北京過度抽取地下水 每年下沉11厘米(雙語)

Beijing is sinking。 Excessive pumping of groundwater is causing the geology under the city to collapse， according to a new study using satellite imagery that reveals parts of Beijing – particularly its central business district – are subsiding each year by as much as 11 centimetres， or more than four inches。

　　帝都在下沉。一項利用衛星圖像所做的最新研究顯示，過度抽取地下水正在導致這座城市的地下結構趨於瓦解，北京的部分地區——特別是CBD區域——正以每年11厘米或者逾4英寸的速度下沉。

　　The authors of the study warn that continued subsidence poses a safety threat to the city of more than 2o million， with 「a strong impact on train operations」 one of the predictions。

　　該研究的作者們發出警告，持續不斷的下沉正對這座有2千多萬人口的城市帶來安全威脅，其中的一項預測是「會對火車運行造成嚴重影響」。

　　The study on Beijing『s subsidence has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Remote Sensing and is based on InSAR， a type of radar that monitors land elevation changes。 It was written by a team of seven researchers， including three who explained their findings to the Guardian： Chinese academics Chen Mi [Capital Normal University， China] and Li Zhenhong [Newcastle University， UK]， and Spanish engineer Roberto Tomas [University of Alicante， Spain]。

　　這項關於北京下沉的研究已經發表在《遙感（Remote Sensing）》雜誌上，其研究基礎是可監測地面升降變化的合成孔徑雷達干涉技術（InSAR）。文章由一個七人研究人員小組撰寫而成，其中來自首都師範大學的陳蜜（音）、英國紐卡斯爾大學的李振洪（音）和西班牙阿利坎特大學的羅伯托·托馬斯（Roberto Tomas）三人還向《衛報》解釋了他們的研究發現。
Beijing sits in a dry plain where groundwater has accumulated over millennia。 As wells are drilled and the water table drops， the underlying soil compacts， much like a dried-out sponge。

　　北京位於一片乾旱的平原上，地下水已在此累積千年。隨著鑽井活動導致地下水位下降，下層土壤正變得密實，就像失水的海綿一樣。

　　The study finds that the entire city is sinking but the subsidence is most pronounced in Beijing『s Chaoyang district， which has boomed since 1990 with skyscrapers， ringroads and other development。 The researchers say the uneven nature of the subsidence in some areas poses risks to buildings and other infrastructure。

　　研究發現整座北京城都在下沉，而朝陽區的情況最為嚴重。自1990年以來，朝陽區蓬勃發展，建起大批摩天樓、環路和其他開發項目。研究人員稱，一些地區下沉程度的不均衡會為建築物以及其它基礎設施帶來風險。