. Shells and snails can reach an abundance of 2,500 per square meter , according to the Australian government.
从上方看，海湾戏剧性的潮汐和季节变化十分引人注目，同时也孕育了地面上丰富的生命。红树林是甲壳类动物和鱼类的繁殖地，泥滩上栖息着数十种无脊椎动物，包括蜗牛、蠕虫、螃蟹、蛤和鸟蛤。据澳大利亚政府称，贝壳和蜗牛的数量可达每平方米 2,500 个。
This bounty of marine life is a major draw for birds. The bay, one of the most important sites for migratory birds in Australia and a key stop on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway , regularly hosts hundreds of thousands of birds, including plovers, godwits, and knots.
丰富的海洋生物对鸟类来说是一大吸引力。该海湾是澳大利亚最重要的候鸟栖息地之一，也是东亚-澳大利亚迁徙路线上的重要一站，定期栖息着数十万只鸟类，包括鸻、塍鹬和滨鹬。
NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey . Story by Adam Voiland.
NASA 地球观测站图像由 Lauren Dauphin 使用美国地质调查局的陆地卫星数据拍摄。亚当·沃伊兰的故事。