“Liquefaction” Key to Much of Japanese Earthquake Damage“液化”键很多日本的地震破坏

The massive subduction zone1 earthquake in Japan caused a significant level of soil

大规模俯冲区地震在日本造成了相当程度的土壤

“液化”2使研究者以其广泛的严重性，一个新的分析表明。

"We've seen localized3 examples of soil liquefaction as extreme as this before, but the distance and extent of damage in Japan were unusually severe," said Scott Ashford, a professor of geotechnical engineering4 at Oregon State University5. "Entire structures were tilted and sinking into the sediments," Ashford said. "The shifts in soil destroyed water, drain and gas pipelines6, crippling the utilities and infrastructure these communities need to function . We saw some places that sank as much as four feet."

“我们已经看到了localized3土壤液化极端的例子之前，但距离和损伤程度在日本是非常严重的，”史葛说阿什福德，岩土工程教授在俄勒冈州立大学。”整个结构倾斜和下沉到沉积物中，”阿什福德说。”改变土壤破坏水，排水和燃气pipelines6瘫痪的设施和基础设施，这些社区需要的功能。我们看到了一些地方，高达四英尺。”

Some degree of soil liquefaction7 is common in almost any major earthquake. It's a phenomenon in which soils soaked with water, particularly recent sediments or sand, can lose much of their strength and flow during an earthquake. This can allow structures to shift or sink or collapse .

一定程度的土壤liquefaction7是常见的几乎任何大地震。这一现象在土壤与水浸泡，特别是最近的沉积物或沙子，可以大大减少其强度和流动地震期间。这可以允许结构转变或沉或崩溃。

But most earthquakes are much shorter than the recent event in Japan, Ashford said. The length of the Japanese earthquake, as much as five minutes, may force researchers to reconsider the extent of liquefaction damage possibly occurring in situations such as this8.

但大部分地震是短得多的最近的事件在日本，阿什福德说。长度的日本地震，长达五分钟，会迫使研究者重新考虑液化的程度的损害可能发生在这种情况下this8。

"With such a long-lasting earthquake, we saw how structures that might have been okay after 30 seconds just continued to sink and tilt as the shaking continued for several more minutes," he said. "And it was clear that younger sediments, and especially areas built on recently filled ground, are much more vulnerable."

“有了这样一个持久的地震，我们看到的结构，可能是好的30秒后就继续下沉，倾斜的震动持续了几分钟，”他说。”很明显，较年轻的沉积物，特别是地区建立在新填地，更容易受到伤害。”

The data provided by analyzing the Japanese earthquake, researchers said, should make it possible to improve the understanding of this soil phenomenon and better prepare for it in the future. Ashford said it was critical for the team to collect the information quickly, before damage was removed in the recovery efforts9.

所提供的数据分析日本地震，研究人员说，应该能够更好地理解这一现象和土壤更好地准备在未来。阿什福德说，这是至关重要的团队来收集信息迅速，损坏之前被删除的恢复efforts9。

"There's no doubt that we'll learn things from what happened in Japan10 that11 will help us to reduce risks in other similar events ," Ashford said. "Future construction in some places may make more use of techniques known to reduce liquefaction, such as better compaction to make soils dense, or use of reinforcing stone columns."

“毫无疑问，我们将学到的东西，从发生的事情japan10that11会帮助我们减少风险在其他类似的活动，”阿什福德说。”未来的建设在一些地方可以使用更多的技术，以减少液化，如更好的压实，使土壤密实，或使用增强的石柱。”

Ashford pointed out that northern California have younger soils vulnerable to liquefaction ---on the coast, near river deposits or in areas with filled ground. The "young" sediments, in geologic terms, may be those deposited within the past 10,000 years or more. In Oregon, for instance, that describes much of downtown Portland, the Portland International Airport and other cities.

阿什福德指出，加利福尼亚北部有年轻的土壤易液化，在海岸附近，河流沉积或地区填土。“年轻”的沉积物，在地质条件，可存放在过去的10000年或以上。在俄勒冈，例如，描述了波特兰市区，波特兰国际机场和其他城市。

Anything near a river and old flood plains is a suspect12, and the Oregon Department of Transportation has already concluded that 1,100 bridges in the state are at risk from an earthquake. Fewer than 15 percent of them have been reinforced to prevent collapse. Japan has suffered tremendous losses in the March 11 earthquake, but Japanese construction standards helped prevent many buildings from collapse ---even as they tilted and sank into the ground.

任何附近的河流和老冲积平原是一个suspect12，和俄勒冈交通部门已得出结论，1100座桥梁的状态是危险的地震。少于百分之15人已加强防止崩溃。日本在三月十一日的地震中遭受巨大损失，但日本建筑标准有助于防止许多建筑物倒塌，即使他们并沉入地面倾斜。

词汇：

subduction /sʌb'dʌkʃən/ n.俯冲 sediment /'sedimənt/ n.沉积;沉淀物

liquefaction /likwi'fækʃən/ n.液化 infrastructure /'Infrə,strʌktʃə/ n.基础设施

geotecnical /dʒiəu'teknikəl] adj.岩土技术 compaction /kəm'pækʃən/ n.压紧的

vulnerable /'vʌlnərəbl/ ad].易受伤害的

注释：

1. subduction zone：俯冲带。亦称下降带、潜没带、消亡带。板块构造说认为，当大洋板块移动并与大陆板块相遇时，由于大洋板块岩石密度较大，地位也低，便俯冲到大陆板块之下，这一俯冲部分叫做俯冲带。俯冲带两侧板块会聚边界称会聚边缘(convergent boundary)。俯冲带上面反映震源活动的地带称“贝尼奥夫地震带(Benioff seismic zone)"。

2. soil "liquefaction"：土壤液化。土壤液化现象是指由于孔隙水压力上升，有效应力减小所导致的土壤从固态到液态的变化，饱水的疏松的粉、细砂土在振动作用下突然破坏而呈现液

态的现象。

3. localized：小范围的

4. geotechnical engineering：岩土工程。

5. Oregon State University：俄勒冈州立大学，建校于1858年，位于美国俄勒冈州科瓦利斯，全校设11个学院，80多个专业，尤以农科和工程最为突出。2008年俄勒冈州立大学的核能工程专业在全美大学中排名第9名。

6. water, drain and gas pipelines：自来水管道、排水管道和煤气管道。"water, drain and gaspipelines” 即“water pipelines, drain pipelines and gas pipelines"。

7. some degree of soil liquefaction：某种程度的土壤液化

8. to reconsider the extent of liquefaction damage possibly occurring in situations such as this：本句的意思是：重新审视类似这次(持续时间长的)地震中因土壤液化而可能造成的毁坏的规模。

9. recovery efforts：重建工作

10. that we'll learn things from what happened in Japan：我们将从日本的地震中学到很多东西。该句是同位语从句，说出前半句no doubt的内容。

11. that：that引导的是定语从句，修辞前半句中的things。

12.suspect：被怀疑对象。文中指的是那些疑似危险的土壤。