Brine mining to meet resource demands amid renewable energy transitions is affecting water resources in South America and China. Hydrologists can help understand how and join the search for solutions.
Andes
Tracing Millions of Years of Geologic Stress in the Andean Plateau
Paleostress modeling shows how a region of the Andean Plateau was uplifted and formed beginning more than 20 million years ago.
Plants Reveal the History of Earth’s Largest Tropical Ice Cap
Rooted plants buried by advancing outlet glaciers illustrate rapid changes in the extent of Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru during the Holocene.
Short-Lived Solutions for Tall Trees in Chile’s Megadrought
Some southern beeches in the Andes have plumbed deeper for moisture as the surface has dried up. But doing so may deplete resources and undermine the trees’ future health.
Supervolcanoes Linger a While, Then Rush to Erupt
Geologists examined crystals in rock from four massive eruptions in the Chilean Andes.
Adapting to Receding Glaciers in the Tropical Andes
Integrated approaches are needed to understand and respond to changes in tropical mountain ecosystems and communities brought about by receding glaciers and changes in land use.
Past Climate Change Affected Mountain Building in the Andes
Increased glaciation in the North Patagonian Andes may have influenced tectonic dynamics over the past 7 million years, suggesting a connection between climate change and mountain-building processes.
Vicuña Poop Nourishes “Dung Gardens” High in the Andes
The excrement delivers nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, kick-starting islands of vegetation at the edge of the cryosphere.
Structural Style Controls Crustal Fluid Circulation in Andes
Variations in hot spring geochemistry from adjacent mountain ranges with different styles of faulting highlight the influence of crustal-scale structures on circulating fluids in the Peruvian Andes.
What Controlled the Growth of the Southern Central Andes?
Flat-slab subduction appears to have played a minor role in the growth of the Southern Central Andes, with evidence for eastward migrating deformation.