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The Bonneville Salt Flats is a famous area of white salt crystals in the American state of Utah.
博纳维尔盐滩是美国犹他州著名的白色盐晶区。
The area is so flat that on some days, people say they can see the curvature of the Earth.
该地区非常平坦，以至于在某些日子里，人们说他们可以看到地球的弧度。
The area has served as a place for racers to set land speed world records and for filmmakers to make movies like Independence Day and The World’s Fastest Indian.
该地区是赛车手创造陆地速度世界纪录的地方，也是电影制作人拍摄《独立日》和《世上最快的印第安摩托》等电影的地方。
But the ground of the area is growing thinner and thinner.
但该地区的地面变得越来越薄。
Those who love the area are demanding changes to save it.
那些喜欢这个地区的人要求做出改变来拯救它。
In the last 60 years, the ground has become thinner by about one-third.
在过去的60年里，地面已经变薄了约三分之一。
And the area of the Salt Flats has shrunk to about half of its largest size in 1994.
博纳维尔盐滩的面积已经缩小到1994年最大面积的一半左右。
The Salt Flats has a special ground that keeps car tires cool at high speeds and provides a perfect surface for racing.
博纳维尔盐滩有一个特殊的地面，可以让汽车轮胎在高速行驶时保持凉爽，并为赛车提供完美的表面。
But racers say it is difficult to find a space long enough to reach record speeds like they did many years ago.
但赛车手表示，很难像多年前那样找到足够长的空间来达到创纪录的速度。
Recently, race organizers had to cancel “Speed Week” events scheduled for this autumn after the Salt Flats flooded and left racers without enough space to drive on.
最近，由于博纳维尔盐滩洪水泛滥，导致赛车手没有足够的空间继续开车，比赛组织者不得不取消原定于今年秋季举行的“速度周”活动。
Research has shown that the salty water in the aquifer – the layer of rock or sand that holds water below the flats - is decreasing quickly.
研究表明，含水层（在平地下保存水的岩层或沙层）中的咸水正在迅速减少。
Scientists largely agree that years of aquifer use by nearby potash mining has been one cause behind the problem.
科学家普遍认为，附近的钾矿多年来一直在开采含水层，这是造成这一问题的原因之一。
Still, scientists say that there is no hard evidence that paying the mining company to return water to the area will solve the issue.
尽管如此，科学家表示，没有确凿的证据表明，向这家矿业公司支付费用以使得水返回该地区就能解决这个问题。
This is because other human activities – such as taking other kinds of minerals and driving racecars – also have effects on the land.
这是因为其他人类活动——如开采其他种类的矿物和驾驶赛车——也对这片土地产生了影响。
Officials are paying for a new study as they try to find a solution.
官员们正在为一项新的研究提供资金，因为他们试图找到解决方案。
Researchers are trying to understand why the salt is decreasing and what can be done to stop it.
研究人员正试图了解盐含量减少的原因以及可以采取哪些措施来阻止它。
Under a $1 million research project headed by the Utah Geographical Study, scientists are gathering information to understand the effects that climate change, racing and mining have on the Salt Flats.
在犹他州地理研究所牵头的一个耗资100万美元的研究项目中，科学家正在收集信息，以了解气候变化、赛车和采矿对该盐滩的影响。
Dennis Sullivan is a car builder and racer who set a land speed record in his 1927 Model T car.
丹尼斯·沙利文是一名汽车制造商和赛车手，他在1927年驾驶T型车创造了陆地速度纪录。
His group, the Salt Flats Racing Association, believes the potash mining company that takes minerals from the flats is the main reason for the aquifer decline.
他所在的组织“盐滩赛车协会”认为，从盐滩中开采矿物的钾矿开采公司是含水层下降的主要原因。
But he and other racers blame the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the area.
但他和其他赛车手指责负责监管该地区的美国土地管理局。
To save the area, Sullivan says, the U.S. government needs to find $50 million over 10 years to pay Intrepid Potash, the mining company, to pour salty water it has drawn from the land back onto the flats.
沙利文说，为了拯救该地区，美国政府需要在10年内找到5000万美元，支付给矿业公司Intrepid Potash，让它把从土地上抽取的咸水倒回盐滩里。
He does not like seeing more time and money spent on research when, to him, the solution is clear.
他不喜欢看到更多的时间和金钱花在研究上，因为在他看来，解决方案是明确的。
“In the world I came from, you study something, you figure out what changes you need to make, you make the changes and then you go back and study it again to see if your changes had an effect on it,” Sullivan said.
沙利文说：“在我的世界里，你研究一些东西，你弄清楚你需要做出哪些改变，你做出改变，然后你再回去研究，看看你的改变是否对它产生了影响。”
Although racers say the answer is clear, scientists believe that there is no hard evidence that simply returning salty water will reverse the bad effects on the Flats.
尽管赛车手说答案很明确，但科学家认为，没有确凿的证据表明，只需把咸水倒回盐滩上就能扭转对该盐滩已造成的不良影响。
A 2016 study found that the areas most likely to thin were places where races are organized.
2016年的一项研究发现，最有可能变薄的区域是组织比赛的地方。
In simple terms, races might change how water flows through the ground, said Jeremiah Bernau of the Utah Geological Survey.
犹他州地质调查局的杰里米·伯诺说，简单地说，赛车可能会改变水在地面上流动的方式。
“Every use is going to have some sort of” effect on the land, Bernau suggested.
伯诺认为，“每一种用途都会对土地产生某种”影响。
He added, “My work is trying to understand how is that working and what are the actions that we can do in terms of helping to preserve this landscape."
他还说，“我的工作是试图了解这是如何产生作用的，以及我们可以采取哪些措施来帮助保护这片景观。”
I’m Ashley Thompson.
阿什利·汤普森为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
