P134 - Portugal - Lisboa - The Oceanario

The Oceanario (A Sea Water Equarium), Lisboa, Portugal

The Oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal is an oceanarium dedicated to the ocean. It is located in the Parque das Nações, which was the exhibition grounds for the Expo '98. It is the second largest in the world and the largest in Europe.

The building was completed in 1996 and is the work of the architectural firm Cambridge Seven Associates under the direction of Peter Chermayeff; it is said to resemble an Aircraft carrier, and is built into the pier on an internal sea. Peter Chermayeff is also the designer of the Osaka Oceanarium, the world's largest aquarium. The Lisbon Oceanarium has a large collection of marine species — birds, mammals, fish, cnidaria and other marine organisms. The building is a small ride from the heart of Lisbon and is a large tourist attraction. The architecture of this building is far from the ancient buildings of Lisbon though it is only a few minutes away.

In the centre of the building lies the key element of the exhibit: an impressive 1.000 m2 and 5.000 m3 tank with four massive 49 m2 acrylic windows on its sides. Smaller focus windows are strategically located around the tank, ensuring that the view to the Global Ocean is a constant component of the tour throughout the exhibit space. Its depth of 7 meters also creates a perfect opportunity for pelagic swimmers to swim far above the bottom dwellers, unfolding the illusion of the open ocean. The central tank houses sharks, rays and chimaeras. Vertebrate fish housed in the main tank include various tuna, barracuda, groupers, moray eels and one of the main attractions - a large Sunfish. Lisbon Oceanarium is one of the few aquariums in the world to house a sunfish due to their unique and demanding requirements for care.

Despite its intention of representing the open ocean, the Oceanarium has been criticised by several scientists for grouping together species that would never meet in nature. While it may not depict ecosystems as they would occur in nature, the Lisbon Oceanarium is home to over 16 000 animals and plants from over 450 distinct species. The four towers around the central tank of the building house four "oceans": the Antarctic, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian, with their native flora and fauna.

Other interesting species include two large spider crabs and the sea otters Eusébio and Amália, who are well known in Portugal.

欧洲最大的海洋生物水族馆之一。葡萄牙投资7000万美圆，馆内有超过15000多种海洋生物。有印度洋中典型的珊瑚礁以及大量的热带鱼系，有太平洋岩石海岸以及海草和水獭，有南极严寒的风光以及大群企鹅，有太平洋海岸大量鱼类和海洋生物体等。

里斯本海洋馆是为了迎接1998年世界博览会而建造的。当时投资7000万美圆，主馆建在美丽的特茹河畔，从远处看，海洋馆的屋顶像是众多的船桅杆。海洋馆的主体建筑物中有一个巨大的水箱，代表着整个海洋，其容量相当于4个奥林匹克游泳池。在这个巨大的水箱中，生活着200种鱼类，共2万多条。

主馆二十四公尺见方，七公尺深，代表外海，东南西北四个副馆，代表太平洋、大西洋、印度洋和南极洋，主馆和副馆分开，但所用玻璃间隔板，与海水的反射度一致，看不见分界，好像连在一起。大楼共分四层，楼上有数柱高耸入云的桅杆，屋顶和第四层的房壁用玻璃做成，阳光可直接射入，第三、四层是展示馆，游客循单行路线〈反时针方向〉参观，每一大洋有每一大洋的声音、气息和湿度，参观者一边看外海，一边体验着四大洋的生态环境。动物有哺乳类、鸟类、鱼类和无脊椎动物，共二万五千多动物个体，植物有陆生树、海边树、海草和海藻若干万棵。穿插在四大洋之间，有许多小型展示缸，每一缸展出特殊的动物行为和生态原理，也有许多图表室，展示洋流、航海史、渔业史、地球板块运动、卫星海洋图等等。第二层楼是维修和控制设备，第一层〈地下室〉是兽医治疗和动物适应池，许多动物展示之前必须经或长或短的适应期。

展览区分两层，都是围绕主体巨大的水箱逆时针参观的，上下两层的四个角各有一个副馆，副馆是敞开式的，有南极智利的小企鹅十分可爱，有水獭懒懒的躺在水面上，有海洋鸟类清脆的叫声……等，下层有一间小型电影馆，循环放映以海洋为主题的科普教育片。这里遗憾的是没有海豹、海狮和海豚表演。

巨大的水箱里有成群结队的鱼群。有长三米多的大鲨鱼、更多的是叫不出名的海鱼，成群成队的在这个漂亮的海地世界里游玩。主馆的四周遍布大大小小的玻璃展示缸，展示缸里分类陈列着热带鱼群，海洋生物，水母海藻等。整个建筑的内部墙面全是黑色，除了前进的路线人们很容易看到展示缸内的海洋动植物。五颜六色的热带鱼，色彩鲜艳的海葵海菊花等。
整个海洋馆一再向人们展示她是现代科技和艺术高度结合的产物。她是在用高科技展现海洋这个神秘主题。她是弘扬海洋文化和表现自我的一种艺术方式。

整座大楼象一个海上行宫，正在扬帆远去，航向神秘，航向未知。参观结束后，沿着长走廊走到出口，行在长桥上可以听到风声、涛声、海鸥声及深海鲸豚的歌声，出口正对面是一个以海洋系列为主题的礼品商店。商店里摆放着各式各样有关海洋的精美礼品、书籍和光盘。许多礼品制作精致考究，逼真可爱。

里斯本海洋馆是欧洲最大的水族馆之一。98年博览会结束后，它已更名为里斯本水族馆，每年大约吸引100多万观众到这里参观。
References sources : wikipedia,ddrtty.com