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Science 3 November 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5800, p. 760
DOI: 10.1126/science.1132837
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Technical Comments

Comment on "Rapid Uplift of the Altiplano Revealed Through 13C-18O Bonds in Paleosol Carbonates"

T. Sempere,1* A. Hartley,2 P. Roperch3

Based on stable isotope measurements, Ghosh et al. (Reports, 27 January 2006, p. 511) concluded that the Bolivian Altiplano uplifted 3 to 4 kilometers between ~10.3 and ~6.7 million years ago as a result of gravitational loss of dense lithosphere. This result stands at odds with current geological knowledge of the Central Andes, and we propose a test for the reliability of the paleoaltimetry method.

1 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and Laboratoire "Mécanismes et Transferts en Géologie," Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Université Paul Sabatier, 31400 Toulouse, France.
2 School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, UK.
3 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and Géosciences Rennes, Université de Rennes, 35042 Rennes, France.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sempere{at}lmtg.obs-mip.fr

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Stable Isotope Paleoaltimetry in Orogenic Belts The Silicate Record in Surface and Crustal Geological Archives.
A. Mulch and C. P. Chamberlain (2007)
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 66, 89-118
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