評論
打印
Earthquakes can be catastrophic natural disasters. But now we know that some earthquakes aren't natural. Human beings can actually cause them.
地震是毀滅性的自然災害。但據了解有些地震并不是自然形成的。實際上人類的活動也會導致火山爆發。
That's the case with an earthquake in Lorca, Spain, last May. The quake measured 5.1 on the Richter scale and killed nine people. According to an analysis published in Nature Geoscience, the Lorca quake was caused by the extraction of groundwater from an aquifer near the fault that slipped.
去年五月份的西班牙洛爾卡市火山爆發就是一個典型的例子。這次地震震級為里氏5.1級，共造成9人死亡。根據一項發表在《自然地球科學》期刊上的研究，洛爾卡地震是由于從地震帶滑動斷層附近的蓄水池抽水造成的。
In fact, it doesn't take much to trigger an earthquake. Oil and gas wells, rock quarries, even the added pressure of a reservoir lake behind a new dam can cause the ground to rumble. But we don't know what pressure levels are safe, nor is it clear whether man-made quakes are unique or just the early arrival of temblors that would have occurred naturally.
實際上，引發地震并不需要花費多少力氣。石油和天然氣鉆井以及采石場，甚至是大壩后的蓄水湖施加的壓力，都能導致大地坍塌，轟隆作響。但我們不知道安全的壓力值應保持在什么水平，也不清楚人造地震是否有其獨特之處，又或者只有自然發生的地震才會先有余震。
In the Lorca quake, the shaking itself was much stronger than might be expected from the removed water pressure. Which means we may be able to start earthquakes but we can’t predict their size. If we could, we might be able to relieve stress on schedule and without loss of property—or life.
在洛爾卡地震中，震動程度本身要比預期的強。這意味著人類也許能引發地震，但卻不能預測震級。如果可以的話，我們就能按日程緩解對地表的壓力，以免造成財產、生命損失。
原文譯文屬可可原創，未經允許請勿轉載！
