The Andes are known to have influenced speciation patterns in many taxa, yet whether species diversification occurred simultaneously with their uplift or only after uplift was complete remains unknown. We examined both the phylogenetic pattern and dates of branching in Adelomyia hummingbirds in relation to Andean uplift to determine whether diversification coincides with the chronological phase...

Relationships between riverbed morphology, concavity, rock type and rock uplift rate are examined to independently unravel the contribution of along-strike variations in lithology and rates of vertical deformation to the topographic relief of the Oregon coastal mountains. Lithologic control on river profile form is reflected by convexities and knickpoints in a number of longitudinal profiles an...

Apatite helium thermochronometry provides new constraints on the tectonic history of a recently uplifted crystalline mass adjacent to the San Andreas fault. By documenting aspects of the low-temperature (40°1 00°C) thermal history of the tectonic blocks of the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California, we have placed new constraints on the magnitude and timing of uplift. Old helium ages (...

The Altiplano-Puna Magma Body (APMB) in the Central Andes is the largest imaged magma reservoir on Earth, and is located within the second highest orogenic plateau on Earth, the Altiplano-Puna. Although the APMB is a first-order geologic feature similar to the Sierra Nevada batholith, its role in the surface uplift history of the Central Andes remains uncertain. Here we show that a long-wavelen...

[1] Long Valley Caldera, a large and potentially explosive silicic system, has experienced highly anomalous continued inflation since late 1970s. We characterize an episode of rapid episodic uplift occurring between 2002 and 2003 following similar episodes of 1979–1980, 1983, 1989–1990, and 1997–1998. This most recent episode was the first to be observed by a dense array of 13 continuous Global...

[1] Rupture of the Sunda megathrust on 26 December 2004 produced broad regions of uplift and subsidence. We define the pivot line separating these regions as a first step in defining the lateral extent and the downdip limit of rupture during that great Mw 9.2 earthquake. In the region of the Andaman and Nicobar islands we rely exclusively on the interpretation of satellite imagery and a tidal m...

Geological observations that constrain the history of mantle convection are sparse despite its importance in determining vertical and horizontal plate motions, plate rheology, and magmatism. We use a suite of geological and geophysical observations from the northern North Sea to constrain evolution of the incipient Paleocene-Eocene Icelandic plume. Well data and a three-dimensional seismic surv...

Prior studies have proposed tectonic and climatic mechanisms to explain surface uplift throughout the Bhutan Himalaya. While the resulting enigmatic, low-relief landscapes, elevated above deeply incised canyons, are a popular setting to test ideas of interacting tectonic and climatic forces, when and why these landscapes formed is still debated. We test the idea that these landscapes were creat...