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Science 6 June 2008:
Vol. 320. no. 5881, pp. 1304 - 1307
DOI: 10.1126/science.1148615
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Review

Rise of the Andes

Carmala N. Garzione,1* Gregory D. Hoke,1 Julie C. Libarkin,2 Saunia Withers,3 Bruce MacFadden,4 John Eiler,5 Prosenjit Ghosh,6 Andreas Mulch7

The surface uplift of mountain belts is generally assumed to reflect progressive shortening and crustal thickening, leading to their gradual rise. Recent studies of the Andes indicate that their elevation remained relatively stable for long periods (tens of millions of years), separated by rapid (1 to 4 million years) changes of 1.5 kilometers or more. Periodic punctuated surface uplift of mountain belts probably reflects the rapid removal of unstable, dense lower lithosphere after long-term thickening of the crust and lithospheric mantle.

1 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
2 Department of Geological Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
3 Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
4 Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
5 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
6 Center for Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560 012, India.
7 Institut für Geologie, Universität Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: garzione{at}earth.rochester.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)