马特洪峰是全球变暖的最新受害者

马特洪峰是全球变暖的最新受害者

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，要想与马特洪峰亲密接触，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.

这只魁梧的巨兽，是阿尔卑斯山上最容易辨认的形状，横跨瑞士和意大利之间的边界，最高点海拔14692英尺。

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

但是名气并不能使它免于屈从于气候变化：马特宏峰真的在破裂。

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.

上个月，一组研究人员在1.3万英尺的高空安装了50个运动传感器，以监测这座山如何应对不断上升的气温和融化的永久冻土(地表下的冻土层)。他们将这些数据发回山区向导进行风险评估，发现裂缝的形成和扩大导致了岩崩和山体滑坡。

“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.”

“当夏季高山融化时，硬度降低，地表沉积物被水浸湿和摇晃。研究人员JanBeutel告诉《星期日泰晤士报》说：“想想Stracciatella冰淇淋，巧克力片比香草冰淇淋多。”“裂缝会扩大和移动。每年有许多继续在同一方向移动，然后，在某个时候，表面的小规模破裂了。如果有更多的冰存在——就像过去的登山运动一样——那就不会那么糟糕了，因为冰盖仍然会把这些碎片粘在一起。”

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.

冰的流失扩展到了阿尔卑斯山的其他地区。世界冰川监测服务中心报告的数据显示，冰川的持续损失被认为是气候变化最敏感的指标之一。

“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.

科学家Mauri Pelto在评论网站上写道：“在连续30年的高山冰川质量损失之后，很明显，高山冰川的‘饮食/生活方式’并不健康，随着气候的变化，高山冰川将继续向下的健康循环。”在过去的一个世纪里，阿尔卑斯山大气变暖的幅度，是全球平均气温上升幅度的两倍多。

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.

马特宏峰不仅仅是一座山。它与瑞士的身份交织在一起，是登山爱好者的至尊之巅，金字塔的顶端是摄影师们最喜爱的主题。

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，人类首次登上珠峰，标志着高山登山运动的黄金时代。那次攀登造成7名登山者中的4人死亡，当时1人滑倒，另外3人也跟着滑倒。本月早些时候，在今年第七位登山者死亡后，导游呼吁官员关闭这座山，称其“太危险”。仅在7月份，这座山就夺去了3条生命，其中一条是一名登山向导，而另外两人的死因是什么?是落石。