Energy News  
TECTONICS
When did the Andes mountains form
by Staff Writers
Bristol, UK (SPX) Nov 25, 2015


The Andean mountains in South America are the second highest mountain chain in the world after the Himalayas.

The Andes have been a mountain chain for much longer than previously thought, new research from the University of Bristol, UK suggests.

The Andes were formed by tectonic activity whereby earth is uplifted as one plate (oceanic crust) subducts under another plate (continental crust). To get such a high mountain chain in a subduction zone setting is unusual which adds to the importance of trying to figure out when and how it happened. However, the timing of when the Andean mountain chain uplift occurred has been a topic of some controversy over the past ten years.

The prevailing view is that the Andes became a mountain range between ten to six million years ago when a huge volume of rock dropped off the base of the Earth's crust in response to over-thickening of the crust in this region. When this large portion of dense material was removed, the remaining portion of the crust underwent rapid uplift.

The timing of such uplift is important in helping scientists to understand how mountains form, how they erode and what impact this may have on global atmospheric circulation patterns and climate.

To investigate the timing of Andean uplift, Dr Laura Evenstar from Bristol's School of Earth Sciences used a new method based on cosmic rays that create a rare form of helium (cosmogenic He-3) in minerals at the Earth's surface. The abundance of cosmogenic He-3 depends on the altitude of the surface and thus can be used to understand the altitude history of a rock surface.

With collaborators at Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre and partially funded by BHP Billiton, Dr Evenstar analysed large boulders from 2km high in the western margin of the Andes. She has shown that the Andes were already near their present elevation 14 million years ago.

Dr Evenstar said: "It seems highly likely that the Andes have gone up slowly over at least the last 30 million years, and are the result of gradual thickening of the crust. This means that the uplift of the Andes probable effected large scale atmospheric circulation patterns at least 4 million years before previously thought."

Paper: 'Slow Cenozoic uplift of the western Andean Cordillera indicated by cosmogenic He in alluvial boulders from the Pacific Planation Surface' by Evenstar, L.A., Stuart, F.M., Hartley, A.J. and Tattich, B. in Geophysical Research Letters.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
University of Bristol
Tectonic Science and News






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
TECTONICS
Plate tectonics thanks to plumes
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Nov 18, 2015
"Knowing what a chicken looks like and what all the chickens before it looked like doesn't help us to understand the egg," says Taras Gerya. The ETH Professor of Geophysics uses this metaphor to address plate tectonics and the early history of the Earth. The Earth's lithosphere is divided into several plates that are in constant motion, and today's geologists have a good understanding of w ... read more


TECTONICS
Australia-led group wins $7 bn electricity deal over China bid

Scandal-hit Malaysian firm sells power assets for $2.3bln

California at forefront of US battle on climate change

Greater potential for transport in climate mitigation

TECTONICS
ORNL microscopy captures real-time view of evolving fuel cell catalysts

Researchers discover salty solution to better, safer batteries

Energy from a fossil fuel without carbon dioxide

The route to high temperature superconductivity goes through the flat land

TECTONICS
SeaPlanner New Features Launched on Nordsee One Offshore Wind Farm

Moventas introduces breakthrough Extra Life technologies for wind industry

Big UK cities vow to run on green energy by 2050

U.S. onshore wind power becoming mainstream

TECTONICS
Recurrent Energy Closes Financing for 100 MW Astoria Solar Power Project

Solar3D's Upcoming Acquisition, Elite Solar, Reports Over $7 Million in New Solar Contracts

Costa Rica boasts clean energy -- and bad car pollution

Turkey driving renewable energy growth in the MENAT region

TECTONICS
Nuclear and renewable: S.Africa's ambitious new energy mix

S. Korea, US ratify new civilian nuclear pact

Putin removes ban on nuclear cooperation with Iran

First Reactor of Turkey's Akkuyu Nuclear Plant to Start Operating by 2022

TECTONICS
Researchers film ants building bio-bridges with their bodies

From dung to BMWs at green energy plant in South Africa

Export of wood pellets from US to EU more environmentally friendly than coal

Sequencing algae's genome may aid biofuel production

TECTONICS
China to launch Dark Matter Satellite in mid-December

China to better integrate satellite applications with Internet

China's satellite expo opens

New rocket readies for liftoff in 2016

TECTONICS
Hollande seeks 'binding' climate pact with promises on cash

Paris pledges enough to keep global warming in check

Global carbon pricing off menu at Paris climate talks

Xi to bring no new concessions to Paris climate summit









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.