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This is not the first time Everest's height has triggered
arguments | |
China is to re-measure the world's tallest peak,
Mount Everest, because of
fears it may be shrinking.
A recent survey found the summit had dropped by 1.3 metres (4 ft)
because of global warming.
The height of the mountain, which lies on the border between China and
Nepal, has long been a subject of controversy.
It was first measured in the 1850s, but a more accurate Indian survey
100 years later calculated the mountain to be 8,848m tall.
In 1999, American scientists re-measured the mountain using global
positioning satellite technology.
They - and the National Geographic Society - concluded that the peak
was two metres higher.
But now global warming is melting glaciers
on the world's highest mountain, apparently causing it to
shrink.
Chinese scientists will map Everest in March to check estimates that it
is more than a metre shorter than before.
No matter how big it really is, Mount Everest's height is unlikely to
stay constant.
The movement of the earth's tectonic plates is forcing the Himalayas
upwards, reportedly causing Everest to grow by about a centimetre every
year.
(By Louisa Lim, BBC News, Beijing) |
由于擔(dān)心珠穆朗瑪峰的海拔可能正在降低，中國將重新測量這座世界最高峰。
最近的一份調(diào)查顯示，受全球變暖的影響，珠穆朗瑪峰降低了1.3米（4英尺)。
珠穆朗瑪峰位于中國和尼泊爾邊界，它的海拔高度歷來是有爭議的話題。
19世紀(jì)50年代，人們首次對珠穆朗瑪峰的海拔高度進(jìn)行測量，但100年后，印度人進(jìn)行了一次更精確的測量，計(jì)算出珠穆朗瑪峰的海拔高度為8848米。
1999年，美國科學(xué)家們利用全球定位系統(tǒng)重新測量了珠峰的高度。
他們和美國國家地理協(xié)會共同得出的結(jié)論是：珠峰比8848米還要高2米。
然而現(xiàn)在受全球變暖的影響，世界最高峰上的冰川開始融化，海拔明顯降低。
中國科學(xué)家們將于今年3月對珠穆朗瑪峰進(jìn)行勘測，以檢查海拔是否如預(yù)計(jì)那樣降低1米多。
無論珠峰的海拔到底下降了多少，它的海拔高度不太可能保持不變。
地球板塊的活動(dòng)使喜馬拉雅山不斷升高，據(jù)說珠穆朗瑪峰每年升高1厘米左右。
（中國日報(bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2005-01-31 10:14