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Researchers say they have identified earth movement signals that could predict earthquakes up to two hours before they hit.
研究人员表示，他们已经识别出可以在地震发生前两个小时预测地震的地球运动信号。
The signals were recorded, or detected, by GPS collection devices.
这些信号是由GPS采集设备检测的。
The devices were positioned in areas where major earthquakes had struck in the past.
这些设备被放置在过去曾发生过大地震的地区。
Scientists noted, however, that the right equipment does not currently exist to use the data to predict earthquakes.
然而，科学家指出，目前还没有合适的设备来使用这些数据来预测地震。
But if the sensitivity of current GPS measuring devices can be improved, the researchers say a new earthquake warning system could be possible.
但研究人员表示，如果目前的GPS测量设备的灵敏度能够提高，一种新的地震预警系统是可能的。
Earthquakes are caused by movements, or slips, in existing faults under Earth's surface, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) explains.
美国地质调查局解释说，地震是由地球表面下现有断层的运动引起的。
A fault is a long break in rock attached to Earth's crust.
断层指的是附着在地壳上的岩石上的长裂缝。
When tension builds up along a fault, energy waves are released and travel through the crust.
当张力沿着断层积聚时，能量波就会被释放出来，并在地壳中传播。
This causes the ground to shake.
这会导致地面震动。
Technology for predicting earthquakes currently remains very limited.
目前，预测地震的技术仍然非常有限。
But the USGS does have equipment that can pick up seismic data when an earthquake is just starting.
但美国地质调查局确实有可以在地震刚开始发生时收集地震数据的设备。
The term seismic relates to earthquake activity.
“地震的”一词与地震活动有关。
The USGS method makes it possible to warn people in areas where seismic activity is expected.
美国地质调查局的方法使人们有可能在预计会发生地震活动的地区发出警告。
But this method generally can only provide a warning several seconds before an earthquake hits.
但这种方法通常只能在地震发生前几秒钟发出警告。
The USGS system is called ShakeAlert.
美国地质调查局的系统被称为ShakeAlert。
It has already been deployed along the U.S. West Coast.
它已经被部署在美国西海岸。
That is where the majority of earthquakes happen in the country.
这里是该国大多数地震发生的地方。
But the new detection method could produce warnings up to two hours before the damaging effects of an earthquake are felt.
但这种新的检测方法可以在地震产生破坏性影响之前两个小时发出警报。
Such a system could save lives by giving people the chance to get out of buildings that might collapse in an earthquake.
这样的系统可以让人们有机会逃出可能会在地震中倒塌的建筑物，从而被拯救。
Two scientists from France's National Research Institute for Sustainable Development carried out a study that described the latest results.
法国国家可持续发展研究所的两名科学家进行了一项研究，描述了最新的结果。
The findings recently appeared in the publication Science.
这项研究结果最近发表在《科学》杂志上。
For the study, researchers examined GPS data collected before and after past earthquake events around the world.
在这项研究中，研究人员检查了世界各地过去地震发生前后收集的GPS数据。
The data was collected on 90 earthquakes measuring larger than 7 on the Richter scale.
其中涵盖了90次里氏7级以上地震的GPS数据。
The study period covered the past 20 years.
该研究涵盖了过去20年。
The team identified a pattern of fault movements as they examined the data collected from different areas.
研究小组通过检查从不同地区收集的数据确定了断层运动的模式。
The movement signals were recorded within two hours of an earthquake striking.
设备记录了地震发生后两个小时内断层的运动信号。
The researchers said the study demonstrates that faults generally begin to move about two hours before a large earthquake.
研究人员表示，这项研究表明，断层通常在大地震发生前大约两个小时开始移动。
Scientists had identified such signals before single earthquakes in the past.
过去，科学家在单次地震之前就已经识别出了这样的信号。
But until now, researchers were not able to link those signals to all seismic events.
但到目前为止，研究人员还不能将这些信号与所有地震事件联系起来。
While the data identified this pattern, the scientists said the instruments that could capture GPS data in real time do not currently exist.
虽然数据确定了这种模式，但科学家表示，目前还不存在能够实时捕获GPS数据的仪器。
The National Research Institute for Sustainable Development issued a statement on the development.
法国国家可持续发展研究所发表了一份关于这一研发结果的声明。
It said that in order to make predictions, researchers "would need to measure signals at least 10 times smaller than what we can presently do."
它说，为了做出预测，研究人员“需要测量的信号比我们目前所测量的至少小10倍”。
Another way to possibly build a better earthquake prediction system would be to develop "dense measurement networks" that sit very close to faults.
另一种可能建立更好的地震预测系统的方法是开发靠近断层的“密集测量网络”。
However, such an effort would require major technological progress, the institute said.
然而，该研究所表示，开发这样的测量网络将需要极大的技术进步。
Quentin Bletery is a geophysicist at Cote d'Azur University in the city of Nice.
昆汀·布莱特里是尼斯市蔚蓝海岸大学的地球物理学家。
Bletery worked together on the study with Jean-Mathieu Nocquet, another researcher at the university.
布莱特里与该大学的另一位研究员让-马蒂厄·诺克特共同进行了这项研究。
Bletery told Science that the study found that no observable movement was identified in the first 46 hours leading up to an earthquake.
布莱特里告诉《科学》杂志，这项研究发现，在地震发生前的46小时内，没有发现任何可观察到的运动。
But starting around two hours before an earthquake, the GPS signals recording movement started to increase.
但从地震前大约两小时开始，记录地球运动的GPS信号开始增强。
To confirm its findings, the team compared that data to more than 100,000 random time periods recorded when no earthquakes were reported.
为了证实其发现，研究小组将这些数据与10万多个没有地震报告的随机时间段进行了比较。
That experiment found that similar patterns in non-earthquake areas happened just 0.03 percent of the time.
该实验发现，类似的模式在非地震地区发生的概率只有0.03%。
"This tells us earthquakes are predictable in nature," Bletery told Science.
布莱特里告诉《科学》杂志：“这告诉我们，地震在本质上是可以预测的”。
The scientists note that more research is needed to support their findings.
科学家指出，需要更多的研究来支持他们的研究结果。
Much of the information used in the latest study, for example, depended heavily on data from GPS stations near major earthquake sites.
例如，最新研究中使用的大部分信息在很大程度上依赖于主要地震现场附近的GPS站的数据。
I'm Bryan Lynn.
布莱恩·林恩为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
