Research news: Mountains could have growth spurts

The News:
Mountains could have growth spurts
Posted 6:06 pm EDT
WASHINGTON, Jun. 5, 2008 (Reuters) — The Andes Mountains may have growth spurts, doubling their height in as little as 2 million to 4 million years, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.
Their findings suggest that current theories about plate tectonics -- the process that creates and moves continents, giving rise to mountain ranges -- may need updating.
Geologists had estimated that the mountain system, which extends the length of western South America, rose gradually over the past 40 million years.
Mountains that grow this fast might affect climate and evolution, said Carmala Garzione, an associate professor of geology at the University of Rochester in New York.
The 4,400-mile-(7,000-km)long range is tall and jagged in many parts, with its highest peak reaching 22,800 feet (6,900 meters) and an average height of 13,000 feet.
It was formed through plate tectonics, specifically the subduction of a large sheet of crust called the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate. This process, still ongoing, causes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Writing in the journal Science, Garzione and colleagues said they had studied sediments to determine that the Andes rose slowly for tens of millions of years, then suddenly lifted much more quickly between 10 million and 6 million years ago. Read on...

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.