幾十年來，工業廢物正在變成岩石，比數百萬年的數百年快得多

自1989年以來，鋁製飲料可以製作，並在坎布里安海岸線上發現嵌入在岩石中的1934年硬幣是幫助科學家了解過程發生的速度的項目之一。

INDUSTRIAL waste is turning into rock in decades, much faster than the millions of years it is thought to take for it to form naturally, scientists have said.

科學家們說，工業廢物幾十年來正在變成岩石，比它自然地形成的數百萬年要快得多。

An aluminium drinks can tab made since 1989 and a 1934 coin are among the items that have helped researchers understand how quickly the process is happening.

自1989年以來，可以製作鋁製飲料，而1934年的硬幣則是幫助研究人員了解過程的速度。

The scientists have documented a new “rapid anthropoclastic rock cycle”, which mimics natural rock cycles but involves human material over accelerated timescales.

科學家記錄了一個新的“快速擬南芥岩石循環”，該岩石循環模擬了自然岩石周期，但涉及人類物質，而不是加速的時間尺度。

They warn that the rapid and unplanned-for development of rock around industrial waste sites could have negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as land planning and coastal management.

他們警告說，圍繞工業廢物站點周圍的岩石的快速發展，可能會對生物多樣性和生態系統以及土地規劃和沿海管理產生負面影響。

Their findings came from analysis of a two-kilometre stretch of slag deposit, at Derwent Howe in West Cumbria, which was home to iron and steel-making foundries during the 19th and 20th centuries.

他們的發現來自對西部坎布里亞郡的德溫特·豪（Derwent Howe）對兩公里的爐渣沉積物的分析，該礦渣沉積物是19世紀和20世紀在熨斗和鋼製鑄造廠的所在地。

The slag deposits have formed cliffs of waste material which are being eroded by coastal waves and tides, and the team carried out detailed analysis after noticing intriguing irregular formations in the cliffs.

礦渣沉積物形成了廢物的懸崖，這些懸崖被沿海的波浪和潮汐所侵蝕，並且在註意到懸崖中令人著迷的不規則地層後，團隊進行了詳細的分析。

Dr Amanda Owen of the University of Glasgow’s School of Geographical and Earth Sciences and one of the study’s authors, said: “For a couple of hundred years, we’ve understood the rock cycle as a natural process that takes thousands to millions of years.

格拉斯哥大學地理和地球科學學院的阿曼達·歐文（Amanda Owen）博士和該研究的作者之一說：“幾百年來，我們已經將岩石周期理解為一個自然過程，需要數千萬年限。

“What’s remarkable here is that we’ve found these human-made materials being incorporated into natural systems and become lithified – essentially turning into rock – over the course of decades instead.

“這裡值得注意的是，我們發現這些人造的材料被納入了自然系統，並在數十年的過程中被岩石化 - 本質上是變成岩石。

“It challenges our understanding of how a rock is formed, and suggests that the waste material we’ve produced in creating the modern world is going to have an irreversible impact on our future.”

“它挑戰了我們對岩石如何形成的理解，並表明我們在創造現代世界中生產的廢物材料將對我們的未來產生不可逆轉的影響。”

Laboratory tests helped the researchers determine that Derwent Howe’s slag materials contain deposits of calcium, iron, magnesium, and manganese.

實驗室測試幫助研究人員確定Derwent Howe的礦渣材料含有鈣，鐵，鎂和錳的沉積物。

These elements are highly chemically reactive, which is key to causing the accelerated process of rock formation.

這些元素具有高度的化學反應性，這是導致岩石形成加速過程的關鍵。

When the slag is eroded by the sea, it exposes the material to seawater and air, which interacts with the slag’s reactive elements to create natural cements including calcite, goethite, and brucite.

當爐渣被海洋侵蝕時，它將材料暴露於海水和空氣，並與爐渣的反應性元素相互作用，以創建有方解石，gothite和brucite在內的天然水泥。

These cements are the same materials that bind together natural sedimentary rocks, but the chemical reactions cause the process to happen much faster than has been assumed to happen with similar material in a natural rock cycle.

這些水泥與將天然沉積岩結合在一起的材料相同，但是化學反應導致該過程的發生速度要比假定在自然岩石周期中類似材料發生的速度要快得多。

Researchers also found modern materials trapped in some of the samples, which helped them to determine how quickly the process is happening.

研究人員還發現，現代材料被困在一些樣本中，這幫助他們確定了過程的發生速度。

Dr John MacDonald, a co-author of the study, said: “We were able to date this process with remarkable precision.

該研究的共同作者約翰·麥克唐納（John MacDonald）博士說：“我們能夠以顯著的精確度約會。

“We found both a King George V coin from 1934 and an aluminium can tab with a design that we realised couldn’t have been manufactured before 1989 embedded in the material.

“我們發現了1934年的喬治五世國王五枚硬幣，並且鋁製的鋁可以使用我們意識到在1989年嵌入材料之前就無法製造的設計。

“This gives us a maximum timeframe of 35 years for this rock formation, well within the course of a single human lifetime.

“這為我們的岩石形成提供了35年的最大時間範圍，這是一個人類的生命。

“This is an example in microcosm of how all the activity we’re undertaking at the Earth’s surface will eventually end up in the geological record as rock, but this process is happening with remarkable, unprecedented speed.”

“這是縮影中的一個例子，說明我們在地球表面所進行的所有活動最終將以岩石作為地質記錄最終出現，但是這個過程以顯著，前所未有的速度發生。”

Researchers have warned that the process could have an impact on ecosystems and said more research is needed.

研究人員警告說，該過程可能會對生態系統產生影響，並說需要更多的研究。

Dr David Brown, the paper’s third co-author, said: “On coasts like Derwent Howe, the process of lithification has turned a sandy beach into a rocky platform very, very quickly.

該報紙的第三張合著者戴維·布朗（David Brown）博士說：“在像德文特·豪（Derwent Howe）這樣的海岸上，岩性過程將沙灘變成了一個岩石平台，非常快速地變成了一個岩石的平台。

“That rapid appearance of rock could fundamentally affect the ecosystems above and below the water, as well as change the way that coastlines respond to the challenges of rising sea levels and more extreme weather as our planet warms.

“岩石的快速出現可能從根本上影響水上和下方的生態系統，並改變海岸線應對海平面上升的挑戰和隨著我們星球的溫暖的挑戰。

“Currently, none of this is accounted for in our models of erosion of land management, which are key to helping us try to adapt to climate change.

“目前，在我們對土地管理的侵蝕模型中，這都不是涉及的，這是幫助我們嘗試適應氣候變化的關鍵。

“We’re currently seeking additional funding to help support further research at other slag deposit sites across Europe, which will help to deepen our analysis of this new rapid anthropoclastic rock cycle.”

“我們目前正在尋求額外的資金，以幫助支持歐洲其他礦渣存款地點的進一步研究，這將有助於加深我們對這一新快速擬南索岩石周期的分析。”

The research is published in the journal Geology.

該研究發表在《地質雜誌》上。