Scientists Say California Mega-Quake Imminent
by Becky Kellogg ,
on Jun 27, 2011 11:57 am ET
Translation by Autumnson Blog
聖安地列斯斷層用紅色突出顯示，它擊穿南加州的心臟，包括沙頓海。
Like a steaming kettle with the top on, pressure is building beneath the surface of California that could unleash a monster earthquake at any time. That's according to a new study from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.
就像熱氣騰騰的水壺頂部開著，壓力在加州表面之下建立，可能在任何時候引發一場怪物地震。那是根據一項由斯克里普斯海洋研究所的新研究。
Geologists say Southern California is long overdue for a huge earthquake that could unleash widespread damage.
地質學家說，南加州出現一場能引發大範圍破壞的巨大地震早已到期。
It all comes down to the Salton Sea, which lies to the east of San Diego. The Salton Sea lies directly on the San Andreas Fault and covers more than 350 square miles.
這一切都歸結到索爾頓湖，它位於聖地亞哥的東部。索爾頓湖直接位於聖安地列斯斷層上，佔地超過350平方公里。
A big earthquake has hit the lake bed about every 180 years. But when officials started damming the Colorado River to reduce floods downstream (including in the Salton Sea), the moderate earthquakes stopped for the Salton.
每180年一場大地震會打擊湖床，但當官員開始在科羅拉多河築壩以減少下游的洪水（包括在索爾頓湖），温和地震在索爾頓停止。
Sounds like a good thing, right? Not necessarily. Seismologists think the damming stopped moderate stress-relieving earthquakes on the Salton. Now, they fear the pressure is building and the area could be as many as 100 years overdue for a mega-quake quake, measuring 7.5 or larger.
聽起來像是一件好事，對不？不一定的，地震學家認為築壩停止了在索爾頓上的中等壓力減輕地震。現在，他們擔心壓力在建立和該地區，可能是多達百年逾期的一場特大地震，量度7.5級或更大。
This sobering news comes just as a new poll is released that details Californians fears about earthquakes and other natural disasters.
http://wwworigin.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/california-quake-study_2011-06-27
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