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密西西比河水位下降威胁航运

The Mississippi River is the longest and most economically important waterway in the United States. But a lack of rainfall is reducing the depth of the river. The U.S. Army Corps¹ of Engineers is surveying the river in an effort to keep it navigable during one of the worst droughts in U.S. history.

密西西比河是美国最长，也是经济上最重要的河流。但是，严重缺少降雨使这条河的水位下降。美国陆军工程兵团在测量这条河，努力使这条河在美国经历历史上最严重干旱之一期间，能保持航道通行。

It's another day of intense heat in the midwest United States, and another day without rain on the Mississippi river. On board the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey ship, the MV Pathfinder, Captain Terry Bequette is watching the river level drop.

又是一个酷暑天，又是密西西比河上无雨的一天。在美国陆军工程兵团测量船“MV探路者号”上，船长特里.贝奎特正在观察河流水位下降的情况。

"You see probably 15 or 20 foot [five or seven meters] more bank [exposed] than we had at this time last year. The sand bars behind you were not exposed last year at this time," explained Bequette.

贝奎特船长说：“今年的水位与去年同期相比，下降了5到7米。去年你看不到背后的那片沙洲。”

Last year, heavy rains flooded the banks along parts of the Mississippi. This year, the level is so low, shipwrecks² normally hidden under water are plainly in view.

去年，暴雨淹没了密西西比河部分沿岸地区。而今水位低，可以看到通常隐藏水下的废弃船骸。

"It's low and it's bad, but it's not the end-of-the-world bad," added Bequette. "The industry just lightens their load and hopes for the best."

贝奎特说：“很低，很糟，但还不是世界末日那样糟。航运公司减少载量，其他就只能祈祷了。”

That industry ships corn, soybeans, and wheat from farms in the Midwest to destinations around the globe. Roughly 60 percent of all grain exported from the United States travels on barges³ along this waterway. Any disruption has a ripple⁴ effect.

航运公司把美国中西部的玉米、大豆和小麦运往世界各地。美国60%的出口粮食都要经密西西比河运输。任何阻断都会引起连锁反应。

"There's a lot of money at stake for these farmers, and there's other commodities that are coming down the river as well, so it's not just grain but it's also chemicals are coming down the river, coal is coming down the river, various things like that," noted⁵ Jasen Brown, a Hydraulic⁶ Engineer with the Army Corps.

贝奎特船长说：“农场主大量的资金都受到威胁。很多其他货物也需要这条水路。不仅粮食，还有化学品、煤炭，还有其他很多种物资。”

Brown notes that ships need a channel nearly three meters deep and 91 meters wide to safely navigate⁷.

杰森.布朗是美国陆军液压工程师。他说，为安全航行，河道至少得有3米深，91米宽。

"We are at a low enough stage with the anticipated forecast going lower, that we're starting to initiate⁸ some communication between the navigation industry, the Coast Guard, and the Corps, so that we are accounting⁹ for all the things we need to account for as the water levels drop," he said.

布朗说：“水位已经很低了，预测还会更低。我们开始与船运业、海岸警卫队和其他公司沟通，随着水位下降，做好一切准备工作。”

Part of that accounting begins with Captain Bequette and his crew who locate the shallow spots that could endanger traffic.

部分的准备工作始于贝奎特船长和他的船员。他们找出可能危害航运的河水浅位点。

"We run a dredge survey, and then they decide whether it needs dredging or if we can buoy¹⁰ [identify] it," Bequette explained. If we can buoy it, certainly that is the quickest solution. Obviously the further it drops the more dredging sites are going to pop up."

布朗说：“我们对河流做挖掘测量，然后决定是否需要挖掘，或者可以做标记。标记是最快的解决办法。但显然随着水位持续下降，会出现更多要挖掘的地方。”

Companies that load their barges will have to lighten their loads as water levels drop. However, according to Russell Errett with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Mississippi River is still the most efficient way to ship commodities, as long as it stays open to traffic.

陆军工程兵团的罗素.埃瑞特说，随着水位下降，航运公司需要减轻载重量。埃瑞特说：“这样会减少他们的利润，提高成本。”但埃瑞特说，只要密西西比河还可行船，它仍是运货最有效的水路。