23
October 2003
Mountain climate: It works both ways
The formation of mountain ranges is thought to be linked to climate change. The Tibetan plateau, for instance, virtually creates its own climate. While it is clear that massive uplift can promote climate change, an analysis of the balance of forces along the western coast of South America points towards the less well established notion that this may be a two-way street. Climate can move mountains. Lamb and Davies ask: was Cenozoic climate change responsible for the rise of the Andes? Their answer is yes, it may have been, via climate's effect on erosion and sediment deposition. These factors spark a train of events that leads to an increase in friction in the subduction zone where an oceanic plate dives beneath the South American continental plate, which then rears up to form the Andes.
Cenozoic climate change as a possible cause
for the rise of the Andes
SIMON LAMB & PAUL DAVIS
Nature 425, 792–797 (2003); doi:10.1038/nature02049
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