馬特洪峰是全球變暖的最新受害者

馬特洪峰是全球變暖的最新受害者

Soon the only way to get up close and personal with the peak of the Matterhorn will be to pick up a package of Toblerone chocolate.

很快，要想與馬特洪峰親密接觸，唯一的方法就是拿起一包Toblerone巧克力。

The craggy behemoth, which is the most recognizably shaped mountain in the Alps and straddles the border between Switzerland and Italy, measures 14,692 feet above sea level at its highest point.

這只魁梧的巨獸，是阿爾卑斯山上最容易辨認的形狀，橫跨瑞士和意大利之間的邊界，最高點海拔14692英尺。

But fame won’t save it from succumbing to climate change: The Matterhorn is quite literally cracking.

但是名氣并不能使它免于屈從于氣候變化：馬特宏峰真的在破裂。

Last month, a team of researchers installed 50 movement sensors at 13,000 feet to monitor how the mountain is coping with rising temperatures and melting permafrost, the layer of frozen soil beneath the Earth’s surface. Sending the data back to mountain guides for risk assessment, they’ve found developing and expanding fissures that lead to rockfalls and landslides.

上個月，一組研究人員在1.3萬英尺的高空安裝了50個運動傳感器，以監(jiān)測這座山如何應(yīng)對不斷上升的氣溫和融化的永久凍土(地表下的凍土層)。他們將這些數(shù)據(jù)發(fā)回山區(qū)向?qū)нM行風險評估，發(fā)現(xiàn)裂縫的形成和擴大導致了巖崩和山體滑坡。

“When the high mountains thaw in summer, the stiffness decreases and the ground sediments get soggy and wobbly with water. Think stracciatella ice cream with much more chocolate chips than vanilla ice cream,” researcher Jan Beutel tells the Sunday Times. “Cracks expand and move. Many continue to move in the same direction every year and then, at some point, it’s too much and a small scale of the surface breaks off. If there were more ice in place — as in the good old mountaineering past — it wouldn’t be that bad, since the ice cover would still hold these pieces together.”

“當夏季高山融化時，硬度降低，地表沉積物被水浸濕和搖晃。研究人員JanBeutel告訴《星期日泰晤士報》說：“想想Stracciatella冰淇淋，巧克力片比香草冰淇淋多。”“裂縫會擴大和移動。每年有許多繼續(xù)在同一方向移動，然后，在某個時候，表面的小規(guī)模破裂了。如果有更多的冰存在——就像過去的登山運動一樣——那就不會那么糟糕了，因為冰蓋仍然會把這些碎片粘在一起。”

This loss of ice extends to the rest of the Alps. Data reported by the World Glacier Monitoring Service shows a steady loss in glaciers, which are recognized as one of the most sensitive indicators of climate change.

冰的流失擴展到了阿爾卑斯山的其他地區(qū)。世界冰川監(jiān)測服務(wù)中心報告的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，冰川的持續(xù)損失被認為是氣候變化最敏感的指標之一。

“After 30 consecutive years of alpine glacier mass loss, it is clear that the ‘diet/lifestyle’ of alpine glaciers is not healthy and, as the climate they live in changes, alpine glaciers will continue a downward health spiral,” said scientist Mauri Pelto in his writeup on commentary site Real Climate. Over the last century, the warming of the atmosphere of the Alps has increased by more than double the rise in average global temperature.

科學家Mauri Pelto在評論網(wǎng)站上寫道：“在連續(xù)30年的高山冰川質(zhì)量損失之后，很明顯，高山冰川的‘飲食/生活方式’并不健康，隨著氣候的變化，高山冰川將繼續(xù)向下的健康循環(huán)。”在過去的一個世紀里，阿爾卑斯山大氣變暖的幅度，是全球平均氣溫上升幅度的兩倍多。

The Matterhorn is more than just a mountain. It is intertwined with Swiss identity and a prized summit for mountain climbers, its pyramidal apex a favorite subject of photographers.

馬特宏峰不僅僅是一座山。它與瑞士的身份交織在一起，是登山愛好者的至尊之巔，金字塔的頂端是攝影師們最喜愛的主題。

Its first ascent by humans, in 1865, marked the golden age of alpine mountaineering. That ascent killed four of the seven climbers after one slipped and took three others down with him. Earlier this month, after the seventh climber death of this year, guides called on officials to close the mountain for being “too dangerous.” In July alone, the mountain claimed three lives, one of them a mountain guide. The cause of two of the deaths? Falling rock.

1865年，人類首次登上珠峰，標志著高山登山運動的黃金時代。那次攀登造成7名登山者中的4人死亡，當時1人滑倒，另外3人也跟著滑倒。本月早些時候，在今年第七位登山者死亡后，導游呼吁官員關(guān)閉這座山，稱其“太危險”。僅在7月份，這座山就奪去了3條生命，其中一條是一名登山向?qū)?，而另外兩人的死因是什?是落石。