The Italy-Switzerland border is melting

       Tucked（被折叠） between the Alps, at the border of Italy and Switzerland is a restaurant.

       阿尔卑斯山脉之间，在意大利和瑞士的边界上有一家餐厅。

       For tourists visiting from around the world, the Rifugio Guide del Cervino offers a break from winter sports for food, drinks, lodging. And as this reviewer called it :”A great Italian experience.”

       Rifugio Guide del Cervino 为来自全世界的游客提供冬季运动的食物、饮料和住宿休息。正如这位评论者所说的：“这是一次很棒的意大利体验”

       But something unexpected is happening here. The nearby Theodul Glacier（冰川） is melting. And as it does, this little Italian lodge is on the verge of（接近于） moving into Switzerland.

       但是意想不到的事情发生了——附近的 Theodul Glacier 正在融化。就是这个时候，这个小小的意大利旅馆即将搬到瑞士。

       Most of Italy’s land border follows the watershed（分水岭） along the Alps. There is this imaginary line. That divides the water that falls in the Mediterranean Sea in the south… Or in the north, into the black sea via the Dunbe… Or to the North Sea. That is Marco Ferrari. He wrote a book about this border with architect Andrea Bagnato and visual designer Elisa Pasqual.

       意大利大部分的国土边界沿着阿尔卑斯山脉的分水岭。这条假象的线把地中海南部的雨水分成两半，或者在北部通过 Dunbe 进入黑海，或者进入北部的海。那是Marco Ferrari，他与建筑师Andrea Bagnato和视觉设计师Elisa Pasqual一起写了一本关于这种边界的书。

       This watershed line traces many of the highest peaks of the Alps— Forming a natural border between countries.

       这条分水岭线连接了很多阿尔卑斯山脉的最高峰从而形成了两个国家的天然边界。

       Much of it is marked by over 8,000 boundary stones like these. Some of which have been around since 16th century.

       沿途很多地方都被8000多块这样的界石标记。其中一些早在16世纪就已经存在。

       But in the most rugged（崎岖的） terrain（地形）, where physical markers are few and far between, Swiss, Italian, and Austrian cartographic（制图的） agencies have long maintained official border records with meticulous（细致的） measurements and annotated（带注释的） pictures like these.

       但是在地势崎岖的地方物理标记很少而且离国家很远。瑞士、意大利和奥地利的制图机构长期以来一直通过精细的测量仪器和带注释的照片来维持官方的国界记录。

       Some of these areas are top of glaciers. Their surfaces are too reflective for satellites（卫星）—which are often used to measure borders.

       有一些地方在冰川的顶部。从卫星上看他们的表面非常反光——那些被经常用来测量国界的。

       The work by surveyors is done manually（手工的）.  So every few years, there’s a commission（考察团） of surveyors composed of members of both countries that actually walk the border and look how it has changed.

       这个工作被调查者手工完成。所以每隔几年，就会有两个国家成员组成的调查团巡视国界，看看它们是如何变化的。

       As early as the 1920s, surveyors noticed a “slow but progressive” shrinking（收缩） among glacier… and that “some had disappeared”.

       早在20世纪20年代，调查者们就注意到冰川中的一些正在“缓慢但渐渐的”缩小……以及“它们中的一些已经消失了”。

       But by the 1990s, it became clear that summer melt and had outpaced（超过……的速度） winter accumulation.

       但是到了20世纪90年代，很明显，夏季冰雪融化的速度超过了冬季积累的速度。

       The surveyors realized that the glaciers were melting and not accumulating ice anymore. The kind of cyclical（周期的） change in the shape and geometry of the watershed became more and more permanent.

       测量员们明白冰川正在融化，并且冰雪不再累积。风水岭的外观和几何形状的周期性变化越来越常态。

       And as glacier shifted, so did the watershed. And so did the border. Here’s that what looks like.

       随着冰川的改变，风水岭也发生了变化，边界也是如此。这就是它看起来的样子。

       On many Alpine peaks, a glacier ridge（山脉） forms the watershed boundary line and thus the national border. But as those glacier melt, their highest point might shift often dozens of（几十） meters away.

       在阿尔卑斯山脉的众多高峰上，冰川脊形成了风水岭边界线，从而形成了国家边界。但是随着冰川的融化，它们的最高点可能会经常移动到几十米之外。

       If they melt far enough, their even reveal underlying rock peaks—which then became the border line.

       如果它们融化的足够远，它们甚至会露出下面的岩石山峰——然后变成边界线。

       These black X’s mark was the old national boundary between Italy and Switzerland. But if you trace today’s national boundary and compare to old maps, you can see all the place where the boundary line has moved.

       这些黑色的X标志是过去意大利和瑞士的国界。但是如果你沿着今天的国界和老地图比较，你会看到边界移动的地方。

       In the most extreme case yet in the Alps, shifts in the Theodul Glacier moved the border 150 meters. That put this Italian ski lift on Swiss solid. And the Rifugio Guide del Cervino might be next.

       在阿尔卑斯最极端的例子中，Theodul Glacier 使边界移动了150米。这让这个意大利滑雪缆车移动到了瑞士的土地上。而Rifugio Guide del Cervino可能是下一个。

       Typically when countries renegotiate（重新谈判） borders, that’s a careful process to make sure that neither country gains territory at the other’s expense. But recently, Italy signed a new type of agreement… First with Austria in 2006… And then with Switzerland in 2009…

       通常情况下，当国家重新谈判国界时，会有一个谨慎的过程以确保任何一个国家都不会牺牲另一个国家的利益来获得领土。但是最近意大利签订了一种新型协议……第一次是与奥地利在2006年……然后是和瑞士在2009年……

       That recognized the Alps as a “mobile border”. Acknowledging that the border was subject to（使服从） changes in the natural world outside of those countries’ control.

       这意味着阿尔卑斯成为一个“动态边界”。即承认这个边界受除国家操纵外的自然界变化影响。

       Fortunately, the Rifugio is the only inhabited place along this shifting border. And if it becomes Swiss, it’ll be subject to Swiss law, taxes and customs. They might have to change their wall plugs. But for most nearby residents, the changes won’t mean much.

       幸运的是，Rifugio 是唯一有人居住的地方在移动的边界上。如果它移动搭配瑞士，它将服从瑞士的法律、税收和海关。他们可能不得不更换墙上的插头。但是对于附近的大多数居民来说这些改变并不会造成太大影响。

       But if we think about different areas of the world where similar processes are happening—For example, the Himalaya or the Andes…

       但是如果我们思考在世界的其他地方相似的过程正在发生——比如喜马拉雅山脉或者安迪斯山脉……

       These are completely different geopolitical（地理政治学的） situation— In which also the scare of the phenomenon is much, much bigger… The histories are much more conflicted.

       有不同的地理政治学的情况（地缘政治学局势）——其事件的规模也要大的多……历史的矛盾也要大的多。

       In the Himalayas, China and India disagree about their border. And they have fought several times over it as it continues to melt and shift.

       在喜马拉雅山脉中国和印度不同意他们的国界，当喜马拉雅山脉继续融化的时候他们之间为此有过几次冲突。

       And in the Andes, Chile and Argentina have long disagreed about own melting border. As climate change warms the planet and moves water-based borders, these conflicts could worsen.

       还有在安第斯山脉，智利和阿根廷有很久的分歧关于自己融化的国界。随着气候的改变使得地球变暖，从而移动分水岭，这些矛盾可能会恶化。

       Rivers, which make up over a third of the length of all international land boundaries, will be subject to extreme events that can change their course.

       组成国际陆地边界长度三分之一的河流将受到极端事件的影响，从而可能改变它们的流向。

       Coastlines（海岸线） will give way to（为……所替代） rising seas—Affecting exclusive（独有的） economic zones… Where a country’s sovereignty（主权） extends in the ocean. And glaciers, like in the Alps, will continue to melt.

       海岸线将会被不断增长的海洋代替，从而影响专属经济区……一个国家的主权延伸到海洋。而冰川，就像阿尔卑斯山脉一样，将会继续融化。

       The alpine mobile border is almost a laboratory, a prototype（原型） of a condition… That will happen more and more in a lot of different parts of the world.

       阿尔卑斯山脉的动态边界就像一个实验室，一个条件的原型……它将会世界上许多不同的地方频繁地发生。