Some of the signs of more mountain growth in the wettest area are geological. The lowest layer of rocks -- what are often called basement rocks -- are a full two kilometers higher up in the rainiest area. But as fast as the mountains there rise, the lashing rains soak and dissolve minerals in the rocks and wash the remains away. The tectonic principle behind the mountain growth is referred to as isostatic rebound. It is analogous to how a canoe rises up higher when a person steps out of it. Mountain ranges can rebound upwards in the same way when a load is lifted from their tops. "The potential of climate to influence tectonics on a regional and continental scale has been widely theorized over the past 15 years, but studies that demonstrate just how this occurs have been rare," commented Earth scientist Peter Koons of the University of Maine in Orono. "We have known that, at the large scale of the Himalayas or the Southern Alps, climate and tectonics interact in fundamental ways, but the lower limits of that interaction, where information on the mechanisms of interaction still remains, have been very elusive," Koons explained to Discovery News. By using a broad range of methods, Mora and his colleagues have teased out how the regional growth of one of the largest mountain belts on Earth has been heavily influenced by exceptional precipitation. "This is a real advance," said Mora. Related Links: |
advertisement
Put Discovery News on Your Site!
|
